The first car sharing service in Romania was officially launched this week in Cluj-Napoca, city residents now having an alternative to taxis.

Via a mobile app, the clients can rent one of the 50 cars available, the tariff being of some RON 1 per minute.

“The client makes an account on our website, enters his personal data plus a copy of the driving license, chooses his favorite payment method – bank account data for direct debit or credit card, receives a username and a password, downloads out mobile app, and then he has access to the car-sharing services’ entire fleet,” said Demis Ghindeanu, one of the services’ founders, cited by local Ziarul Financiar.

After following these steps, the client can choose the nearest car, open the door with the app, take the key from the glove compartment, and go on his trip. The mobile app lets the client know how much gas is in the car’s tank, how clean is the car, or if it has manual or automatic gearbox.

“Once you’re done with the car, you leave it in one of the City Hall’s parking lots or at the stand, leave the key in its place, open the app and give a rating, and that’s it,” Ghindeanu added.

There are two payment methods, according to the founder. The client can either buy prepaid minutes from the web site and then the cost is of RON 1 per minute, or he can pay after the ride for a cost of RON 1.24 per minute.

The service has a fleet of 50 cars, all of them made in 2015. More information about the service here.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Pony car sharing on Facebook)