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Asian Development Bank

50 climate solutions from cities in the People's Republic of China

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A new car-sharing system allows citizens to move around more easily, cuts greenhouse gas emissions and is alleviating heavy congestion that plagues Chongqing’s streets.

Together with an international car manufacturer, Chongqing has rolled out the eco-friendly car-sharing system Car2Go. The system is free floating, with no fixed rental location and is the first of its kind in Asia. Currently, there are more than 300,000 registered users of the system, mainly young people, and the 600 Car2Go shared vehicles help to reduce the car ownership in the city. The system allows the user to unlock the cars using an app and arriving at their destination they can park the car either in a public parking place or in one of the designated Car2Go parking spots.

3.8K
TONS OF CO2 EMISSIONS REDUCED ANNUALLY BY REPLACING PRIVATE CAR TRIPS.

For a fixed price per minute and kilometers driven, the citizens can enjoy improved mobility in the mountainous city. The vast majority of the cars in the system are small, fuel efficient cars, which use approximately 50% less fuel than ordinary private vehicles, reducing the fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

Car2Go now has reached the Chinese city of Chongqing.
More than 300,000 people have signed up for the car sharing program. The majority of them are between 25 and 35 years old.

The Challenge

Chongqing is challenged by heavy congestion, caused by the fact that the population density is particularly high in the core area as a result of the hilly topographical conditions. The fast-growing city is experiencing an increase in mobility demand and rapid private motorization, which the city is now seeking to reduce with a car-sharing system.

Co-Benefits

Economic Sharing cars will reduce the difficul- ties in finding a parking space and according to the operators will save the citizens 273,750 hours per year, freeing up time to be used for either work or leisure.

Environment  Efficient car-sharing schemes can re- duce car ownership. This will reduce the environmental impacts caused by the car production and free up space previously used for car parking.

Health Car sharing in Chongqing could reduce the HC and NOx emissions by 154 tons and 383 tons annually, thereby improving air quality in the city.