Around the world the idea of status is changing from ownership to accessibility, and people are questioning if it is really worth owning a vehicle, or if it would be better to just have access to a sharing scheme instead. In this blog, I take a look at what I consider to be the pros and cons of vehicle ownership vs vehicle sharing.
For the ownership question, I have considered this to refer to direct ownership. As for the car sharing, this is simply access to any carsharing scheme which can be found across many cities. These are typically operated by a private company who organise and maintain the vehicles. Communal vehicles will have some commonalities with this concept, though this has not been my main consideration for this blog.
Car Ownership
| Pros | Cons |
| Status
This is a big theme for both sides of the argument. If it’s my car, then owning a car is still some kind of achievement. It shows that I have worked hard and been able to afford a vehicle which I can be proud of. |
Parking
Parking is a pain and is getting worse. Before I take any trip with my car, I often have to first google the parking houses and check their prices so that I don’t get stuck or stung. It is horrible when you can’t find a place to park, especially if you are already running late. |
| Personalised
When I get in my car I don’t need to adjust my seat or mirrors as they are in the right position because I drove the car last. In the centre console I have my favourite sweets, tissues and hand sanitiser and I know that it is always there. |
Cost
TCS Switzerland estimates that the total yearly cost of owning a car is approximately CHF 6,600 of fixed costs and almost CHF 4,000 of on-road cost if you drive 15,000 km a year. This amounts to a total cost of over CHF 10,000 each year. That’s a lot of money! |
| Space
I can throw as much stuff in the car as I like. This means that I don’t have to limit what I take with me and reduces my stress of needing to decide. This is true for any journey that I take, be it an overnight stay somewhere or just a trip to the shops. I am not limited by what I can fit in my backpack, but rather what can be jammed into the car. |
Depreciation
According to the AA (the UK roadside recovery service), after just 3 years, a new car will be worth only 40% of its original value. This means that the financial worth of the vehicle has dropped by a massive 60%. The reduced value of the vehicle will most likely be felt by the owner also, as the car loses its new car smell, has a couple of dings and costs a lot of money, the car will also reduce in its perceived value. |
Car Sharing
| Pros | Cons |
| Status
According to research, in this day and age the status symbol is changing from ownership to access. Showing that you have the courage of going car-free and using a sharing scheme instead, is something you can be proud of. |
Comfort
Yes, it’s not your car, so you can’t fill the CD player with your favourite CDs or program the radio the way you like. Every time that you jump in the car, you will need to adjust the mirrors and seats and crank the windows open to air out the previous users. |
| It’s not your problem
Once you return the vehicle to a designated parking place, you can lock it and walk away. If you decided to go out for some drinks after work then that’s fine, you can catch a train home and don’t need to worry about getting back to your car. The same is true for the upkeeping of the vehicle. Cleaning, insurance and repairs are no longer your problem. These are taken care of as part of the subscription. This will save you a lot of time and messing around. |
Freedom
Depending on the system you are using, you are most likely to need to reserve your car in advance. This takes away your autonomy to move around when you want. Rather, you will be stuck to some kind of schedule and unable to follow your own whims. |
| Parking
Most car sharing schemes have designated parks allocated to them in park houses and by train stations. This means that you just need to get there, park and walk away. This makes life a lot easier as you don’t need to pay or search for places to park.
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Cost
Obviously entering into such a scheme comes with some costs. According to Mobility (a Swiss car sharing scheme) the costs are typically split into two categories, there is the mileage cost of using the vehicle, which includes all the insurance, cleaning and fuel, and there is a per hour cost. The mileage cost is typically between CHF 0.50/km and CHF 1.50/km. The hourly usage rates are rather low, but if you want to have a shared car sit in your driveway overnight, you can end up paying between CHF 2 and CHF 9 an hour for nothing. And that’s not to mention any additional membership costs. |
Weighing up the two arguments
When I started writing this blog, I actually wanted to compare the pros and cons of ownership and sharing for different mobility types including bicycles. However, very quickly I realised that many of the benefits and drawbacks are actually the same regardless of the vehicle type. A car for many of us, is the most expensive piece of mobility that we can afford and is thus a good baseline for investigating the differences.
What I haven’t addressed in this blog is that all this is not so black and white. By this I mean that the alternative to car ownership is not necessarily just carsharing, but rather it can be an array of different access possibilities. In Switzerland, this includes the Swiss GA travel card (which gives you access to unlimited public transport across the country), as well as signing up for the different micromobility schemes that we see in our cities.
The reason that the ownership questions can’t be viewed through a simple black and white lens is that there is no scheme (that I know of) that gives you access to everything. For the time being, if you wish to be free of physical ownership, then be prepared for multiple subscriptions.
That is it for this week. Shoot me a comment below if you have any opinions on the topic.
Photo by Suzy Hazelwood from Pexels
I agree with a lot of your pros and cons! Regarding car sharing though, especially with Mobility, I’ve been struggling with the fact that their model is designed for cars to go from A to B and then back to A. Car2Go, a service provided by Daimler, allows you to park the car on any legal parking spot – that avoids having to pay for a car that’s just standing around at your work for instance.
I was also wondering how the TCS calculates these costs – I’d be guessing those numbers would look quite different for a car that has already passed its peak depreciation. I’d say for a used +/- 5K car that uses relatively little gas, ownership cost would likely be lower than a combination of ride sharing and public transport, wouldn’t you agree?
Thanks for your feedback. Yes, you have a good point there. They assign 29.8% of the cost to amortisation, which would be very little for a 5K car. Also, 14% for the cost is for putting the vehicle in a garage, which you wouldn’t really bother with if it is older anyways.