Drive Mercedes for cents
STORY AND PHOTO BY COLLIN BEREND
'"ars are e x p e n s iv e and
require much maintenance
depending on how old they
are. Sometim es finding a
spot to park in Portland
is expensive. That’ s w here
carago comes in.
Carago, w ith 2.3 million members, is
currently the largest car sharing company
in the w orld. For m em bership, th ey
require your license number and credit
card information. With your smartphone,
you can tracka car and unlock it, renting
it until you end the trip. You’re charged
by the minute.
Currently, the Smart Fortwo costs 41
cents per minute. So, depending on how
long you think you’ll be driving, that’ s
not bad. For me, it’ s cheaper than Uber.
I drive to Portland at least once a month.
I can take a car from Sellwood and get to
Portland State w ith only a cost of $9-11
on average.
“W ith carago, members can enjoy the
freedom of car ownership w ithout the
associated costs and responsibilities o f
ownership,” said Dacyl Armendariz, the
communications manager for carago in
an email.
The Smart Fortwo has only two seats
and a trunk for your basic needs, not best
for large trips to the grocery store. But
they do have some cars that have bike
racks, so if you need one and your tire’ s
popped, w ell, now you have a ride.
W hat if you don’ t w ant a Smart car?
Maybe you want som ething th at’ s more
sophistiqué. Then use your p hone to
locate and ren t a new 2017 M ercedes-
Benz. There are only two types, the GLA
and the CLA.
The 2017 MércedesvBenz CLA is a four-
door sedan. It’ s slick, comfortable, new
and has seat heaters to toast those buns.
For a sedan, it’ s spacy, and looks fancy.
Since it’ s new, be sure to learn how it
works first.
Then there’s the M ercedes-Benz GLA,
which is a compact SUV. Compared to the
CLA, the room isn’t that much different,
except for the trunk, which is bigger. And
yes, it also has bum warmers. Three Level
settings, for those curious.
Both cars allow you to hook your phone
•
up and listen to music, make calls, use
p erso n a l n av ig a tio n w ith p revio u s
locations you’ve mapped and more. The
control is all at the steering wheel. But
how much are they?
Both M ercedes-Benz vehicles can be
rented at the sam e rate as thé Sm art
Fortwo, a m ere 41 cents per minute.
“ Carago is a great option for anyone
w ith m obility needs, and w e see th at
reflected in our wide range of members,”
said A rm endariz. “ In Portlan d, th e
m ajority o f our m em bers are betw een
25-35 yeàrs old and are split evenly male/
fem ale.”
To use a carago rental, you m ust be
w ithin the home area, a highlighted part
of the map. Outside of the home area is
w here the map is hazed by w hite. You
can drive outside the home area, but you
canrtot park or end the trip outside of it.
There are carago parking spaces outside
o f hom e areas, such as at Portland
International A irport and som é areas
which have small home areas. Portland
Community College is one of them.
With carago, m eter parking is free of
charge w ith the caveat being it must be
a two hour or more spot, if you’re done
renting. You risk it being towed otherwise,
and you’ll be responsible.
“We would like to meet with Clackamas
Community College to see if they would
allow carago parking in their lo t,” said
Arm endariz. “ W e would also need to
develop a forecast of how often our service
would be used at the campus.
“ Carago provides students w ith a cost
effective, flexible transportation option.
For just [41] cents per minute - completely
free from surge pricing - students have
access to our fleet of smart cars, Mercedes
GLA, and CLA vehicles including fuel,
parking, insurance and m aintenance,”
said Armendariz w hen asked about how
it would benefit students.
"... enjoy the freedom
o f car ownership w ithout
the associated costs. . . "
- Dacyl Armendariz
For many students and staff, the use of a
carago would be most useful. What if your
car is in the shop, you don’t have one or
a shared car is being used? Being able to
drive a carago anywhere from Portland
to Oregon City would be a benefit. And
this is w hy Oregon City and Clackamas
Community College should become home
areas.
o
©
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A Smart Fortwo waits for a new driver.
ON THE COVER: Photos by Alexis Wagar, Collin Berend, Doug Fry, and Sam Weston. Cover design by Chelsea Pagan.
CORRECTION: In the Feb. 15 issue o f the Clackamas Print, Katie Kammerer’s name was misspelled. The Print regrets
the error.
Most Trafficked Story This Week: Ten ways to reduce stress by Kristen Wohlers
2 Clackamas Print FEBRUARY 22,2017 thedackamasprint.com
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