Car Sharing

China will support the country’s booming car-sharing industry and standardize its development, according to official guidelines released on August 8.

Unlike traditional car-rental services, car-sharing services take advantage of new technologies such as global positioning and mobile Internet. Such services improve user experience and offer an alternative for urban commuting, easing growing demand for private cars and parking space, according to guidelines released jointly by the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-rural Development.

Car-sharing companies should improve their services by checking the identity of users carefully and optimizing the supply of cars by using big data analysis, according to the guidelines. Companies are encouraged to use a credit-based model to evaluate the reliability of users instead of requiring them to pay guarantee deposits.

In terms of parking, public parking lots in shopping centers and large residential areas are encouraged to offer space for shared cars. Companies are also encouraged to use new energy vehicles as shared cars, with support given for charging facilities.