Saturday, November 15, 2008

Game Like Mount Blade

why "pay only for driving," not for the car sharing ( always) be sustainable

The new offer by DB with Flink Rochester continues the trend of sixticarclub and DB Car: No fixed costs in Rochester Flink not even one-time costs. to pay only if you drive also has a very low threshold and very attractive offer to customers. So that you can win a lot of customers, DB Carsharing shows for 6 years.

If the low-deals lead to as many customers why swing the classic car-sharing providers not on this one fare structure? That it is not an expression of lack of flexibility shown by a glance into the past.

With the start of many collaborations between local car sharing companies and the public transport companies and the access of the DB in the years 1999 to 2002, almost everywhere with very low rates, less often introduced no fixed costs. In recent years, these rates are not fixed costs to phase out the tariff tables of all the classic car-sharing providers disappeared, although these rates have also led to local carsharing provider to many customers. Why?

The experience was not positive. The customers were mostly "defunct" and if they then "every few years time" drove, they had forgotten quite often, what is your PIN, as they book and / or where the stations were so Accordingly, many problems and work released this customer and then made still (understandably) negative word-of-propaganda. Economically, these were so many customers be counterproductive. There is also evidence that the positive effect on traffic of car sharing in the extremely rare use by this customer group is also weakened.

put this experience through the realization that the primary target group for car-sharing only participants who want to use car sharing really. And if they want, are eg 5 EUR fee in light of the actual costs of private cars but rather "small stuff".

The tariffs without fixed costs Of course the travel costs are correspondingly higher. The result is that for students who want to use the car sharing several times a year or month, prices are highly unattractive. If you transfer such as the normal car-sharing use on Flink Rochester is located at 50 cents per km, which is clearly too expensive to be accepted for permanent replacement for his own car. High fares without fixed costs are therefore more likely rates of turnoff car-sharing idea (and not turnoff your own car ...).

tariffs without fixed costs were present, therefore, for both providers and customers do not really economically and ecologically sustainable. Let's see what experiences and DB sixticarclub do with Flink Ster.

Another recent addition to aspect: the deposits. seem so anachronistic deposits from the perspective of discount DB and Sixt, so they are stabilizing in times of financial crisis. The classic car sharing is so even in these times is not a financing problem, in contrast to many actors in the automotive sector.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

36wks Flu N Cough Chest Hurts

DB Carsharing is a competitor of the local car clubs: Background and assessments

With the press conference by train at 6.11. Stuttgart are now an essential guide to the public: The DB starts with 100 vehicles in Stuttgart and Cologne. The new product, which is now "everywhere" to be offered in the core areas of the two cities is, "Flink Ster. "Flink Ster" vehicles Alfa Romeo Mitos are at a price of 1.50 € per hour and 0.25 € per km (including fuel). Apart from the extremely favorable conditions for DB-trip cost is the price-surprise that the need for time entry fee. "Flink Ster-so customers pay in addition to travel costs absolutely nothing, no startup fee, no monthly fee or deposit.

The offer is priced so highly attractive. There is no doubt the doubts of the BAV-manager Brabec connect that this offer is below cost, especially on short trips with a few km.

The fare structure reveals a significant change of course: To date, the time of the DB Car prices were always very high, in exchange for the mileage rates officially as a (pure) fuel Packages calculated. The charges were so used to the car rental prices. Now the U-turn: Now is the time prices cheaper than most traditional car-sharing organizations, but the price is rather higher mileage. The background to this turnaround in prices would certainly be interesting, but unfortunately this does not justify the DB though.

Another special feature of "Flink Ster: Due to the elimination of the admission fee is a remarkable way of access to a Germany-wide DB Carsharing network locked. "Flink Most" customers only "Flink Ster-drive vehicles. If one DB-large internal cannibalization threats to the existing DB Carsharing?

Fear of cannibalization would any case, the only identifiable reason why the DB starts with the new, from DB view so promising "Flink Ster-offer is not in Berlin, the only city in which it already has its own extensive car-sharing station network. In any case, it is noteworthy that DB announced for Berlin not brisk Ster "vehicles.

For the nationwide importance of a sentence in the Stuttgarter Nachrichten is interesting: It is a two-year pilot. This coincides the end of the "Flink Ster-pilots with the expiration of the cooperation agreements with the major car-sharing operator in the Rhine-Main, Munich, Halle / Leipzig / Dresden. It is all so prepared that the end of 2010, the web has all the action.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Adverse Symptoms Grecian Formula

Car2go: Rather competitor's Taxi? Or even for bus and train?

The smart as potentially nationwide one-way solution has hit the media in several waves. Although Car2go himself as car sharing, it seems the taxi industry Car2go see much more clearly than competitors. This is expressed not only in the Handelsblatt article "Daimler makes taxi drivers competition" from , but also in the reactions in the taxi industry. On site, organized the resistance, after all taxi companies previously loyal customers from Mercedes. At the same time, there are also more cautious tones, such as at taxi today.

The car-sharing industry reacted cautiously, but in principle open. The Federal Association Welcomes the first trial and speaks above all the outstanding issues. The car-sharing providers look especially curious to Ulm. If Car2go should be successful, is expected to reach a next stage of car-sharing service quality. In this new market, the current range but also find its place.

from the public transport sector, there were probably not have a reaction. But a car for 19 cents per minute can also mean competition for bus and train. The public transport pass is now almost always (significantly) cheaper than Car2go. However, single and day tickets are sometimes (especially off-peak times) more expensive than Car2go. Car2go as a weak alternative to busy bus lines?

are certainly far all the mind games. Whether Car2go works and can run below cost or even profitable, to be seen in Ulm in 2009 yet.