Today's the 28^th of March. That means it's already the end of the month and that means I've already managed to completely forget about two really important things. First off, there's that feature that needs to be published as soon as possible, and more importantly, it's the girlfriend's birthday and I still have nothing planned.

With an impossible number of things to get arranged within one day, I start to crack my brain for solutions. This will require some lateral thinking.

"What's a man with less than 24 hours to do?" I think to myself on the way to work, and then, out of the corner of my eye, I spot something interesting. A curious-looking car with a blue-coloured band across the top of its windshield. I think I might have just stumbled on my salvation.

"Erm, Julian, what about I go and test out Tribecar? Do one quick review?" I ask when I reach the office.

He fires back a puzzled look. "I mean, since there are already so many car sharing services, might as well put one of largest here to test?"

A quick nod of approval later, and I've not only whipped up an excuse not to be in office, but secured myself a car for the day.

Right. On to the review.

I head out of the office and reserve a car. There's not much time left and I need to get my hands on some flowers and a gift.

Thankfully, with Tribecar's 650 vehicle fleet standing ready at 450 different locations, it cannot be that hard to find one within walking distance from here, and thankfully, there is a car available.

Car sharing made affordable

If, like me, you're looking to book something to run a quick errand, Tribecar offers rates from as low as $0.54 an hour during its 'Super off-peak' periods for its 'Super Economy' segment.

And if you're sharing from this segment, rates during peak periods only rise up to $4.82 an hour, making Tribecar an affordable option should you need added privacy during your commute.

And for now, added privacy is exactly what I need, thanks to the precious cargo I'll soon be ferrying. But I'm not going to settle for the most basic car, no, I'm instead opting to grab something from the 'Standard Sedan+' segment, which nets me a handy Opel Insignia.

Easy-to-use webpage

Booking a car via Tribecar is also a breeze. You can opt to reserve cars nearby a location of your choosing, or simply get the site to look for one that is available at your current location.

And after you have secured your chosen vehicle, the exact carpark and multi-storey floor at which the car is located is also stated, allowing you to easily find your booked car. Once you have reached the car, you simply need to snap a photo of the car from all four sides, check for any damage, make sure the car's fuel tank warning light is not lit, and you're good to go!

Booking in this segment set me back $14.98 to have the car for two hours, which I figure is plenty enough if you're making a quick stop to one or two locations, as well as for a quick splash of petrol (or in this case, diesel) before you return the car.

And if it's some serious shopping you're doing, it may well be worth paying extra for a car from the higher segments, which also includes vehicles such as the Toyota Wish, Kia Carens, or the Nissan Elgrand, all truly capable of swallowing large volumes of cargo with plenty of space as well for all passengers.

Flowers and birthday gift at the ready I decide to switch over to something a little more impressive to ferry the missus in.

If you're looking to impress...

And Tribecar yet again doesn't disappoint. This time I net an Infiniti QX30, just a bit away from where I returned the Opel.

This car is not just going to ferry me, so it better be spick-and-span. And thankfully, it is. Tribecar may have had a reputation for offering users dirty cars, but accessing from the two cars I picked today, I don’t think that reputation is entirely deserved.

Ok, so maybe the exteriors of both cars were already collecting their fair share of road grime, but the cabins of either cars were sufficiently clean so that I hardly even needed to even dust the floor mats before setting off.

For the price of just $7.49 an hour, you too could get your hands on a similar vehicle to ferry your significant other around for a quick lunch date (bookings between 11:00am to 5:00pm are considered off-peak hours for Tribecar).

So, if for example, you can fill up your car with petrol, make a quick dash to pick up your date, finish up lunch, and then drop your date off back home within four hours, you're still looking at a final car sharing bill of only $29.96. And if the Infiniti does not quite resonate with you, there's also the option to get vehicles such as the Audi A3, or the Opel Mokka, all at the same per hour price!

No hidden fees!

Tribecar strongly believes in maintaining a transparent pricing policy, so long as you return the car on time without incident, the price that you see when booking your vehicle will be the price that you pay, without any additional charges. You will, however, have to pay for any fuel you use, as well as any ERP and parking charges incurred.

So alright, perhaps footing out nearly $50 for a day's worth of commuting may not be the best value-for-money option when public transportation is so cheap, but since Tribecar also does not charge any membership fees, or any costs associated with maintaining your account, there's still plenty of value in signing up simply as an added option to your suite of commuting possibilities. You never know when you might need the added privacy of a car that is yours only.

But assessed as a price to pay for keeping my job and relationship intact? Surely you must agree that's pretty good value for money. Now all I really need to do is to make sure my girlfriend never reads this article.

Signing up to join Tribecar is fast and easy, handy for someone that always leaves everything to the last minute! Simply follow the instructions here and you could be on your own way towards hassle-free motoring!