Portland parking meter gouge doesn't hit everyone
A reader who leaves in the Pearl District writes:
In the Pearl (of course), we now have a deal or opportunity by which one can rent a car and leave it any old place where parking is allowed for an hour or more, and without paying the regular meter fee (no citations for these guys). Perhaps the parking meter charge is included in some favorable rate paid by the company to the City of Portland on some basis other than that charged me when I park on the street.I know this little bit because I asked the fellow who got in the car this evening as he left his work at, you guessed it, car2go over at 1100 NW Glisan. As he explained it, he drives the rental home and then returns it to work in the morning, and he pays NADA because he works for the company. Ain't that sweet? Almost as good as the Honorary Consul scam.
Free parking anywhere on the city streets -- for a car that somebody commutes to work in every day? In "green," sustainable Portland? Say it ain't so.
| Posted at 9:41 AM | Permalink |
|
Comments (8)
This is the Smartcar version of the yellow bike program from the 90s.
Posted by reader | April 11, 2012 9:49 AM
It's an interesting arrangement, possibly with unintended consequences (http://portlandtransport.com/archives/2012/04/is_parking_or_a.html).
But it's not free. car2go has paid the City $1,009 per car per year for the privilege.
Posted by Chris Smith | April 11, 2012 10:33 AM
Car ownership is bad.
Car usage is GREAT. Even better than riding a TriMet bus.
At what point will the City of Portland outlaw the ownership of cars, but let anyone rent a car as often as wanted, as frequently as wanted...even as many at one time?
I believe Portland is trying to move to the NYC or Japan model, where there are government regulations that restrict car ownership. At least in Japan and New York City, there is an actual shortage of parking spaces. In Portland there is not. This is social engineering at its best.
Posted by Erik H. | April 11, 2012 12:14 PM
I thought as much. Those dumb cars, half a car long, are taking up a full parking space all over town. I hope the city got its annual fee up front.
Posted by Allan L. | April 11, 2012 12:15 PM
Odd, the car2go/portland site is very specific where you can and can't park them.
http://www.car2go.com/portland/en/files/car2go_parking.pdf
It says metered spots are unlimited, permit-only spots are unlimited (this probably annoys people who pay for monthly permits), but time-restricted spots are not unlimited.
And these cars aren't cheap either... $66/day for half a car that can barely do the open freeway and still runs on gas and brags about 41mpg hwy. My Scion has 4 seats and gets 39mpg.
Posted by Mr. Grumpy | April 11, 2012 1:29 PM
It figures. You have to be rich to save money with this deal.
Posted by NW Portlander | April 11, 2012 3:52 PM
You must realize we had snow recently. We are still recovering from DEFCON 2.
Posted by Ray | April 11, 2012 5:37 PM
Tut, tut, snow shmo. Then you can't drive at all. Even better! The Portland way!
Posted by Mr. Grumpy | April 11, 2012 5:51 PM