User interest in car sharing as an indicator of sustainable urban agglomeration development

Abstract

The use of car sharing instead of owning a car minimises the negative impact of logistics activities on the urban environment. This research aims to show that sustainable development of densely populated cities is accompanied by an increase in Internet users’ interest in sharing services. The research of Internet users’ interest in car sharing services was based on Google Trends data on search queries originating from Russia, the United States and Canada over the past five years. In the course of this work, the hypothesis was confirmed that high user interest in car sharing is mainly observed in urban agglomerations with high population numbers and density, where the positive effects of car sharing are most noticeable. The paper emphasises the need to encourage the creation of new services in urban logistics, which will contribute to sustainable development and increase the competitiveness of cities. It also confirms the hypothesis that the growing interest of Internet users in the new service is accompanied by an increase in the market volume. User interest in established car sharing markets is at a stable level, except for the occurrence of significant events (e.g., the emergence of a new major player in the market) that stimulate an increase in interest.