If you’ve heard of GoGet, you may have heard about GoGet’s positive impact on traffic – namely that each GoGet car removes 10 privately owned cars from the road.

It’s true, but the idea that more cars reduce cars is a weird idea. Here’s something of a primer on how the GoGet effect works.

GoGet’s car removal effect is an outcome of the more general car sharing model, which gives members access to vehicles parked in local neighbourhoods which can be hired by the hour. While some members use GoGet to access vehicles different to those they own, the real benefits come from using GoGet instead of owning a car altogether.

How does GoGet Carshare take Cars of the Road?

64% of GoGet members don’t own a car, choosing to use car share instead. Many more use GoGet instead of a lightly used second car. Instead of owning a car or second car, they use a mix of public transport, GoGet, and active transport to get around such as walking or riding a bike.

While some of these members may not have chosen to own a car regardless, 58% of GoGet members have deferred a car purchase since joining GoGet. This equates to tens of thousands of cars that have not been purchased, due to the presence of car share.

Carshare Studies

Studies have shown that around 10 private cars are removed for every GoGet.

This statistic isn’t just back-of-the-napkin stuff. Multiple studies in Australia and around the world have proven the benefits of car share, time and again. Here are a few:

• In 2016, Phillip Boyle & Associates released an analysis of car share in Australia. The study found for each car used by 20 members, 10 private cars were removed.

• In the US, a study by UC Berkeley’s Institute of Transportation Studies found each share car removed between 7 and 11 private cars across 5 North American cities.

• In Europe, a 2017 paper from Transport & Environment found a share car could remove up to 15 private cars.

Few studies have found different results to these, and they align with the lived experience of city planners, local councils and car share users.

Removing owned cars isn’t the only way GoGet reduces car use – car share members also drive less after joining, as detailed on pages 5 & 6 of the Phillip Boyle report. A San Francisco study also found this, with car share members being more selective about when they choose to drive or taking public transport. The way this works is that unlike car ownership where a user will often perceive their next journey as free or at least already paid for (having already covered the purchase, interest, insurance, rego costs etc), with car share, each additional trip will have a cost. This makes car share members consider each trip more carefully and they will either combine tasks into one trip to improve efficiency, or choose to walk, cycle or use public transport instead.

As a result of fewer cars and less driving, each GoGet car directly reduces traffic. While an exact percentage is difficult to determine, section 3 of the Phillip Boyle report explains how car share pulls three key levers to reduce congestion:

1. Increasing the supply of road space – by removing ten private vehicles, each GoGet car frees up around 50 metres of road space.

2. Move people more efficiently – each GoGet car is used by around 30 members, which is a far more efficient use of cars than private ownership.

3. Change the level of demand – GoGet members drive around half as much as normal drivers, reducing the number of cars using our roads.

Beyond the positive impact on our cities, lower car usage is, of course, highly beneficial for the environment. By using fewer cars more efficiently, we reduce the environmental impact of the car manufacturing process, which can account for more than one fifth of a car’s life cycle emissions.

Additionally, car share vehicles tend to be newer and more fuel efficient than the average Aussie car. While the average age of the GoGet fleet is under 5 years, the age of the average Australian car is over 10. And while the majority of GoGet cars are more fuel efficient small or medium hatchbacks, Australians are increasingly moving towards owning SUVs and light trucks (including utes & 4x4s), which tend to be higher emitters. This means that a trip in a GoGet Carshare car is likely to contribute fewer emissions than that of the same trip in an average Australian vehicle.

This, alongside the emissions savings from reduced manufacturing and reduced driving, results in cleaner air and a smaller carbon footprint.

Whether it’s building more efficient cities or reducing our environmental impact, the benefits of reducing the number of cars in circulation are profound.

The growth of car share services like GoGet is certainly good for members, but it also directly benefits members of the public that don’t use the service themselves.

If you’re ready to take the plunge and try car sharing for yourself, we’ve got the perfect plan for you! Join GoGet today and help make a positive impact on your neighbourhood.