[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/6534\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ERoaming for car-sharers on the horizon as \u2018access economy\u2019 accelerates\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s part of the continued expansion of the sharing economy \u2013 also known as the access or collaborative economy \u2013 in which people share access to resources such as accommodation, housing and professional services. The \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.pwc.co.uk\/issues\/megatrends\/collisions\/sharingeconomy\/future-of-the-sharing-economy-in-europe-2016.html\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Esize\u003C\/a\u003E of the EU\u2019s sharing economy grew from EUR 10 billion in 2013 to EUR 28 billion in 2015, and it is expected to grow 10 times faster than the wider economy over the next 10 years.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJo\u00e3o F\u00e9lix\u0026nbsp;is the founder of Portuguese company Mobiag, which has received EU funding to help develop the roaming capability for car sharing. Like many innovations, he says the idea stemmed from personal experience.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I was in London (UK) and I was a member of one of the existing providers at the time. Quickly I figured out that mostly I needed the other guy\u2019s car. It didn\u2019t make any sense \u003Cstrong\u003E-\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;why couldn\u2019t I use two cars that were very similar with similar technology? Half of the supply was blocked off to me.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe idea of the platform, known as MobiCS, is to make all shared cars available to all end users, as long as they are registered with a car-sharing operator in the network. The result from the user\u2019s point of view is that people who use a car-sharing scheme in one city have access to cars in another city or country, without having to sign up for another app and account.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECosts will depend on customers\u2019 current rates plus deals done between different operators behind the scenes, much in the same way as mobile phone roaming is charged today.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EF\u00e9lix\u0026nbsp;says this option to roam across different cities and countries with one car-sharing membership will help provide additional incentives for people to use such a service.\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018This principle of the access-based economy, I think that\u2019s very much a case which will stay with us.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EProf. Christian Fieseler, BI Norwegian Business School, Norway\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We will only use car sharing if it is functional. It can be the cheapest option, it can be the most eco-friendly, but at the end of the day it will only overcome traditional vehicle ownership if people know there is a car there when they need it.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHowever, he says that roaming is not the only way that the new software could change the car-sharing market.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBecause the platform can be used by companies that have cars for use but do not currently have their own sharing scheme \u2013 such as rental companies \u2013 as well as companies that have a membership base but no fleet of cars \u2013 such as utility companies \u2013 it means that car-sharing services can be provided by organisations for whom it is not a core business.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe company demonstrated their software by setting up a brand called Citydrive in Lisbon, Portugal, which pulled together fleets with client managers such as autoclubs, universities and utilities to create a familiar car-sharing platform for users without owning any vehicles of their own.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EF\u00e9lix\u0026nbsp;says this ability to help different players sell car-sharing services under their own brands means the service can be extended to more users.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We realised that this could be the idea that takes car sharing up to the next level. Car sharing at the moment is only financially viable in larger cities with high densities. With this market organisation we can extend car sharing outside of the big city. We can extend it into smaller cities \u2026 we can even bring it to rural areas using the same players, or even peer-to-peer networks.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAccess to resources\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile the idea of sharing access to goods and services is not new, the past few years have seen the sharing economy grow from ad-hoc bartering and swapping into a default behaviour for many people, thanks to the rise of platforms such as Airbnb, Uber and TaskRabbit.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProfessor Christian Fieseler from the BI Norwegian Business School sees the current momentum continuing. \u2018You could argue a little bit which business model will be successful in the end \u2026 but this principle of the access-based economy, I think that\u2019s very much a case which will stay with us and which will \u2026 increasingly become part of more standard business models.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe says that the sharing economy is a big shift which has implications beyond economics. \u2018The big difference in the last five, six years is that there are new intermediaries in the middle, those platforms which facilitate the trust that people are willing to share their belongings with people \u2026 they essentially don\u2019t know.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProf. Fieseler has received funding for a year-long project, starting this January, to look at some of the issues that are being thrown up, such as how the sharing economy affects our concept of privacy and how people who are unable to participate - for example by having poor internet access - could be left behind. It\u0027s one of a series of EU-funded projects that draws on the social sciences and humanities to understand how developments in digital technologies are affecting society and to promote responsible research.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBy surveying and interviewing people who are active and inactive in the sharing economy, Prof. Fieseler and his team will also investigate who profits from the sharing economy, the impact on workers whose employer is a platform, and the set up of the platforms themselves.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The larger question is who is essentially profiting from this whole development. Some scholars and activists (ask) why \u2026 are we using platforms that are owned by shareholders, why don\u2019t we make up our own cooperatives?\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Uber, Airbnb and so on, they tend to take around 20 % to 30 % of the overall transaction value and you could argue why is that really necessary when the work is done by the users? This is just an argument but something that we want to look at.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBy the end of the project the researchers aim to have produced guidelines for companies in the sector to ensure they are aware of these issues.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EIf you liked this article, please consider sharing it on social media.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-ypiviwvscxi4-f2qotmwx-ck3aw6qqbqeftoo7h0ods\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-yPIviwvScxI4_F2qOtmWx-cK3aw6QQBqeFtoo7H0ods\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]