Scouter is a medium-sized company that offers car sharing in seven cities and has been operating since 2011. The company says it has around 6,000 customers and 235 cars, including six electric vehicles. It promotes simplicity, transparency and environmental friendliness. In 2017, the company significantly expanded its fleet and stations. Incidentally, most of the bookings per user were in Bonn. Here, Scouter has about 760 customers.

How does it work? The cars can be booked without a booking fee after registering once on the homepage, or via phone. A phone call and personal contact to make the booking will cost you 1.50 euro. Fuel is included in the price, users are charged for the booked period of time. Added to this is the kilometer price.

What does it cost? Hourly rates are one to four euros (from 7am to midnight) depending on the vehicle class; from midnight to 7am it is 50 cents per hour. The weekly prices run 100 to 200 euros. The kilometer lump sum is 29 cents for 100 kilometers and each further kilometer is 22 cents. There is a six-month introductory phase offered, in which the monthly subscription price is dropped (normally it is 5 euros). There are also discounts for students, families and owners of public transport passes or a BahnCard.

What is offered in Bonn? At the end of 2017 Scouter had 43 vehicles available at 23 stations. Ten different models are offered. Since the beginning of 2017, one can also book a small van for moving. A special feature in Bonn: Here, Scouter offers not only station-based car sharing but also district car sharing. In south and west Bonn, there are many smaller cars of the same make that are available, but they have no fixed location. Shortly before the start of the journey, the customer is assigned the car nearest to him or her. In February 2018, two new stations were added - one in Kessenich and one in the Musikerviertel (Musicians quarter).

StattAuto is a German car sharing pioneer from the environmental movement of the 1980’s. The name in English means - instead of a car. Even today, the company is committed to the ecological guiding principle. StattAuto is located in both Bonn and Detmold.

How does it work? StattAuto cars can be reserved by phone, online or via App and booked by the hour, day or week. The vehicles are available in reserved parking spaces and can be opened with a personal key or a card.

What does it cost? The registration fee is 30 euros, students are exempt. The annual fee is between 24 and 120 euros. In addition, if necessary, a security package is purchased. There are starting, base, business and student rates. The basic fare depending on the class of car is 1.50 to 3 euros per hour or 20 to 33 euros per day and 119 to 195 euros per week. In addition, there is a mileage allowance. An e-Mobile is available for one euro per hour and 19 euros per week.

What is offered in Bonn? StattAuto has 18 stations in Bonn. It offers vehicles in four different classes from small cars to vans.

The company Cambio was founded in 2000 as a merger of the car sharing companies "StadtAuto Aachen", "StadtAuto Bremen" and "StattAuto Köln". With a franchise-like offering, it provides local operators with the necessary car sharing services. Cambio is located in 21 German and 39 Belgian cities with almost 1,000 stations. Nearly 100,000 customers use more than 2,800 vehicles.

How does it work? The booking is made by phone, via the website or the App. The vehicles are in reserved parking lots. The customer gets a key with the help of a card and a PIN code.

What does it cost? The registration fee is 30 euros. There are the tariffs Campus, Basic, Start, Active and Comfort. Depending on the tariff, the monthly basic fee will be different; with the Campus and Basic tariffs there is no monthly fee. The hourly rates correspond to four different classes from 1.10 euros (XS) to 4.90 euros (L). Prices vary between 21 and 49 euros per day, and 147 to 343 euros per week. In addition there is a fee per kilometer. Owners of a VRS eTicket receive discounts.

What is offered in Bonn? There are 20 Cambio stations in Bonn. They offer vehicles in four classes from XS (Toyota Aygo) to L (Ford Transporter).

Flinkster is a car sharing service from Deutsche Bahn (German Rail). In over 400 German cities, the network works with around 30 partners, and has more than 4,000 vehicles at more than 2,500 stations.

How does it work? After registration and driving license verification, Flinkster vehicles can be booked online, per App or hotline. The vehicle is opened by smartphone, Apple Watch App or customer card, and the vehicle key is in the glove box.

What does it cost? For Bahncard customers, registration is free. Otherwise, it costs 29 euros to sign up. The customer card costs 5 euros, verification of driver's license in the shop costs 20 euros, it is free per video. The hourly rate from 10 pm to 8 am is 1.50 euro, from 8 am to 10 pm it’s 2.30 euros. The daily price is 39 euros, from the second day 29 euros. The consumption fee for fuel or electricity is 18 cents per kilometer.

What is offered in Bonn? There are 24 Flinkster stations in Bonn.

At the end of 2017, the Dutch company SnappCar entered the German market by taking over one of the largest private car sharing platforms in Germany, tamyca. SnappCar's goal is to reduce the number of cars in Europe by five million before 2022. The company sees itself as "Airbnb for cars". The network now has around 400,000 members and about 45,000 cars in the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Germany.

How does it work? With the so-called SnappForm, the car rental can be handled completely digitally. Every booking has an insurance included.

How much does it cost? The car owner takes a daily fee. Included are a standard 100 free kilometers per day, each additional kilometer costs more. In addition, the fuel has to be paid by the user. As well, the user pays insurance and a service fee to SnappCar.

What is offered in Bonn? Eleven cars are currently offered in Bonn. Among them are several vans.

Paulin Dementhon from Marseille, France had the idea to found Drivy in 2010. In his neighborhood, three families shared a car and the associated costs with the help of an Excel spreadsheet. Dementhon found that to be a logical solution in the face of the city's congested streets, leading him to start the private car sharing platform. Drivy has around 1.5 million users and 45,000 cars in the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Austria and Belgium.

How does it work? After registering for free on the homepage, you can either rent cars from nearby or offer your own car via Drivy. Paid online, the car can, if the owner joins, be opened via a special technology via smartphone.

What does it cost? Drivy gives an average price of 30 euros per day plus fuel costs.

What is offered in Bonn? In Bonn, users can currently access 50 cars.

Turo was founded in 2009 in San Francisco. Today cars are offered in over 4,500 cities. According to the company, private providers in the U.S. earn around 720 dollars on average.

How does it work? After registration and authorization, you can search and book the right car in the area. Some cars can be booked immediately, others take up to eight hours to be confirmed. With the owner, a meeting place for the key handover is agreed upon, or the owner brings the car to a chosen location. The vehicle must be refueled before returning it and brought to an agreed return location.

What does it cost? Each owner determines the price for which he or she rents their car, per hour or day. For example, a Peugeot 206 is offered in Bonn for 28 euros per day including 1,500 kilometers of driving. In addition there are fees, for example for the insurance, or for extras or if it is necessary to deliver the car to the renter.

What is offered in Bonn? Turo does not want to name an exact number of cars registered in Bonn because it varies weekly. The offer in Bonn includes both "practical" vehicles such as a VW Polo, as well as luxury models such as the Tesla S.

Orig. text: Anna Maria Beekes, Translation: ck