Cambio Flanders celebrates 20 years and expands to Ghent suburbs

Cambio CarSharing Flanders is celebrating its 20th anniversary. The car-sharing service started in 2004 in Ghent and is active in more than 100 Flemish cities and municipalities today. More cities and municipalities will be added in the coming years, starting with the Ghent boroughs. The car-sharing service also wants to improve its software and further green its fleet.

Cambio today has over 39,000 Flemish users, including almost 9,000 residents of Ghent, who can choose from an offer of some 1,700 cars spread over 750 collection points. For the coming years, Cambio is aiming for further expansion, in other words, for a denser network of pick-up points and an extension of the network with more participating cities and more to the periphery in existing Cambio cities.

The first expansion is already taking place in the Ghent boroughs: in Oostakker, the service is being launched for the first time (with two city cars), while in Drongen, Zwijnaarde, and Wondelgem, it is being reinforced. As a result, more than 350 shared cars are available in Greater Ghent, spread over some 120 pick-up points.

Fleet of some 2,400 shared cars

According to Geert Gisquière, director of Cambio Flanders, one Cambio car replaces up to 13 private cars. “Besides less car ownership, we also see that our users choose the car less. Sustainable alternatives such as bicycles and public transport become a lot more attractive when people give up their own car at the door.”

Cambio members can access the entire Cambio car park in Belgium, with 2,800 shared cars. Booking is accessible via the cambioApp. As a Cambio user, you pay a monthly subscription and further in the function of the use (time and kilometers).

More than 71,000 users

Cambio is financially attractive for those who drive less than 11,000 km per year by car. Across Belgium, Cambio has more than 71,000 users, representing 36,400 fewer cars on the road or an area of 78 soccer fields.

Of the Cambio users, 25% drive less often by car than before their Cambio membership. Only 11% drive their car more often now, perhaps because they didn’t have a car available before. 33% use bicycles more, 28% get around more, and 25% use buses more compared to before membership.

Of the Cambio members, 34% also drove electrically, and 78% were satisfied—three-quarters of those who did not yet drive electric plan to do so in the future.

Cambio CarSharing was formed in 2000 as a merger of several car-sharing companies in different cities in Germany. Belgium’s first Cambio car-sharing system was officially launched in Namur in 2002, followed by Brussels and Flanders.