In Germany and beyond there is a widespread social and political discussion on a “mobility turnaround”, which refers to the technological and behavioural change of the entire transport sector towards sustainability goals. Within that approach of a “mobility turnaround” the concept of car-sharing is universally seen as a central component. This attribution is mainly based on the presumed combination of the advantages of rationally using a car on one hand without baring the negative social effects of a private-car ownership.
Until recently, however, it has not been legally possible in Germany to reserve exclusive parking spaces for carsharing vehicles in public spaces. Carsharing stations could therefore only be located in private spaces, which in turn was a strong limiting factor in the expansion of the service. With the introduction of the German “Carsharing Law” in 2017, municipalities were given the possibility to identify and assign exclusive parking spaces in public areas, which now serves as an instrument for targeted planning of carsharing services.
The following contribution presents an overview of the typical organizational and operational forms, use-cases and user groups of casharing services. The positive and negative effects are identified, classified and discussed. Further, the paper proposes how an ideal carsharing service should be designed from a municipal and transport planning perspective.
Based on this general findings, the contribution presents the exemplary approach of the city of Wiesbaden. The municipality allocates public spaces to private-sector providers based on a defined comprehensive network concept. Within that concept public spaces are only tendered to providers in accordance with clearly defined targets and operational standards. With that approach Wiesbaden is proactively fostering a city-wide carsharing network as an integrated mobility service.

carsharing, urban mobility, multimodality, sustainable mobility, traffic planning