A well-known situation is that the customer reserves his car, goes to the CarSharing location, opens the key-locker but however does not remember which car he has reserved. In future, this cannot occur any more. The new cambio lockers already ?know? which car was reserved and communicates this to the customer by display and with a green diode under the correct key-slot. A mistake is impossible.
The whole point, however, is the integrated radio-telephone system. By simply pushing the ?talk? button at the locker?s keyboard, a direct connection to the cambio call-center is activated. So, for example, when damage to a car is noticed before departure, this can be conveyed directly to the call-center in order to alter the reservation.
Most of the customers will use the ?talk? button to cancel the remaining reservation-time after having returned the car to the parking lot. This saves money and leads to the fact that more reservation wishes can be fulfilled. In addition, this is environmentally friendly, as more journeys can be accomplished with less cars.

How does it work?

Whilst making the reservation, cambio customers will only be informed about which type of car they have reserved; for example a Ford Ka at the location ?city hall? in Cologne (there are 10 vehicles of this type here). Exactly which Ford Ka was booked, e.g. ?city hall F5?, is the information you receive when you arrive at the locker. As usual, you hold the smart card against the card reader of the locker and enter your secret personal identification number. The locker only releases the door lock if a reservation is registered.
Inside the locker, a green diode flashes under the respective key slot and shows which is the right car key. Also the display communicates the correct key-slot. As before, there is still the touch-key at the key ring but it now becomes an important storage medium - each car is equipped with an electronic immobilizer. The ?touch-key? has to be held against the round ?key reader? at the dashboard until the green diode flashes. Now you may commence your journey. One thing you ought to be aware of is that as soon as the ignition is switched off, the green diode starts to flash and signals that now there is just one minute left to restart the ignition. So, if for example you are waiting at a railway barrier and switch off the engine, the ignition should be switched on again immediately.

What to do when...

the locker announces "you have not reserved a car". Don?t worry ? ask the cambio call-center! By pushing the "B" key on the locker?s keyboard, you are immediately connected with the cambio call-center, and everything can be cleared up.
It is recommendable however, to ask oneself some questions before calling the call-center:
- Am I at the correct location and at the right time? If not, the reservation service will immediately alter the reservation if necessary.
- Am I too early at the location? If you arrive only three minutes early, you still must wait. In order to avoid this situation, just let the reservation begin half an hour earlier.This can be done also if this half hour has already begun.
- Has the reservation really been made on my name, or rather on the name of another person allowed to drive with my customer-number, e.g. within companies? The card reader checks precisely which customer made the reservation. If you want to take the car that has been booked by your partner, it is inevitable to alter this reservation beforehand.
- Did I take over this car from another person with the same customer-number during the journey? This is important because it is only possible to return the key again with the card which was used to open the locker upon departure. More information to this item in the article ?safety trainig?. oy