Cambio

I have mentioned before that we are in a car share program called Cambio. It is perfect for us because we only need a car one or two times a week, and Cambio makes it very easy to use. It is basically like renting a car, but I can use it for only two hours if I want. Some of the best parts of it are that gas and insurance are included in the cost, you open the car with a card, so you don't have to deal with people, and you don't have to return the car with a full tank of gas (just 1/4 tank!)

The cost of Cambio sounds bad at first, but compared to owning a car, we are still saving a lot of money. However, I often wonder how the amount people drive would be affected if you had to pay for driving like you do with Cambio. When you rent from Cambio, you pay 2 euros each hour you have the car and .33 per kilometer you go. There is a display screen in the car that shows how many kilometers you have been, so it is very easy to calculate as you are driving how much your bill will be.

For instance, I rented the car the other day for five hours and drove 55 km which makes my bill for that trip 28.15. To me, that sounds like a lot of money, but when you fill out this chart, you realize that driving when you own the car might be just as expensive, only you don't see the computer screen telling you exactly how expensive it is. Some food for thought...