IIn Bremen there is a good tradition of co-operation between cambio, the Senate for Building and Environment and the European Commission. Subsidies from the EU and the Bremen Senate meant that the CarSharing technique could be improved upon, which will ultimately lead to a profit, not only for Bremen, but for all cambio cities and other European cities.

At StadtAuto Bremen, the introduction of the ?AutoCard? took place 'with the friendly support of the European commission' within the meanwhile already concluded project ZEUS. This also applies to the co-operation involved in the offer, ?Bremer Karte plus AutoCard', together with the Bremen public transport, BSAG. Within the context of the EU-promoted project INTERCEPT, for example, the internet-reservation and the integration of CarSharing (and by the way also of taxi) into the electronic timetable information (with BSAG and VBN) could be realised. An advantage not only for Bremen: following the Bremen model, within the project TOSCA the European Union supports the inauguration of CarSharing by the public transport company of Bologna.

Bremen has acquired a good reputation as an outrider in CarSharing matters at the European Union, which will still be of future use for Bremen, as well as for other cambio cities and for Europe. Great things are planned in the European project MOSES; under the guidance of Bremen, the cities of Stockholm, London, Torino, Palermo and the Belgian region Walloonia want to co-operate for the setting up and improvement of CarSharing. Hereby new technologies and innovative services shall also benefit for Bremen CarSharing customers.

However, only if the interest of the customers is matched can CarSharing achieve the desired growth figures. CarSharing should be more than just a substitution of the private car. And CarSharing is more: The CarSharing fleet of vehicles from a smart car to a van offers more freedom of selection and more flexibility than a private car! In combination with public transport, taxis, bicycles etc., CarSharing is an important part of an ecologically beneficial, modern and comfortable service chain. For this, the possibilities of modern technology should be used as well as co-operating with other service-providers.

The European Union promotes the project MOSES in the program title 'City of Tomorrow' - this can be understood as a programmatic requirement. Also, projects such as MOSES decide upon, how long the way to the future will be.

Michael Glotz-Richter is project manager for MOSES at the Bremen Senate for Building and Environment.