Hence, it becomes important to find alternative ways of commuting that reduces total carbon emissions. Switching to a reliable public transport system or encouraging car-sharing can reduce total carbon emissions. However, to make the system even more environmentally sustainable, countries can consider adopting an electric car-sharing system to further reduce reliance on fuels.
Singapore has plans to increase its dependency on electric cars. Apart from encouraging the use of electric cars, BlueSG is jumping on the sharing economy bandwagon to integrate car-sharing into the system. BlueSG is a subsidiary under the French electric car-sharing operator, Bollore Group.
(source: http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/electric-car-sharing-scheme-to-be-rolled-out-from-2017)
Ballore Group currently operates Autolib, the world's largest electric car-sharing programme implemented in Paris. Since its opening, more than 31000 conventional cars have been taken off the roads. Autolib functions with 4000 electric cars and more than 130,000 regular users.
Hoping to follow in Paris' successful footsteps, 125 fleet of BlueSG cars will hit the roads by June 2017, with more than 2000 charging points at parking spaces in more than 500 locations within Singapore. Most of these parking spaces would be within the neighourhoods, away from the Central Business District. The company aims to run a fleet of 1000 cars by the year 2020. Users can book a car as early as twenty minutes in advance, and price charged would be according to the duration as opposed to distance. With the system being implemented nationwide, this can potentially reduce people's need to own a car.
Similar to the Velib bicycle-sharing system in Paris, this electric car-sharing system is a one-way program that allows users to return the car at their destination instead of the initial place where the car was rented. This allows for point-to-point mobility, and is good for trips where places are not fully accessible by public transport.
These electric cars help reduce pollution as they do not have tailpipe emissions. Furthermore, a study conducted by Nanyang Technological University showed that the cars can reduce primary energy consumption and carbon dioxide emission by up to 50% compared to the conventional internal combustion engines. Electric vehicles are also quieter in comparison to normal cars, thus reducing the overall noise pollution.
Apart from increasing environmental sustainability, this system can also increase social sustainability. BlueSG's partnership with the Economic Development Board will create more than 250 jobs in the next five years of implementation.
However, the implementation of the car-sharing system can potentially be counter-productive. Given the ease of booking, collecting and renting the car, this might actually increase the demand for such cars. It is likely that many of BlueSG's potential customers are frequent users of Singapore's current public transport system. Furthermore, since the government would take over charging points and make them available to the public after the ten-year contract, the government can provide better incentives for people to switch to car-sharing rather than taking public transport.
Hence, although adopting this electric car-sharing system is sustainable both environmentally and economically in the long run, it is also important to regulate the use of it such that people do not switch from the current reliable public transport system to the electric car-sharing system. Incentives should be targeted to current normal car owners such that they switch from cars with internal combustion engines to such electric cars.
http://www.ucsusa.org/clean-vehicles/car-emissions-and-global-warming#.WC6tV_l942w
https://www.lta.gov.sg/apps/news/page.aspx?c=2&id=e030e95d-a82c-49b4-953c-fc4b3fad7924
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/electric-car-sharing-scheme-to-be-rolled-out-from-2017
http://www.eco-business.com/news/singapore-unveils-its-first-ev-car-sharing-scheme/
No comments:
Post a Comment