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Cambio car share
I have been looking at the Cambio option for having access to car in Brussels/Belgium, the process seems to be fairly complicated so I wanted to know if you have any experience with this car sharing system. If you do:
what are the biggest faults......using CAMBIO
what is the actual cost benefits (is is cheaper that renting a normal car once in a while)
other comments
Thanks for your reply
Björk
Have been very satisfied Cambio users for almost three years now. The process is not especially complicated; you have to follow a compulsory training session before you can start using the system, but it's a short one (a couple of hours if I remember correctly).
Biggest faults: it can be that the previous user does not return the car when they are supposed to, so it's not there when it's your turn. But in our over 120 times of using a Cambio car, this happened twice. Both times we were directed to another nearby station that had a car available.
Cost benefits: we use the cars almost exclusively for very short shopping trips (less than 10 km, 2 hours once a week). So it's not comparable to a normal car rental system). In addition we do some longer trips about 6-7 times a year, but rarely overnight. Also, compared to a traditional car rental system, this is much more convenient and faster. In Brussels center, there is a Cambion station within a walking distance everywhere. Picking up the car is wholly automatic, you don't need to see anyone (like in a normal rental agency, where filling up the paperwork takes time).
Compared to owning a car, it has been calculated that Cambio is cheaper if you drive less than 10 000 km a year. Certainly, with our limited need for a car (driving a max of 2000 km per year), we are saving hundreds of euros every year. No need for insurance, no CT to do every year, no need to rent a garage, no repair costs.
