Sharing is Caring
In 2023 and 2024, Aarhus Municipality embarked on a groundbreaking collaboration with a carpooling platform provider to investigate the thresholds of incentives necessary to make carpooling an attractive option for young students. Over the initial five months of the trial period, some 30,000 rides spanning two kilometres or more have been completed.
Several cities, including Aarhus, have been striving for years to integrate carpooling into their sustainable mobility systems. However, identifying a viable business model that aligns with Denmark’s current legislation has proven challenging for municipalities. During a trial period from September 2023 to April 2024, Aarhus Municipality supported carpooling among students attending educational institutions in the city.
Carpool drivers were compensated 15 Danish kroner (approximately €2) per trip through the carpooling platform, while passengers enjoyed the first 10 kilometres of the journey for free, equivalent to 10 Danish kroner (around €1.35). Consequently, a carpool trip spanning 10 km with one passenger receives a subsidy of 25 kroner (approximately €3.35) from the municipality.
The overarching goal behind launching the project was to lay the groundwork for a dialogue about the future framework of carpooling in Aarhus. The aim was to ensure that the municipality's support for carpooling in the future remains equitable, economically viable, and contributes to the green transition of transport in Aarhus.
Does carpooling improve mobility for students in areas underserved by public transport?
Completed carpooling trips originating
or ending in Aarhus Municipality
between January and April 2024
NaboGo
One of the primary motivations behind the carpooling experiment is to address mobility challenges faced by students residing in areas with limited access to traditional public transport. By tracking the usage patterns and destinations of rideshare participants, the municipality of Aarhus aims to determine if carpooling effectively supplements the existing transport infrastructure.
The map provided by the carpooling platform operator displays completed trips within the municipality from January to April 2024. Aarhus’ objective is to identify patterns where carpooling trips serve as shortcuts between public transport nodes and originate in areas with limited or no public transport coverage. However, the map exhibits bias, as most trips originate from densely populated areas where public transport accessibility is robust.
In their analysis, the municipality seeks to identify shortcuts, primarily focusing on routes originating from the outskirts of the municipality that do not directly lead to the city centre. Aarhus boasts a semi-radial public transport system, with buses typically travelling into the city centre from one side and exiting from another. Thus, lines trending almost horizontally, both to the south and north of the city, can be interpreted as potential shortcuts.
What are the viable models for carpooling services to be offered to citizens?
Sketch of a possible carpooling model in Aarhus, where trips starting farthest away from high-frequency public transport (yellow) and ending at a highfrequency hub are subsidised
Gustav Friis
Aarhus Municipality's initiative rests on the belief that offering monetary incentives can stimulate interest in carpooling among young students.
While the project has not undergone a comprehensive evaluation yet, the carpooling platform provider notes a significant surge in platform participation and completed trips due to the incentives. On one hand, it indicated that the incentives are effective. On the other hand, it raises concerns about expanding the model to serve all individuals currently underserved by public transport. The trial was promoted at three educational institutions — just a fraction of the total number of educational institutions in one of Denmark's youngest cities.
Therefore, Aarhus Municipality is actively seeking a sustainable approach to support carpooling — preferably through financial means — yet ensuring it is a model that can also be offered to carpooling platforms without burdening municipal budgets. This requires that the subsidies primarily benefit citizens who have no other options than the private car, or citizens for whom public transport is such a poor alternative that they resort to car usage or avoid travel altogether.
In comparison to neighbouring municipalities, Aarhus Municipality boasts a large student population and a well-established public transport system. Nonetheless, there remain coverage gaps where demand for public transport is so low that it becomes disproportionately expensive to operate. Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) serves as a solution to this challenge in Aarhus; however, carpooling presents a potentially more cost-effective alternative. Hence, in 2024, Aarhus Municipality will explore the prospect of applying the DRT approach to carpooling.
By exploring various pricing structures, technological platforms, and partnership opportunities, the municipality aims to lay a robust foundation for sustainable carpooling initiatives that align with broader urban mobility strategies.
Can carpooling significantly contribute to CO2 reduction in the municipality's transport sector?
A core component of Aarhus Municipality's sustainability agenda is curbing carbon emissions associated with transport. By promoting carpooling as a viable alternative to single-occupancy vehicle trips, the municipality envisions a potential decrease in CO2 emissions.
With an ambitious target of achieving carbon neutrality by 2030 and a transport sector that is not transitioning rapidly enough on its own, it is essential to reduce the number of kilometres driven by fossil fuel-powered vehicles. Maximising the use of the countless empty seats traversing our roads every day holds the key to a more sustainable mobility system. However, this requires a collective recognition of carpooling as an integral part of Aarhus’ mobility system. Therefore, it is crucial to persist in making carpooling appealing to young people — the future commuters.
Transitioning takes time, and with just five years until 2030, we must strive to make green mobility attractive and the default choice for a much broader demographic than it presently encompasses. While carpooling is just a small piece of the puzzle, it holds promise for advancement through technological innovations, improved legislation, and a heightened willingness to embrace sustainable travel options and practices.
By evaluating the efficacy of incentives and their impact on student mobility and by exploring future service models, the municipality sets a precedent for a data-driven approach to urban mobility planning and policymaking. This approach not only enhances the liveability, sustainability, and inclusivity of Aarhus's transport ecosystem, but also sets a model for cities globally.
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About the author:
Gustav Friis holds a master’s degree in Urban Planning. Prior to joining the City of Aarhus as Project Manager in 2014, he worked on mobility for the City of Aalborg and POLIS. In Aarhus, he works on smart mobility projects aimed at changing travel behaviour and reducing congestion and carbon emissions.
