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Greenwheels Car Sharing Rental Scheme
If you live in the Netherlands and are looking for an affordable way to drive, you could consider a car sharing scheme called Greenwheels. This 'pay-as-you-go' plan works out cheaper than owning your own vehicle if you are a light user and drive only 2 or 3 days a month. Rentals are charged by the hour. |
There are around 1,000 Greenwheels cars (mainly red Peugeots) at permanent parking spots in 80 Dutch towns and cities. If you walk around Amsterdam you can see Greenwheels cars parked at various places all over the city.
To sign up for the scheme you send an application form with your details and a copy of your (EU) driver's license, after which you'll receive a personal chip card.
As a Greenwheels member you can reserve any car in the country online as long as its available for the hours you want it. You pick up a car as follows - your card has an RFID chip which when held against a sensor on the windscreen unlocks the door. You then have to enter your special pincode in a console on the dash. Before driving off you should briefly inspect the car for damage and compare with the written log inside. Then off you go...
After you're done driving you return the car to the same parking spot by the specified time, sign out and lock-up.
The scheme is quite flexible - reservations can be cancelled up to 1 hour beforehand. It's possible to extend the rental period whilst you have the car by phoning the Greenwheels call centre - subject to availability, of course.
You pay a flat subscription fee every month - there are different levels of memberships, tariffs shown here (Dutch only). On top of that you will pay an hourly rental charge and a small fee per kilometre driven. If you need to fill the tank, petrol is paid for by Greenwheels using a special bank PIN card.
Greenwheels has a partnership agreement with the NS railways to have some vehicles parked at train stations. Those holding a rail discount card (called the "voordeelurenkaart") get a small discount off the Greenwheels subscription.
Greenwheels is a reasonable scheme for those who need occasional use of a car when public transport can't do the job. And you won't have to worry about running costs, insurance and residential parking fees.
Note, the major car rental firms will be cheaper for longer rental periods and (unlike car share schemes) will allow you to drop the car off in a different place.
There is an alternative company called Connect Car which is slightly cheaper but has a smaller network, present in 30 towns and cities. Prices from €4.75 per month and €4.00 per hour plus 15 cents per kilometre. Unfortunately neither company has any English information on their websites - so you may need to ask a Dutch friend to help you join. |  |
Check out our guide: Driving in Amsterdam / Netherlands
Green Wheels Nederland, Postbus 4031, 3006 AA Rotterdam
T: +31(0)88 210 0100
Connect Car, Klokkenbergweg 17, 1101 AK
Amsterdam
T: +31(0)88 311 9898