(Finance) – Italian sharing mobility is now a mature sector: after years of growth between 2023 and 2024, in fact, the total number of rentals and the total distances of sharing services remain substantially stable, as does the overall turnover of the sector, 178 million euros in 2023, slightly growing compared to 2022. As reported by the Energia Oltre Press Agency, the Italian sharing mobility fleet of 81,000 vehicles is made up of 86% of scooters and bicycles (44% respectively and 42%), 9% from cars and 5% from scooters. The percentage of zero-emission vehicles is very high: 95%.
These are the main data that emerge from the 8th National Report on sharing mobility presented on the occasion of Intermobility Future Ways, the First National Forum on Shared Mobility which takes place in Rimini until 21 November as part of IBE (Intermobility and bus expo), by the National Observatory of Sharing Mobility, promoted by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security and the Foundation for Sustainable Development.
“The Italian vehicle sharing sector – he observed Raimondo Orsini, Coordinator of the National Sharing Mobility Observatory – is in a phase of transformation, oriented towards greater economic sustainability and more effective valorisation of user demand, also favored by greater awareness and knowledge of institutional stakeholders”.
CARSHARING CHANGES YOUR SKIN – The car-sharing fleet returns to pre-pandemic levels (almost 8,000 vehicles in total), with a sharp increase in hybrid and electric cars. Free-floating carsharing is moving towards longer rentals: distances are growing significantly (78 million km in 2023 and almost 90 million expected for 2024), also supported by the introduction of hourly or daily rental options in the offer from many operators.
The average rental duration also grows, going from 34 minutes to 88 minutes. The number of rentals remains stable at 2020 levels (around 6 million). Station-based carsharing shows stability both in terms of demand and supply (1200 vehicles for around 300 thousand rentals per year) and the duration of the average rental here too has grown significantly in the last two years.
BIKESHARING FLYES – Bikesharing, among all, is the sector that presents the most relevant innovations in 2023. There is a strong increase in shared electric bicycles, especially in free-floating services, often managed by the same operators of shared scooters. Currently, free-floating electric bikes represent 62% of the total shared bicycle fleet in Italy and the cities with the highest number of e-bikes are Milan, Rome and Bologna.
Demand is also growing, with a 12% increase in rentals between 2022 and 2023 (11 and a half million) and a forecast of further growth of 22% for 2024. Similar trend also for mileage: in 2023 yes they count 25 million km done in free-floating bikesharing. Station-based bikesharing shows stability compared to the previous year (around 4 million rentals per year), although the first data for 2024 suggests a potential increase in demand.
FEWER SCOOTERS – 2023 marks a turning point for scooter sharing services. After an accelerated and in some cases disorderly expansion from 2019 onwards, which led to market saturation, in 2023 we will see a rationalization of the sector: some experiments are concluded, some operators abandon the Italian market, and several cities publish new tenders to limit the number of vehicles and operators (an example of which is the city of Milan).
This reorganization has led to a reduction of around 18,000 vehicles between 2022 and early 2024. Despite this, rentals remain stable at around 25 million, although average mileages have decreased from 2.5 km to 2.1. Between 2022 and 2023, capital cities with an active sharing scooter service dropped from 47 to 35.
EXCELLENT NUMBERS ALSO FOR SCOOTER SHARING – The offer has undergone a drastic contraction: the number of active services decreased from 22 to 10 between 2022 and 2023, and the number of vehicles also decreased by more than half at the beginning of 2024. In this context , operator Cooltra has become dominant, with 90% of vehicles available in the fleet in April 2024, tripling its market share from 31% in 2022.
Despite the reduction in vehicles and operators, rentals carried out in 2023 reached a new record, reaching 4.5 million, even if the first months of 2024 suggest a drop of around 20% compared to 2023, a sign of a possible slowdown of demand in the near future.
ACCIDENTS DOWN – The accident rate linked to sharing micromobility services is further reduced, probably thanks to greater familiarity of the users themselves. Accidents per 100,000 rentals are decreasing for all services: -11% for scooters, -7% for scooters and -48% for bicycles. Modena and Rome are the cities with the highest number of sharing scooter accidents.
For the first time, quantitative data on the DRT (demand responsive transport) sector is presented in the 8th National Report on Sharing Mobility. The data shows an increase in the offer of services, which in the spring of 2024 will reach 41, mainly active in the Northern regions. Services tripled between 2022 and 2023 and increased by a further 40% in the first months of 2024. There are therefore both urban and extra-urban services, some operating all year round and others seasonal, with variable hours and days of operation. In 2023, there will be over 600,000 passengers transported.
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