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Share/Transport 2012
The Third International Share/Transport Forum - Jiaozou China 2012 Introduction
This International Forum, the third in the series which got first underway in 2010 in Kaohsiung and met again in Changzhe in 2011, is once again bringing together leading thinkers and sharing transport practitioners from the People's Republic of China, Asia and the world, to examine the concept of "shared transport" (as opposed to individual vehicle ownership or established forms of public transport) from a multi-disciplinary perspective, with a strong international and Chinese-speaking contingent. The concept of shared transport is at once old and new, formal and informal, but above all one that is growing very fast and changing in many respects just as fast as it grows. Something important is clearly going on, and this year's event will look at this carefully and from many angles, in the hope of providing a broader strategic base for advancing not just the individual shared modes (e.g., car-share, ride-share, bike-share, taxi-share, street-share, time-share, cost-share, etc.), but of combining them to advance the sustainable transport agenda of our cities more broadly. Are we at a turning point? Is sharing already starting to be a more broadly used and relevant social/economic pattern? Is there an over-arching concept at the base of all this which we can identify and put to work for people and the planet? And what do you need to look at and do to make your specific sharing project work? These are some of the issues that we shall be examining with prominent invited speakers from the fields of economics, politics, psychology, who will join transportation experts to discuss these trends. Hosted this year in the dynamic city of Jiaozou with its strong industrial tradition, the event will take place during Car Free Day celebrations, which conference guests will be encouraged to join. The event will include presentations on leading projects related to transport sharing taking place globally. and above all will be taking care to present the various projects, modes and approaches in the very necessary broader sustainable transport, sustainable cities (and sustainable lives) context. Because if the vehicles, technology and delivery systems of the various share transport modes are important, transport sharing at the end of the day is basically about people and the choices they make.
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To fill out this quick image of introduction you will find here a "mind map" which is meant to give a visual clue as to the quite large variety of modes, media, motivations and values that together constitute the share/transport agenda.
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"On the whole, you find wealth more in use than in ownership."
Forms of Share/Transport
And here you have the initial brainstorming list that we developed as a broad framework to sort through and figure out which of the shared transport modes and cross-cutting vectors should be selected for consideration by the conference. (This list has been discussed, prioritized, pruned and consolidated as useful for the conference. It will be reconsidered and revised as useful, subject to what the Forum helps us to better understand.) 1. Bike/sharing (Check out the informal 30 second video on this at http://www.vimeo.com/6856553 ) 2. Car/sharing (includes both formal and informal arrangements 3. Fleet-sharing 4. Ride/sharing (carpools, van pools, hitchhiking - organized and informal). 5. Taxi/sharing 6. DRT and paratransit 7. Shared/Parking 8. Truck/Van/Sharing (combined delivery, other) 9. Street/sharing 1 (example: BRT streets shared between buses, cyclists, taxis, emergency vehicles) 10. Street/sharing 2 (streets used by others for other (non-transport) reasons as well.) 11. Public space/Sharing 12. Work place sharing (neighborhood telework centers; virtual offices; co-workplace; hoteling) 13. Sharing SVS (small vehicle systems: DRT, shuttles, community buses, etc.) 14. Cost/Sharing 15. Time/Sharing 16. Successful integration of public transport within a shared transport city? Including bus and rail 17. Team/sharing 18. Knowledge/Sharing (including this conference)
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Not that environmental issues have disappeared entirely from the screen, but in addition to the above here are some of the reasons that are cited by users and observers: Economy Environmental Equity Fair Flexible Friendly Hopeful Human Informal Peer-to-Peer Presence Profitable Responsible Social
Let's not forget that people use share transport not because they are ordered to do it, but because they chose to do it. So if we want more people to get out of their cars and use something better for themselves and the community as a whole, it is good to keep this in mind for both planning, policy and operational purposes. And oh yes, and this is not as trivial as it may at first seem. People increasingly like to us share transport because they think it is cool. Policy makers and entrepreneurs will do well to keep their eyes on this. To conclude: What you have here are intended as background materials and views to encourage the discussions and exchanges in Jiaozou. Upon completion of the Forum it is our intention to report on the main finds, conclusions and recommendations. All of which should be helpful to prepare the base for the planned 2013 Forum.
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