a garage for a general check-up. He is not to do much, but he is there to inform us. And we pay him directly, we don't take it off his bill. DJ: How often·are the cars stolen? CP: Very seldom do our cars have accidents where we don't know who was at fault. We had one car stolen. It was stolen by a member. We know it, but it wasn't possible to prove it. The border police saw him, but the thief said he had brought it back. We had the key. He imitated the key and then put the original key back in the box. So it was normal stealing to the insurance company. So we got the money. But we know he did it. So the car is in Poland, and we never got it back. Now it is better because we have this [magnetic] access control card, so you can't take the key without being known. So now it is not a problem. DJ: How often are there accidents? Every day ... -no not every day. But at least two a week. We have 2-3 technical employees that deal only with that. DJ: Two accident per week, isn't that overwhelming? CP: We have 10 people working for us. The software helps a lot. You should have the software. And we send the cars to a garage, we don't repair them ourselves! There are about 150 movements at any time: safes, cars, sheets, station watchers ... In the first three years, we went up to 20 cars without any software. (They have around 3,500 members). DJ: What kinds of things are in the cars? CP: Nothing. But you can get a baby seat or roof rack for bikes out of the station box near the car. At one station right now the station chief has to get these to the members. The city doesn't help much with space for these things. DJ: Do you have work bicycles? Do other cities? CP: Yes... two. Nobody uses them. We have 2 boxes for the workbikes, but they are not used very often. This summer, we are getting a third. We don't charge anything for them. They are good for shopping, but normally not heavy loads. Maybe they're good for open markets. People don't need them. They are pretty heavy things. All participants in STATTAUTO have their own bicycles with racks. It is too complicated for people to use the big workbikes. No other groups have bikes as part of their program. In Berlin, we have many grocery stores, so shops are never very far. DJ: Auto-com Quebec has 3 different types of membership... long distance and frequent users pay differently. What do you think of that? CP: I'd never do that for economical reasons. Because we earn our money with a mix. The most money we earn is from people who drive long distances. To take a car for one hour and drive 5km, we earn 5DM and the effort we have to make is the same as if someone takes the car for 3 weeks and drives 5000km. Short distances are just a service. It is a very important marketing instrument. Of course, because people are used to taking the car for 2 hours shopping, and because it is so convenient, they take us as well for holidays. Even if it would be more economical to switch to another rental company, people don't. DJ: Auto-com appears to be telling members, if you go over a certain amount, you should switch to another company. What do you do with everyone wanting thecar on the weekends? How do you limit use? CP: Never put any limitations on car use. You want it to be as convenient as a private car. The virtual reality of a car is much more important than the reality itself. This is a virtual product. German cars are used one hour a day. I know it. German cars are used one hour a day and stand around 23 hours. But people really love it, to have it in front of their houses, not to use it but to be able to have the possibility. They really pay a lot for not doing, but for being able to do. As a carsharing group, you sell virtual reality. You have to. This the worth of the car. So, you never start with one car: at least two. Because when you have 20 or 30 people you have a better chance that the people don't always want to go on Saturday and Sunday because you'll have a mix of students and seniors and so on. The bigger you are, the better chance you'll have. In the beginning, to avoid the problem of everyone wanting the car on the weekend, of course you have to try to have contracts with companies, to balance. And so we have special offers: 20% cheaper than the normal price. These member companies can use the cars from Monday morning to Friday noon, but not on weekends. "These member companies can use the cars from Monday morning to Friday noon, but not on weekends." DJ: What kind of companies join STATTAUTO? CP: Bakeries, groceries, architects, urban planning bureaus, journalists. Mostly little companies working with 5-l0 people, not big companies because they have their own cars. Small companies don't really need their own cars. For example, an architectural firm has to bring plans maybe, and then once a week moves something big. And we have another system, a price system to balance usage. It is cheaper in the morning than in the afternoon because more people have time in the afternoon. So poorer people, who may have more time, do their errands in the morning. DJ: How did you approach OpaVGM to get a discount? CP: We checked all the dealers in Berlin for the best discount for buying 30 cars a year. And we went with the one that gave the best rate. By chance most of the carsharing organizations in Germany came to use Opal. Opal builds some cars that have weak motors and therefore RAIN Summer 1996 Volume XV, Number 1 Page 49
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