Assessing the Effect of Shared Mobility on Transport Energy in a University Campus – Focusing on Young College Students in Ningbo, China

This study focuses on understanding the effects of shared mobility on travel behaviours and transport energy in the university campus. Using survey data collected from college students in Ningbo, China, a substitution model was developed to identify changes in travel modes with the introduction of shared mobility on college campuses and to quantify its impact on net energy saving. Considering the average time travelled and the life cycle energy unit of the trip, the before-and-after analysis was conducted to determine the travel behaviours and related transport energy of college students in 2016 and 2019. Compared with the data of 2016 when no shared mobility was introduced, 2019 data revealed three changes in travel behaviours. First, although the total number of trips per person decreased slightly, the trip distance increased in 2019. Second, the energy for trips by each student increased by 25% from 19,809 KJ in 2016 to 24,897 KJ in 2019. Third, the overall energy efficiency of the trips decreased. In conclusion, the effect of shared mobility introduced in the university campus on reducing the transport energy of college students has not been satisfactory.