In recent years, the car rental industry has been revolutionized thanks to mobile applications. You can now rent a car by the minute, by the hour, or by the day. In this article, we will see how to rent a carshare in Paris.
🚙 Car in Paris
In Paris, the reduction in the number of car lanes in recent years created traffic jams in Paris. In addition, driving in Paris can be challenging, with many hazards such as bikes, mopeds, motos, or pedestrians. Especially with the bikes and mopeds, you will need to be very careful by car, because they don’t respect the traffic code as they can run the red light frequently, or come in the opposite way. You will need to be focused in order to not have an accident.
In France, you drive on the right side of the road. In Paris, the speed limit was recently reduced to 30 km/h in most of the city, and 50 km/h in just a few streets, so you will have to have a light foot to not be fined 😛.
In order to be able to drive a carshare in Paris and France, you will need to have a valid driver’s license (B).
⏱️ Carshare: Rent by the Minute/Hour
If you need a car by the minute or by the hour, car sharing will be perfect for you, with an easy renting process, which can be done through mobile applications. Here are the different options you can find:
⚡️
💰 From 0.24€/min
🗼 Official carshare providers in Paris
🔑 Car to be unlocked with the mobile app
⚡️ Electric cars only (Peugeot e208, Fiat 500e)
ℹ️ Information
Free2move Carshare
Free2move is a mobility company backed by Stellantis which owns Peugeot and Fiat. You will be able to rent cars such as:
- ⚡️ Peugeot e208
- ⚡️ Fiat 500e
💰 Price
| By the minute: | 0.26€/min |
| By the hour: | 6.84€ + 0.19€/km |
| By the day: | 49.99€ + 0.19€/km |
🛒 How to Rent
You can rent a Free2Move electric car with the mobile application:
You will be able to pick up the car:
- 📱 by unlocking it with the mobile application
🅿️ Where to Find and Park
Free2Move cars are available on the streets, in an allowed parking area (most of Paris).
💡 You can go out of the allowed parking area during your rental. However, you will have to come back to this area when you want to stop the rental.
You can recharge the car in the Paris EV charging network called Belib’.
You can park the Free2Move car for free in the allowed parking area in:
- Street parking slots written “Payant”
⚡️💨 
🤝 Peer-to-peer car rental.
🔑 Car can sometimes be unlocked with the mobile app
💡 More suitable for a few hours of rent at least. Usually cheaper than car rental from rental companies.
ℹ️ Information
Get Around
With Getaround, you can rent cars owned by individuals. This option is more suitable for a few hours of rental at least. Some cars can be unlocked with the mobile application without needing to do the check-in with the owner of the car. Here are the types of cars you can rent from Getaround:
- ⚡️ Electric cars
- 💨 Combustion engine cars
It is usually cheaper than car rental from rental companies.
⚠️ If you book your car rental with a premium credit/debit card, you won’t be covered by the car rental insurance of the card, because you rent for Getaround.
💰 Price
| 1h | ~20€/1h |
| 1 day | ~40€/1 day |
🛒 How to Rent
You can rent a Getaround car with the mobile application:
Depending on the listing, you will be able to pick up the car:
- 📱 by unlocking it with the mobile application
- 🔑 by key handover with the owner of the car
🅿️ Where to Find and Park
Getaround cars are available on the streets or in parking. It is usually defined by the owner of the car.
Usually, the pick-up/drop-off of the car is defined by listing and must be done at the same place.
🌐 Website
⚠️ With electric cars, you should keep some margin with the battery level indication, in order to not be out of battery in the middle of the road, and pay the tow truck 200€ to move your car.
📱 The Best Mobile Apps for Carshare
To help you rent and use a carshare, I am sharing the best mobile applications to get in order to have an easy experience:
🔍 Check all the carshares available around you in the same app
ℹ️ Information
Map Overview
Itinerary By Carsharing
With Citymapper, you will be able to check the different carshare available around you from the different providers available (Free2move, Zity, Getaround) in the same app.
You will also be able to check the bikes, scooters, and mopeds available around you.
It is a must-have application!
🛤 Mobility Tracked
- 🚌 Bus
- 🚇 Metro
- 🚊 RER (Commuter Train)
- 🚊 Transilien (Commuter Train)
- 🚋 Tramway
- 🚕 Rideshare
- 🚲 Bike
- 🛴 Scooter
- 🛵 Moped
- 🚙 Carshare
🌐 Website
🛰️ The navigation and live traffic app to avoid traffic jams
ℹ️ Information
Waze: Have Your Speed Limit
Waze: Find a Gas Station Around You
Waze is a mobile application acquired by Google, which guides you to your destination, by taking into account the real-time alerts from its community (hazard, police, etc).
The app will notify you of the speed limit on the road you drive in real-time, and alert you if you exceed the speed limit.
You can even find the cheapest gas station around you, thanks to the community updating the price of the gas in the application.
It is a must-have application for all drivers in the world.
⚠️ You should definitely have your smartphone connected to a source of power: your battery will be drained during the usage of the application.
🌐 Website
📆 Car Rental: Rent by the Day/Week
To know more about renting a car by the day or by the week, and all the tips and tricks, you can read this article:
Conclusion
To know more about how to get around Paris with other modes of transportation, you can check this article:
