Car sharing — everything you should know

Just for the record — I believe car sharing is the new way of getting around and future of mobility. Until we get to the point when we can use autonomous cars and buses for daily commute or order UberElevate to visit your family living in another city, let’s focus on what is possible right now.

I will try to explain the different business models, types of rentals, advantages, disadvantages as well as list all issues which might be solved thanks to car sharing. Let’s start then!
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I. Types and business models
II. Advantages and disadvantages
III. Calculations and sample trips
IV. What problems might be solved by car sharing?
V. Tips and recommendations

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I. Types and business models

We can distinguish multiple types of car sharing:

1. Freefloating / Flexible

https://www.drive-now.com/de/en/munich/

Perfect choice when you need to get from point A to B. These vehicles are available in different locations across the city. You can pick it up and leave in the designated business zones. Insurance, parking and gas is almost always included (depending on the provider).

Good for: getting from point A to B, when you need transport right here, right now.
Some providers: Car2Go, DriveNow, DriveBy, COUP, Emmy, NextBike, Enjoy, Traficar, eCooltra, Muvi, Emov, ZigZag, Share’ngo, Greenwheels, Bipi.

2. Stationary / Roundtrip / Classic rental

https://www.ubeeqo.com/fr-fr

You pick up a vehicle from a specific station and you need to return it to the same station. It’s similar to a classic rental, but much easier. Sometimes you can pick up a vehicle in one city and leave it somewhere else.
Good for: longer and planned trips.
Some providers: Ubeeqo, Mobility, Cambio, Flinkster, Autolib, Koolicar.

3. P2P
This is in fact Classic / Stationary rental but the only difference is that you can rent a vehicle from other people instead of a rental company. It’s easier than you think, especially with Drivy which allows you to book and rent a car without even meeting its owner. All you need is their mobile app. Insurance is always included but you need to pay for gas yourself.
Good for: longer and planned trips.
Some providers: Drivy, GetAround.

4. Ride hailing
Every known alternative for classic cabs. Usually it’s much cheaper (unlike in Germany where Uber works just like a normal taxi). Open the app, order a car, driver picks you up and drops you off wherever you wish. You don’t need cash because the app will automatically charge your credit card after the ride.
Good for: cheaper and more convenient alternative for taxi.
Some providers: AlloCab, Uber, Lyft.

5. Ride sharing

http://clevershuttle.org/en/home/

Why would you pay for 3 seats in your Uber if you need only 1? Ride-sharing allows you to book a specific number of seats and share your ride with strangers. It is obviously cheaper than normal ride-hailing options.
Good for: even cheaper alternative for taxi.
Some providers: CleverShuttle, Uber Pool (available in selected locations, Spare.

Among those types we can distinguish multiple ways of charging you for each rental. You might be charged by:

a) minute
b) hour
c) day
d) km
e) time package (e.g. Car2Go offers packages of 2,4, 6 or 24h)

III. Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages

1. You don’t pay for insurance.
2. You don’t pay for parking / garage.
3. You don’t pay for parking in city center.
4. You don’t pay for gas.
5. You don’t pay for maintenance / new parts / repairs.
6. You don’t pay for car itself = you don’t need to buy / lease a car.
7. You don’t worry about someone scratching your car.
8. There are multiple dedicated parking spots near shopping malls or airports you can use to park your shared car.

Disadvantages

1. Sometimes you may not find a car when you need it, especially when you are in vastly occupied area and everyone is looking for a car or when you live in a city which doesn’t offer good coverage of car sharing companies.
2. You loose the personal touch of your car. You can’t adjust it to your own needs and wishes because you use a different car every single time.
3. Sometimes you may experience some technical difficulties such as:
   - not being able to open / lock a vehicle
   - unresponsive support
   - dirty interior (yeah, people are disgusting sometimes…)
4. It may be tricky when your phone battery dies. In many cases you won’t be able to end rental but some providers take care of this (DriveNow — you can end rental in 3 different ways, Car2Go — after you leave the car, rental will end automatically after 12 seconds).

III. Calculations and sample trips

Let’s have a look at some quick calculations for the average monthly distance you travel by car (200, 500 and 1000km). Let’s assume you bought a 7 years old Citroen C4 for 6000€ and you want to drive it for the next 6 years (1000€/y).
Calculations below don’t include costs of parking in the city centre.

1. I ride from time to time

Buying an used car: 1000€ / y
Insurance: 300€ / y
Maintenance and parts: 300€ / y
Garage: 100€ / m = 1200€ / y
Gas (200km/month, 7l / 100km): 21€ / m = 250€ / y

Sum: 3050€ / 12 months = 254€ (1,27€ / km)

2. I ride often but not too much

Buying an used car: 1000€ / y
Insurance: 300€ / y
Maintenance and parts: 400€ / y
Garage: 100€ / m = 1200€ / y
Gas (400km/month, 7l / 100km): 42€ / m = 500€ / y

Sum: 3400€ / 12 months = 283€ (0,7€ / km)

3. I ride a lot

Buying an used car: 1000€ / y
Insurance: 300€ / y
Maintenance and parts: 500€ / y
Garage: 100€ / m = 1200€ / y
Gas (1 000km/month, 7l / 100km): 105€ / m = 1250€ / y

Sum: 4250€ / 12 months = 354€ (0,35€ / km)

Conclusion:
It is clear that if you do up to 400km / month you have no reason for buying a car. If you do from 400 to 1000km / month, depending on many factors, you may also find car sharing cheaper than a classic ownership. If you do more than 1000km /month, it shouldn’t be up for debate as you obviously need a car.

Sample trips

Google Maps

Berlin
Schonefeld Airport > Kreuzberg (19,9km, 31min),
Car2Go (Mercedes A class): 9,60€

Mauerpark (Mitte) > Lichtenberg (9km, 20min)
COUP scooter: 3€ (3€ / 30 min)

Lisbon
Lisbon Airport > Praça do Comércio (9,2km, 22min),
DriveNow (BMW 1 series): 7,30€

Algés > Park of Necessidades (13km, 20min),
eCooltra scooter(Mercedes A class): 4,80€

Barcelona
Park Güell > Plaça de Catalunya (5,2km, 17min),
Muvi scooter: 3,60€

History Museum of Catalonia > Diagonal Mar (4,5km, 12min),
eCooltra scooter: 2,90€

Rome
Rome Ciampino Airport > City centre (15km, 35min),
Enjoy (Fiat500): 8,75€

Colosseum > St. Peter’s Basilica (6,2km, 22min),
Car2Go (Mercedes A class): 6,40€

IV. What problems might be solved by car sharing

1. Traffic jams — less cars, less traffic. The Economist says, one rental car can replace up to 15 owned vehicles.
2. Parking spots — If 10,000 people switch to car sharing and one car will be used only by 10 of them every day, we end up with 1,000 occupied parking spots instead of 10,000, which essentially gives us 9,000 free parking spots available.
3. Air pollution — car sharing companies usually offer eco-friendly cars (hybrid or 100% electric cars). In some cities (e.g. Krakow, Poland), electric cars are allowed to drive into the very city centre.

V. Tips & recommendations

Some people complain that car sharing is not convenient, expensive and not reliable. The biggest problem is that often times they have no clue how to use it properly. There are multiple providers offering different business models, rates, cars and conditions. You need to do a bit more research before you actually start using car sharing or you can just download (one of the biggest I believe) car sharing aggregator like Free2Move.

1. Short trip (1–2km)
   Just take a Next Bike or a Donkey Republic. Two kilometres is not enough to get sweaty and uncomfortable and a bike is definitely faster than walking.
2. Normal trip (2–5km)
   If you want to get somewhere quickly without worrying about traffic jams, get an Emmy or a COUP. They offer reliable and quick electric scooters.
3. Shopping (5–10km)
   I would recommend Car2Go, DriveNow or Drive By, whereas the last one charges you by kms instead of minutes. They offer small and medium cars which is perfect for shopping or a quick detour with pack of friends.
4. Day trip
   I would recommend Ubeeqo, DriveNow or Car2Go (with a daily package). This way you will be charged for the whole day instead of minutes which makes it much more comfortable for you and your wallet.
5. Weekend trip
   I would personally take Ubeeqo or Drivy (you pay for gas by yourself). You get a lot of flexibility by renting a car for the whole weekend and you don’t need to worry about any extra costs. Just keep in mind the limit of kms or you could pay some additional fee.

I also have some tips for you:

1. Choose the right vehicle. If you are going to the city centre, don’t take an Audi A3 (DriveBy) or a BMW X1 (DriveNow). Take a Fiat 500 (DriveBy) or a Smart (C2G). Otherwise you will spend more time looking for a parking spot than actually driving.
2. Book smart during rush hour. Some customers complain that it’s not possible to get a car between 8 - 10 or 16 - 19 because they will most likely by gone. Well, that’s because car sharing is getting more and more popular and people use it for their daily commute. Book a bit earlier and rebook if needed. Consider showing up at work a bit earlier so that you can leave earlier.
3. Don’t keep your rental running. End your current rental, go shopping and then (in the meantime) try finding a new vehicle.
4. Plan your trip and save money. With DriveNow it is possible to select your destination beforehand which enables the next person to book the vehicle you are using even before you get there. This way you can not only save some money on the journey itself, but also hand over your car to a potential booker without looking for a parking spot. Smart, isn’t it?
5. Use the minutes packages / vouchers to save money. If you know you are going to use car sharing a lot, buy some package to decrease costs, e.g. normally you would pay 180€ for 500 minutes of driving Mini Convertible from DriveNow. If you buy one of their Savings Packages, you can use 500 minutes for 0,25€ / min.

I hope you liked this article and I somehow helped you to either enter the car sharing world or learn some useful tips so that you can enjoy your trips even more.

Clap it up!

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About me
UX Designer, based in Berlin. I work in car sharing industry providing simple solutions to complicated problems and embracing car sharing as future of mobility.
http://michalkrzton.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michalkrzton/

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