Drivers who join Rome's car sharing scheme for the first time will receive a €30 discount off the annual subscription if they subscribe between 15 December and 4 January 2013.

The announcement was made by the capital's mobility agency, which operates the service on behalf of the city, in light of the continuing success of the initiative.

During the same period, those already signed up can avail of discounted prices on weekdays from 17.00 to 24.00 when the holiday hourly rate will be applied, constituting a 50 per cent discount. Drivers of small to medium cars will pay €1.01 instead of €2.01, while drivers of large cars pay €1.34 instead of €2.67.

The total number of the city's registered car sharing drivers by the end of November was 2,624 and the combined amount of journeys made so far this year comes to 1.2 million km – almost ten per cent more than in 2011.

The service, which is only available to residents, costs €100 in registration and deposit fees and then another €100 for the annual subscription. Once you’ve booked your car and started driving you then pay for the actual time of use and kilometres driven.

Car sharing users benefit from free parking in the blue-striped parking areas, can enter the ZTL (the traffic restricted areas of the historic centre) and use the dedicated lanes for taxis and buses.

See website for full details including tariffs, a map of car sharing collection points and how to register.