Trial of car-sharing scheme at CERN

On 6 July, a sample group of approximately 500 users started a six-month trial of a new car-sharing scheme. The project is an initiative of the General Infrastructure Services Department (GS), in collaboration with the Physics Department (PH) and Hertz car rentals.

 

How many times have you found yourself searching fruitlessly for a parking space? How many times have you decided against using your car to run a short errand because you were worried about being able to find another parking space? Over the last 50 years, the number of users at CERN has grown steadily, and it is gratifying that the total number now exceeds 10,000. Other contributing factors include the re-start of the LHC and the introduction of the new tram line in May 2011, which is expected to lead to people parking their vehicles at CERN for the purpose of taking the tram into Geneva.. This is why transportation has become an important priority. The present trial is an integral part of CERN's urban plan.

Today there are some 13,000 personal automobiles being used at CERN, and another 1,000 official CERN vehicles. The official vehicles average some 5,000 km per year, which shows that vehicle utilisation at CERN is not optimum. Given the broad consensus that we must all do our part to protect the environment and reduce carbon dioxide emissions, it has become imperative to rationalise and optimise the fleet of vehicles. Isabelle Mardirossian, head of the Logistics Section in the GS Department, explains: “The aim of the car-sharing project is to provide a broader range of transportation options without increasing the number of CERN vehicles being driven on the site; the level of service should be the same or better, while keeping costs under control.”

For the next six months, 19 cars strategically positioned around the Meyrin and Prévessin sites will be made available to the users in the sample group. "The Physics Department got involved in the project because of its familiarity with this method of car-sharing. We already possess 170 cars shared by some 3,000 users. And it works very well,” explains Sébastien Auerbach of the Space Management and Infrastructure Section in the Physics Department’s Administration and General Services Group (PH-AGS-SI). “This will be a supplement to the existing services such as the regular CERN shuttles and carpooling, and should improve the quality of services while meeting a wider range of users’ needs,” adds Véronique Marchal, who heads the GS Department's Site Engineering and Management Group office.

The members of the sample group have already been selected. If the test results are deemed successful, CERN will set up a car-sharing scheme, probably using more environmentally friendly cars, such as electric cars. When that happens, you will all have the opportunity to use them.

 

by Laëtitia Pedroso