How does Car-Sharing work?

When you become a member of a Car-Sharing service, you pay a deposit and receive your personal key , as well as a booklet showing the cars available in your town. The use of these cars will now be as easy as booking a tennis court. You will have access to the cars at any time of day.

1. Order
Reservations can be made on the phone any time, any day. You can make reservations in advance or on the spur of the moment. You are free to choose a car at any station. Usually, however, you will order a car close to you.

2. Drive
You will find the Car-Sharing cars at local sites in reserved parking places. There is a safe, lockable store at every location that contains the car keys. You need to pick up the key of the car you've booked. Since there is no staff at the parking spot, you need to check the condition of the car and return it in the same state.

3. Return
You fill in a simple receipt showing your mileage and return the car keys and the receipt to the locker. You keep a copy of the receipt to check your monthly bill, which will show every trip. Some Car-Sharing services gather data on the use of the cars electronically, so you don't have to fill in forms at all.

... it's that easy!

So as a member of a Car-Sharing organisation all you need is your key and a phone .
Your Car-Sharing organisation will deal with car maintenance, insurance, and all the other hassles car owners usually have to deal with themselves.

... just the driving is left to you.

More information about the partnership between Public Transport and Car-Sharing can be found in "The moses guide: Keys to Car-Sharing" and in the Bremen Paper (PDF format - 200k) .

Do all cars fulfil European emission standards?

Are the cars well maintained and kept in use for several years?

Does the service report on its environmental effects, for example private car use substituted, mileage used?

How does Car-Sharing improve urban life and the environment?

More space!
Each Car-Sharing vehicle replaces 5 to 6 private cars. Therefore it becomes possible to build more green parks instead of more car parks. In this way Car-Sharing helps increase the green space necessary to make cities liveable.

Air to breath!
Since Car-Sharing customers tend to use other means of transport (public transport, bicycles, taxis, etc), they drive less. A study commissioned by the Swiss Office for Energy Affairs showed that former car owners reduce their energy consumption for transport by 50% when they join a Car-Sharing organisation. This results in a decrease of pollution, energy consumption, noise and traffic accidents.

Can I make reservations 24 hours a day?

Do I have access to the cars at any time of the day?

Is spontaneous booking possible less than one hour before starting the trip?

Can the cars be booked just for a single hour?

Are the cars parked close to my home?

Is there a limit to my liability if something goes wrong such as an accident?

Will the charges always relate to the distance driven as well as to the length of hire.