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Bahn Express is a platform for vehicle transfers. Car dealers all over Germany use us to move cars from one location to another, and we connect them with self-employed drivers like you. Think of it as Uber for car transfers.

Traditional freight companies load vehicles onto a truck and wait until it is full, which takes 7 to 17 days. Our drivers drive the car straight to its destination on its own axles, in 1 to 4 days.

Self-employed. You register a small business and take the trips as an independent driver. Red plates are only issued for commercial use, which is why the business registration is required.

Right now there are over 300 open jobs per week across Germany, and more are added all the time. In the Bahn Express app you enter your location and see the trips near you.

1. Open the app and pick an available trip. 2. Take public transport to the pickup location. 3. Collect the key at the dealership. 4. Take photos of the vehicle (to document its condition). 5. Attach your red plates to the vehicle. 6. Drive the car to its destination. 7. Hand over the key and take handover photos. 8. Take public transport home. 9. Send us an invoice using our template. Payout in 1 to 3 days.

Yes, 100 percent. You see all available trips in the app and choose whatever fits your schedule. Nobody assigns trips to you. Because our service is built on fast delivery, trips are posted at short notice, so it pays to stay flexible.

We do. Fuel, charging for EVs, tolls and ferries are fully reimbursed. You collect the receipts during the trip and attach them to your invoice; the reimbursement comes with your next payout. The only thing you cover yourself is the public transport tickets to and from the pickup location.

Most trips come up during the week, because that is when the dealerships need transfers. On weekends alone you will find very few trips. As a weekday side gig it works well, but you do need availability on working days.

Our drivers earn on average 2,634 EUR per month, and about 40 EUR per hour (not counting the trip back). Every trip has a fixed price based on distance, usually 0.6 to 0.9 EUR per kilometre. Fuel, charging and toll costs are reimbursed on top.

After each trip you send us an invoice using our template. The payout reaches your account within 1 to 3 days.

Yes, but we reimburse them. About 60 to 90 EUR for the documents (police certificate, GZR, business registration) and about 150 to 200 EUR for the plate registration, under 300 EUR in total. With our 300 EUR signup bonus you get the full costs back.

On an ongoing basis there is the vehicle tax and your public transport tickets. For insurance, 15 percent per trip goes to our insurance program (see the Insurance section); the prices in the app already have it deducted. Fuel, tolls and ferries are on us anyway.

The best place to look is the earnings calculator; it gives you a realistic estimate for your region.

And it keeps getting better: we are growing fast, which means better prices, pickup locations closer to you and more chances to chain trips together (for example A to B to C, or a round trip A to B to A).

Red plates (also called 06 plates or dealer plates) are special number plates for the commercial transfer of unregistered vehicles; the number always starts with 06. The cars you transfer have no plates of their own. Without red plates you may not legally move them on public roads.

Usually 2 to 4 weeks. You can apply and work through the checklist before that, and we guide you through the application step by step.

No problem, this varies from region to region and you have several options. The simplest is to register your business in a district that does issue red plates; we show you the nearest ones in the checklist. These are your options:

To drive you need transfer insurance with liability and comprehensive cover. Through our program we take it out for you in the background via the broker Sicher Sicher, so you do not have to deal with anything.

We pay your insurance premium in full. In return, 15% of each trip goes to the program. No upfront cost, you only pay when you drive. The prices in the app already have the 15% deducted: what you see is what you get paid.

In the checklist you sign the broker mandate for Sicher Sicher once. Your eVB number then arrives by email, which you need for the plate application.

Minimum requirement: at least 4 trips per month. If that stops being the case, you hand the plates back or cover the monthly fee yourself. The policy is taken out for one year.

Cover applies across Germany, from pickup to handover of the vehicle. Your comprehensive-claim deductible is capped at 1,000 EUR per incident, anything above is covered by Bahn Express. Liability claims cost you 0 EUR.

A few things are deliberately excluded:

You have no upfront cost and pay no fixed fee. We cover your full insurance premium; in return, 15% of each trip goes to the program. So you only pay when you actually drive, and the prices in the app already have the 15% deducted.

In a claim, your deductible is capped at 1,000 EUR per incident (comprehensive), and Bahn Express covers anything above that. Liability claims cost you 0 EUR.

Just let us know and we will check with the insurer directly.

Also double-check that you actually submitted the form after signing. Sometimes the final step, hitting submit, gets forgotten right after the signature.

To drive for Bahn Express, you need to meet these points:

• You have a valid driver's license.
• You are past your probationary period (no probationary license).
• You are at least 18 years old.
• You speak conversational German.
• You are an EU citizen or hold a residence permit that allows self-employment.
• You have a clean police record (no entries).

Yes, a registered business is mandatory. You register as a sole trader, usually online via your city's website, for about 20 to 40 EUR. Enter exactly this wording as the activity, that way you get the red plates most easily:

A valid ID card (or a passport plus a registration certificate, or a residence permit that allows work), the police certificate (Belegart O) and the trade central register extract (Belegart 9). You apply for the latter two at fuehrungszeugnis.bund.de, fastest with your online ID function, and have them sent directly to your registration office.

Yes. Once you have your red plates, you upload a photo of the red logbook and of the plate. Approval is then quick and you can take your first trip. This assumes the reliability check comes back clean (police certificate, GZR, no tax debts).

If your existing application is a while old or has stalled, just register again. Our newest flow is self-service and the fastest option: you handle a few steps yourself and get through noticeably faster.

You can see which version you are currently on at the very bottom of your signup page. If in doubt, email us at jobs@bahnexpress.de.

No problem. Email us at jobs@bahnexpress.de and we will get back to you. Via the “Help” button in the top right you can also reach us by phone or join our live Q&A.

Please reach out to jobs@bahnexpress.de, ideally with a quick screenshot of the problem. We will help you out fast.