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You must be trippin’
Ways to escape the city without owning a car
BY CAMILLE DODERO

PAT BENATAR at the Cape Cod Melody Tent? Can’t go. B-52’s at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom? Gotta miss it. Andrew W.K. at the Tweeter Center? Buy me a T-shirt, will ya?

I don’t own a car. And while not having a car seems prudent in the slippery, slushy winter, it’s a supreme drag in the sultry heat of summer. Unless you can mooch a lift, you can forget about spontaneous escapes from the fetid city: no second-string flicks at Western Mass drive-ins, no white-trash demolition derbies in Marshfield, no trail-hiking in the Blue Hills, no sliding down sand dunes in Provincetown, no stomach-spiraling at Six Flags, no tent-pitching in the Green Mountains, and, worst of all, no Pat Benatar at the Melody Tent.

I know what you’re thinking: shut up and hop on the commuter rail. Yes, the extended MBTA line makes it to Mansfield, home of the Tweeter Center, and to quaint seaside ports like Gloucester. Yes, the Purple Line is replete with plush seats, comfy headrests, and nimble-fingered ticket punchers. But the commuter rail has definite drawbacks: on weekends, trains tend to run every two to three hours; last trains often pull in relatively early; and destinations are limited to those places the MBTA deems worthy — not quite conducive to summer spontaneity. But with a little advance planning, you can go cheap: Purple Line fares depend on the zone, but one-way rides range from $1.50 (Chelsea) to $5.75 (Providence).

Fortunately, this is America, and our economy runs on the value of utility. So there’s a whole slew of businesses that rent vehicles to paying customers. If you just want a day-trip to someplace close like Walden Pond, Cambridge Bicycle rents bikes for $25 a day on a first-come, first-served basis. Word to the wise: they go fast on the weekends, so get there at opening time (10 a.m.). If you’re going farther (or you’re just lazy), Allston’s Access Auto Rental makes compact cars available for prices ranging from $38 and $60 (depending on the day of the week). If you’re over 25, $119.97 will get you a car for the weekend. Once again, there are drawbacks: tax, insurance, and mileage expenses can inflict significant additional damage on your wallet.

Then again, if your idea of impulsive behavior involves late-night booty calls, you’d be better off buying a Zipcar membership. The lime-green VW bugs you’ve seen swarming local parking lots are pretty much there for the taking, if you have the $300 deposit, the $30 non-refundable application fee, and a clean driving record. It may seem like a hassle, but compared to actually buying one of those four-wheel hunks of metal, the process isn’t so bad: register online, get approved, pay your fees, and reserve one for at least an hour of use. You pay by the hour and by mileage — gas, maintenance, and insurance are included. Rates are contingent on location and type of car, but they range from $5 to $8 per hour, $55 to $75 for a full weekday, and $65 to $85 for a weekend day. They’re not necessarily the most cost-efficient weekend-getaway wheels, but — here’s where the twilight booty calls come in — there’s no hourly fee between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m. Sounds like cheap escapism to me.

Where to find more information:

• Access Auto Rental, 1351 Comm Ave, Allston (617) 783-2333.

• Cambridge Bicycle, 259 Mass Ave, Cambridge, (617) 876-6555.

www.mbta.com.

www.zipcar.com.



Issue Date: June 13 - 20, 2002
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