Car sharing in Cologne

You want to be "green" so you don't have a car, you own a bike and you use public transport regularly. Give yourself a big pat on the back.  But what happens when you move house and you need to buy new furniture?  Or when you're doing a grocery shop that just won't fit into your bike basket?  There are times when it is very handy to have a car.  Luckily there's a service around that makes it possible to not own a car, but to borrow one whenever you need to.  Flinkster is a service offered by Deutsche Bahn - along the lines of the bikes you see scattered around the city, only with cars.  There are pick up and drop off points throughout Cologne, all you need is an account and a special key-card, and a car can be yours for as long as you need it.  The Flinkster Alfa Romeo MiTos can be hired for just € 1.50 per hour.  You pay €20 per month and once you've received your key card you're ready to go.  You don't need to put petrol in unless there's less than a quarter of a tank left, and then there's a gas card which you use to fill up the car - no cost to the driver. There are extra insurance packages you can take out - but these are the basic prices.  I have not used it yet - but would welcome feedback from anyone who has - because when my car finally dies, I'm not buying a new one and will definitely consider using Flinkster.

www.flinkster.de