With the number of car sharers worldwide forecasted to reach 36 million by 2025, chances are it will become a very common method of travel in the future. — dpa
Here's a puzzle for you: You can't afford a car but want to drive regularly for short periods, what's the solution?
With taxis and rentals too pricey, and public transport not always flexible enough, you are left with only one option: Car sharing.
A rising phenomenon on our roads, car sharing is a specific type of rental system, whereby a community of drivers rent cars for short periods of time.
With the number of car sharers worldwide forecasted to reach 36 million by 2025 – 29 million more than it was ten years prior, according to Statistics portal Statista – chances are it will become a very common method of travel in the future.
So here is a rundown of the key workings of the system, and whether or not it fits your needs as a traveller.
"Car sharing is suitable for anyone who needs a car on a recurring basis, but not every day," says Anja Smetanin from Auto Club Europa (ACE). "They do not drive more than 10,000 kilometres per year."
As for the rental programmes available for car sharing, there are two common variations: station-based car sharing and free-floating sharing.
The former refers to a rental system whereby the vehicles involved are parked in a fixed place where customers can borrow them from, with the condition that they also leave them at a fixed location.
This is suitable for motorists that want to drive several routes consecutively and need a car near them at the weekend.
Those who only plan a single journey from A to B are better served with free-floating offers. "City cars can be parked and rented anywhere in a vendor-designated area," says Smetanin about the free-floating system.
Several providers offer both options, with bookings normally made via telephone, computer or smartphone app.
The membership costs either a registration fee or a few euros a month, usually billed afterwards based on time and/or route. Fuel is included in the costs by all providers.
Generally, station-based car sharing is the cheaper option, with a drive in a small car in a European city, for example, costing somewhere between €4 and €8 (RM19 and RM38) per hour, compared to more than twice as much as that in the free floating option.
In the case of station-based vehicles, the start and end times of the journey usually have to be defined beforehand, while free-floating is much more flexible in this regard. – dpa
Limited time offer:
Just RM5 per month.
