He replaced a company car with a shared one. Now he uses Autonapul for work too

Michal, a father of three school-age children, chose carsharing in Prague instead of buying another car. A shared car from Autonapul serves his family’s mobility needs as well as his work trips. He tried other options too, but carsharing offers them a car without commitments.

We want a car within reach, but without the burdens of ownership

At first, they used Michal’s company car, but he returned it eight years ago after changing jobs. That led him to a thorough exploration of various family mobility models. Carsharing came out as the winner. The family voted to use the Autonapul fleet.

At the time Michal gave up the company car, the family lived on the outskirts of one of Prague’s city districts. As they started thinking about how to handle family travel in the future, they asked themselves some very practical questions.

“We didn’t want to invest a fortune into a new car. And with used ones, we hesitated, because neither I nor anyone around us can really assess the true condition of a second-hand vehicle. Everyone knows the used car business in the Czech Republic is often a punchline - probably for good reason, judging by how many buyers have been burned. And then you always have extra costs that come with buying a used car. I’ve never been into cars and I can’t really judge whether a repair is needed, whether the prices are fair, or whether there’s a better or cheaper solution to a potential issue,” Michal lists the reasons why they decided not to own a car anymore.

He also mentions other costs they didn’t want to deal with for family mobility:

parking fees,
mandatory insurance,
highway vignettes,
seasonal tire changes, or
technical inspections and other expenses

They wanted a product that wouldn’t give them headaches, but instead would provide a car only when truly needed. Always in a ready-to-drive state. A car as a service.

Carsharing in Prague: Living without a car is a breeze

Peace of mind, easy access to cars, and fair treatment were the main priorities for Michal’s family.

“When we looked at the options, Autonapul already seemed like the best choice. According to our calculations, carsharing is more cost-effective than owning a car if you drive less than 14,000 km per year, and that’s exactly our case. So even financially, sharing made sense. Autonapul buys new cars and regularly updates the fleet, which is great. Plus, a professional takes care of the cars and ensures regular servicing at authorized garages. In the DNA of the first Czech carsharing, there’s this famous **‚human touch‘ in communication. It’s a pleasant, community-style, almost family-like project, not some cold rental agency, and that’s just awesome,” Michal summarizes his experience.

Those living in the Prague sharing zone, say in Pankrác or Palmovka, can usually find a shared car right outside their building or just a few minutes’ walk away. So if you have a five-member family and you don’t drive long distances every day, Michal sees owning a private car more as a luxury than a necessity.

As the children reached school age, the family decided to move to a smaller town outside Prague, where they also found a good school for them. It made using carsharing a bit trickier - but not impossible.

“Living and sharing in Prague is really convenient, especially if the car is parked near a metro station and you live or work nearby. In that case, it doesn’t matter much where you pick up or return the car. For a while, we used carsharing less because the pickup zones were too far after the move. But we still stayed members. I kept using Autonapul for work. At home, we bought an Opel Zafira named Barney, which used to be part of the Brno fleet. That’s another community feature of Autonapul, where each car has a name instead of an anonymous number. Plus, I knew the car was in good shape, because I know how well the cooperative takes care of our shared vehicles,” Michal explains.

Michal notes that for some users, it can be confusing that the fleet contains cars from various brands. He experienced such a situation himself.

“Once the police stopped me because I didn’t have the headlights on. It was my first time driving a shared Kia, which has different controls than Škodas. I honestly told them it was my first time in that shared car, and since it was daylight, I hadn’t noticed the lights. So we agreed that they’d just give me a warning, and in return, I explained to them what carsharing is and how it works. So, a classic win-win,” Michal smiles.

Autonapul seemed too easy to be true - but the catch never came

After nine years of using Autonapul’s Prague fleet, Michal’s family experienced all the benefits of having access to different-sized vehicles. Sometimes a small city car is enough for a quick errand, other times they need a 7-seater or a van for moving furniture. Thanks to sharing, they always have easy access.

“In my opinion, Autonapul was a pioneer in Prague and paved the way for all other carsharing services. At first, we couldn’t believe it could really be this easy. That classic Czech skepticism made us expect a catch at some point. But after seven years, nothing has gone wrong - and that’s amazing,” Michal says.

When the kids were little, the parents worried a bit about what would happen in case of a late-night fever or another urgent medical issue. What if there’s no car outside?

“Luckily, that never happened. My wife jokes that ever since we gave up the company car, our kids stopped getting sick. But seriously, every parent has this concern. But it’s nothing we couldn’t solve with a late-night taxi. On the other hand, we think it’s great that our kids are growing up in a shared world, which, in our view, will play a much bigger role in their lives than it did in ours. We were raised to believe that ownership is the only way. It’s not-and definitely won’t be,” Michal reflects on their experience.

They sold their car and returned fully to Autonapul

In the end, the family realized that owning a car didn’t pay off - even living outside Prague. After three years, they sold Barney and happily returned to full-time carsharing.

“Covid and its economic impact showed families like ours that we all need to think ahead. When your job or income might be uncertain, you start looking at expenses. And you start asking whether you really need to pay for car repairs - however necessary - if you only use the car on weekends. You question whether such an expense is useful or justified. We decided it wasn’t. We sold the car and felt a huge relief,” Michal explains.

Michal also appreciates that the quality of service keeps improving as the number of users grows. He never felt the need to ask for new features - they just arrived organically.

“I definitely recommend trying Autonapul. Even if you only use it as a backup family car, for times when your main car is unavailable or you need to transport more people or cargo. And I’d recommend to cities that they actively seek ways to connect public transport with shared cars and bikes. It’s a great way to ease the burden of congested streets from private cars,” Michal suggests.