Carsharing Apps to move around Madrid

The use of carsharing or carpool apps and the popularity of renting electric cars by the minute is growing day by day in the big cities. That’s exactly what is happening in Madrid, where you’ll find at least four specific carsharing mobile apps to move around Madrid. If you are going to Madrid and want to travel freely without worrying about the limitations in Madrid Central, you want to forget about the hassle of paying for outdoor parking spaces in certain areas, or you just want to travel in a more eco-friendly fashion, at L&H Hotels we suggest you use the safest and most recommendable carsharing apps to move around Madrid.

Emov, Zity, Car2Go and Wible. They all cover Madrid’s city centre, all the interior area and until the M30, and some of them cover farther areas outside of the M30, even in the outskirts of Madrid! And what’s more, some have free parking spaces to leave your own car and rent a carpool one to move around Madrid. Discover which app covers your desired area.

Carsharing companies such as Car2Go, Emov, Zity and Wible work based on a ‘free-floating’ approach. This means users can access any of the company’s cars parked around Madrid and rent them directly through their phone.

How to use Carpool or “Carsharing” Apps

The first thing you must take into account if you want to use these apps is that you must be over 18 years old and have a valid driving permit. Once you download the app, you’ll then enter the registration area, where you have to fill in your details. After you’ve registered, the app will validate these and as soon as it’s done, voilà! You can then enjoy driving around Madrid with an electric car with no limitations whatsoever.

All the carsharing applications work with a minute rate, meaning they charge you a fixed amount per minute, which is usually somewhere around the 0,20 cents of a Euro. To rent your car per minute you just have to enter the app, search for the closest car on the app’s map and book it directly. Once you get to the car’s location, you notify the possible damages that the car currently has (if any), and then you click on “start journey”. When you’ve finished your journey you simply have to park the car within the area that the App allows and finally click on “end journey”.

Benefits of using Carsharing Apps

The use of rental cars per minutes via these carsharing apps has many advantages that you might not have heard about yet. At L&H, we’ve put together a couple of them for you:

- Free access to the “Áreas de Prioridad Residencial” (APR - Residential Priority Areas), Madrid Central and other zones where transit is currently limited.

- Zero pollution, move around sustainably!

- Park freely in regulated parking zones, the SER Zone (blue and green), without having to pay, and always under the perimeter of action of the different companies.

- Move freely, wherever and whenever you want to. What we mean by this is that you can easily hire the car through the app, wherever you may be. No offices and long queues, drop zone or anything as such. All the cars available are already parked out in the street for you to use and enjoy it with no waits and no third parties.

- The app is super user-friendly and the usability is simple. Additionally, you can sign up via the website or directly on the app and, in less than 24 hours, the registration will be effective and you’ll be good to go! No need to validate or confirm your registration in person, that’s a thing from the past!

Differences between all Carsharing Apps:

Car2Go:

The car you’re renting is a Smart Fortwo or a Smart For Four, with 2 and 4 seats respectively, and an autonomy of 145 kilometres. Signing up has a cost of 9€, which later can be used as credit for your next rides with Car2Go. Every time you rent a vehicle with them you get fully comprehensive insurance with a 500€ excess.

Rates: Low demand areas: 0,19 / 0,21€ /min. High demand areas: 0,29 / 0,31 €/min. Balanced use zones: 0,24 / 0,26€ /min.

Coupons: Two hours: 17,90 / 19,90€. Four hours: 29,90 / 34,90€.

Emov: 

The car you’re renting with Emov is a Citroën C-Zero, a vehicle with 4 seats and an autonomy of 150 kilometres. Signing up has a cost of 9€, which later can be used as credit for your next rides. Every time you rent a vehicle with them you get fully comprehensive insurance with a 500€ excess. If you pay an extra 1€ per ride the excess is eliminated. 

Rates: 0,27 cents/min. 0,25€ from 100 km onwards.

Coupons: 69€ for a full day. 50 minutes: 10,5€. 200 minutes: 38€. 400 minutes: 68€.

Zity:

The car you’re renting with Zity is a Renault Zoe, a vehicle with 5 seats and an autonomy of 400 kilometres. Signing up is free. Every time you rent the vehicle with them you get fully comprehensive insurance with a 90€ excess.

Rates: 0,26 cents/min.

Coupons: 66€ for a full day. Eight hours: 36€. Four hours: 21€.

Standby: park the car without the rental service coming to an end for just 0,09 cents/min. Two free parkings allowed to pick-up and return the car!

Wible:

The car you’re renting is a Kia Niro, a plug-in hybrid with 5 seats and an autonomy of 600 kilometres. Signing up is free. Every time you rent a vehicle with them you get fully comprehensive insurance with a 99€ excess.

Rates: 0,24 cents/min.

Coupons: 50€ for a full day.

Which Carsharing App is better?

They all have their particular strengths, but currently, Car2Go is the most popular since it offers the comfiest cars. Their size is ideal to move around Madrid’s streets and, although they don’t have a full day rate, they do have hourly coupons.

Wible, on their part, is the latest one to arrive at the capital. Plus, right now it’s also the one offering the best rates. Add to this that they have the best prices for medium journeys (over one hour) and long journeys (one whole day), and that their autonomy is larger than all the rest of the companies. 

However, in terms of the areas in which it is available, it’s offering is similar to that of the others, but not as comprehensive as Zity’s.

Zity covers the largest area: not only can you travel around Madrid, but you can also get to locations such as Pozuelo, Alcobendas and neighbourhoods farther than the M40, such as “Ensanche de Vallecas”. This is why they’ve become the most recommended option for those living outside of the city centre or who need to travel beyond the M30.

Additionally, Zity also has the amplest cars and boots (a big plus if you’re carrying luggage). Add to this the advantageous service of the “standby” option, under which you can park the car unlimitedly without finalising the rental service. During that time (when the car is parked without terminating the service), the minute fee is just 0,09 cents instead of 0,26.