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Carsharing is becoming an important member of urban mobility systems. The relationship between carsharing and other travel modes, is the base for deciding the proportional role of carsharing. This article defines the relationship, competition or cooperation, based on whether carsharing strengthening or weakening the expected function of other travel modes from the transport system perspective. It proposes the relationship should be studied under the specific characteristics of carsharing trips (e.g., the spatiotemporal distribution), and establishes a method for evaluating the coordination of carsharing with other modes. A survey about carsharing trips was conducted, and valid data generated by 1,330 carsharing users were obtained. The spatiotemporal characteristics of carsharing substituting for subway, buses, taxis, private cars, and nonmotorized vehicles have been analyzed, and the substitution benefits were also evaluated. The results indicate that carsharing in Shanghai was mainly used for long-distance trips in suburbs during off-peak hours, which generally formed a cooperative relationship with public transit, taxis, and nonmotorized vehicles. Phenomenon that carsharing substituting for public transit mainly occurred in long-distance trips in suburbs, with an average 40–50 min travel time saving. Carsharing also substituted for long-distance non-motorized vehicle trips, which improved the mobility of those travelers. To further enhance the coordination, the layout of carsharing stations and operation strategies need to be optimized to reduce the carsharing travel demands during peak hours within urban areas, and to promote carsharing as a substitute for private cars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Station-based one-way carsharing benefits in a developing country. • The results in Shanghai are compared with the relevant research results in different cities in the world. • Operation data and questionnaire survey are combined to evaluate the carsharing's impact on vehicle ownership. • Characteristics of users affected by carsharing are analyzed and the key factors are identified. • Shanghai carsharing mainly suppresses vehicle growth by reducing individual willingness to buy a car. Carsharing is considered an important alternative to the private car. Based on the studies in Europe and North America, it is agreed that carsharing can reduce private car ownership. However, due to the differences in the development stages and characteristics of cities and transportation, it is unknown whether carsharing can also decrease car ownership in China, which results in a gap in the evaluation of carsharing in China. This paper takes the carsharing project EVCARD in Shanghai as an example. Based on survey data on vehicle ownership from users and actual operations data, the impacts of carsharing on selling cars, giving up and delaying purchasing a car in Shanghai are quantitatively analyzed. The results in Shanghai are compared with the relevant research results in different cities around the world. The results show that: (1) the carsharing project in Shanghai also has the benefit of reducing private car ownership. Each carsharing vehicle can replace 4.56 private cars. However, unlike in European and North American cities, Shanghai carsharing mainly suppresses vehicle growth by reducing individual willingness to buy a car, because the proportion of cars sold owing to carsharing is obviously lower than in Europe and North America. (2) For giving up car purchases, carsharing mainly suppresses the first car in the family. (3) Good public transport and carsharing services can substantially improve the substitution benefits of carsharing for private cars. If carsharing can reach the service level of "whenever and wherever carsharing is available", the proportion of users who sell, give up and delay buying cars will increase from 0.78%, 30% and 31% to 12%, 40% and 47% respectively. The findings in the study provide a quantitative basis for assessing the carsharing benefits on the reduction of vehicle ownership in China, and also provide a useful reference for evaluating carsharing benefits in other developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]