As the costs of car ownership get higher and higher, it becomes increasingly difficult to justify buying a car, especially if you live in a town or city with good public transport.
However, no matter how good your local transport system is, there are always times when it is simply impossible to get to your chosen destination, either because there are no services at the time you want to travel, or they simply don’t operate in this location. This is particularly true during the festive season when many transport operators are providing a reduced service.
Mobility Car Sharing is an innovative service, which aims to fill this gap, and makes available 2,350 vehicles at 1,200 stations throughout Switzerland. Mobility customers can also car-share when they’re abroad. There are currently more than 1,700 cars in 140 towns and cities throughout Austria and Germany.
Booking a car is extremely simple. You can either:
• reserve a car online using the Internet-customer portal
• book using the “mobility car” app on your iPhone
• call a 24 hour Service Center
• use the on-board computer inside your Mobility vehicle
To “collect” your car, you simply need to turn up at a Mobility station, hold your Mobility Card against a checkpoint on the screen, and the central locking will disengage automatically. There are numerous vehicle types to choose from, ranging from smaller Budget and Micro cars through to more stylish Fashion cars and much larger Minivan and Transport cars.
There are a number of subscription options, many available at discounted prices. If you just want to try out the service for a few months, then you can opt for a Trial Subscription for 4 months. This costs just Fr. 40.- if you own a Cumulus card, or Fr. 70.- without. To see the full range of services on offer, visit the website at http://www.mobility.ch/en/pub/index.cfm.
Mobility features on Page 64 of Know-it-all passport 2011/2012.
Photo by Mobility Car Sharing Switzerland
