Rental Cars Suck

Other than Rental Cars, what is your most-used ground transportation once you reach your dest?

  • Picked up by friends/family

  • Taxi/Uber/Lyft

  • Crew car

  • Powered (electric/gas) scooter

  • non-powered scooter

  • folding bicycle

  • hoverboard

  • Hitchhiking/Craigslist Rideshare

  • Public Transportation

  • Magic Carpet

Results are only viewable after voting.
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talkingbob

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First, if this needs to be moved to another forum, let me know.

Let's talk about the least fun part of flying for me - destination ground transportation.
Until the flying car becomes a reality, we are going to be stuck with this problem once on the ground at our destination.
I tried to google and find a list that shows the pros/cons of various ground transportation methods, but couldn't find it. For me, I think a table would be good. Each row would be the type of transport (folding bike, uber, rental car, etc) and then there would be columns for cost, availability, considerations, range, etc.

Here's every rental car alternative I can think of:
1. Taxi/Uber/Lyft
2. Crew car
3. Powered (electric/gas) scooter
4. non-powered scooter
5. folding bicycle
6. hoverboard

So... What's your favorite method of non-rental car transportation (and why)?

Thanks.
 
Uber for me.. it's always been relatively easy, low cost, and generally convenient. Renting a car sucks always, the lines are a complete disaster and the whole process is absurdly painful. When I travel on business I do everything I can to avoid renting a car

I only used a crew car once and waited about 45 minutes for it.. and the whole time I felt guilty that I was using their car
 
Sounds like you're just renting from the wrong company. Always pleasant experiences with Enterprise.
 
Depends on many factors - your top three choices + rental car cover 98% of my use and which option depends on the situation (how close to ultimate destination, how long is the trip, urban/suburban/rural area, single destination vs. multiple locations during the trip, relatives nearby vs. not...) The other 2% is when my destination is within walking distance (e.g., the very occasional $100 hamburger run or my upcoming trip to Oshkosh).
 
don't recall ever having a major issue with a rental car. but for a lot of the flights I do I'll uber at my destination. easy peasy.
 
Ryanb said:
Sounds like you're just renting from the wrong company. Always pleasant experiences with Enterprise.
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Maybe.. I've only used Hertz and something called Fox(?) and it wasn't necessarily the rental company itself, but the whole experience. For some reason the lines move incredibly slow and it seems that every person needs to have some kind of banal argument over one of the fees or about why the car they picked online is not the one they're actually getting. I'm like "who cares if it is a Toyota Corolla or a Honda Accord, just sign the paperwork, don't crash the thing, and get on with it!"

Incidentally, I'm not fancy enough, nor rent enough, to get one of those "elite" memberships where you just walk up and take any car you want.. I suppose that would make it easier
 
Tantalum said:
Maybe.. I've only used Hertz and something called Fox(?) and it wasn't necessarily the rental company itself, but the whole experience. For some reason the lines move incredibly slow and it seems that every person needs to have some kind of banal argument over one of the fees or about why the car they picked online is not the one they're actually getting. I'm like "who cares if it is a Toyota Corolla or a Honda Accord, just sign the paperwork, don't crash the thing, and get on with it!"

Incidentally, I'm not fancy enough, nor rent enough, to get one of those "elite" memberships where you just walk up and take any car you want.. I suppose that would make it easier
Click to expand...
Fox is a joke, it's like the bottom of the barrel. Never used Hertz. Enterprise makes it easy, I haven't waited more than 20 minutes from the line to leaving the lot. You choose the size you want prior to arriving and they let you pick any car in that category. I'm a firm believer that the service you pay for, is the service you receive.
 
(0) Hertz rental car has usually worked well for me where available. There are no lines at FBOs, at my favorite stops they pull up to the plane, open the trunk and run the a/c, Gold Club means no CC or checkout required and I get a great rate. Only problems are locations w/o weekend service.

(1) Uber is a new discovery but works great where available. Still figuring out how to reliably figure availability out. Usually ends up costing same as rental. Quality varies. Need to sign up for Lyft to see if it opens more options.

(2) Loaner car is great where available. Since I'm usually staying 1 or more nights, I generally need to return it before done. Price is right.

(3) Taxis take long, $$$$, and just not pleasant.

(4) folding bike is a pita.

Going to an airport with a good ground transport solution is more important than fuel price and often overrules proximity to destination.


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In my consulting days, we used to ask new consultants, "What's the difference between a rental car and a SUV?"

The answer, of course, is that "...a rental car goes anywhere."

I lightweight bicycle or scooter would be good if you're not going very far, but Uber is the ticket if going any appreciable distance and the FBO doesn't have a crew car you can borrow. I would think that a skateboard would be light enough to carry onboard and can be used to not only cover a few blocks/miles as needed, but can be used to move luggage or heavier items.
 
sounds like this thread may have been started by an uber driver ;)
 
Ryanb said:
I haven't waited more than 20 minutes from the line to leaving the lot. You choose the size you want prior to arriving and they let you pick any car in that category. I'm a firm believer that the service you pay for, is the service you receive.
Click to expand...
Definitely agree with you on getting the service you pay for, that's something I have discovered as I've gotten older or my spending power has gone up! But, I still feel like waiting up to 20 minutes is kind of a hassle, maybe I'm just impatient

SkyDog58 said:
None of your choices are really good alternatives to the flexibility that a rental car provides especially for multi day stays somewhere.
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That's a good point, it does depend on the nature of your trip. Most of my airplane adventures have been one day trips or two day trips and typically involve going from the airport to either a hotel or into the center of town. If I was going somewhere for a week that would involve the required flexibility of a car then definitely a rental car makes more sense in that case just for the freedom it affords you
 
Flying somewhere to attend a 2-hour meeting: courtesy car.
Flying somewhere to spend more time but all in one general place (or with mass transit access to other places I want to go): taxi/Uber.
Flying somewhere to spend time in multiple locations without easy access between them: rental car.

You can have a bad experience with any type of ground transport. I had a bad time with Enterprise last year (I made a short-notice online reservation but got a confirmation number, and when I arrived there were "no cars" although there were plenty in the lot and I only needed it for the one night) and told them that it was up to them to re-earn my business, and they made it right. I generally have had better success with organizing a rental car through the FBO, at least when flying into Class D airports.

I am still trying to figure out what to do about my dog. Ideally I can get a folding bicycle and train the dog to pull me around on it, but there must be some way out there that is more reliable and less work.
 
OP here.
I am neither a hoverboard manufacturer, nor an Uber driver. My frustration is with the availability and cost of rental cars. I guess I am not as wealthy as most pilots. I mean, I am already paying for expensive fuel, possible fees (landing/parking) and then I have to turn around and pay through the nose for a rental car and HOPE that they are open when I land and that the process goes smoothly!

I have cancelled flights due to a delay and realizing that I would be unable to pick up my rental car on a Saturday afternoon, since the place closes at noon. Also, one airport had on-field rentals, but they were over $100/day for some very old cars. Almost EVERY Enterprise seems to be closed on Sunday as well. Sometimes I want to fly to an airport for a day or two (come in on a Sunday) and be able to leave the airport. Uber is the next best thing, but it stinks to have to pay a minimum amount every time you want to leave your hotel (and come back). To those that use Uber - how long do you typically wait after "hailing" your Uber?

Lastly, I looked into Turo, which seems really new, but most listings seem to be for more exotic cars and thus, are more than traditional rentals!

It sounds like a real solution isn't really available - which stinks for me because after trying to find a public airport near where I want to go and then figure out ground transportation, it's hard to justify flying over driving for many places. :(
 
talkingbob said:
it's hard to justify flying over driving for many places.
Click to expand...
Unless you're going somewhere just for the novelty of flying then I find the magic number to be about 300 miles or greater
 
Ryanb said:
Fox is a joke, it's like the bottom of the barrel. Never used Hertz. Enterprise makes it easy, I haven't waited more than 20 minutes from the line to leaving the lot. You choose the size you want prior to arriving and they let you pick any car in that category. I'm a firm believer that the service you pay for, is the service you receive.
Click to expand...

Unrelated to the thread, but tell that to Atlantic in KOKC that charged me $170 dollars 2 weeks ago to put some air up on my tiny glorified go-kart tires. No that's not a typo. The treatment I got is certainly not what I expected. 3 year customer too. I contested the charge of course, I would have never agree to such a rate. Nothing. Asked where was my complimentary toolbox through the wing while they were at it (they didn't get it, I forgot they must not frequent POA :D). The line man agreed to bring it up to the GM the next day and call me back... and well it's been 2 weeks. They 'blew' me off (pun fully intended) as a small potatoes guy, just like I told the line guy they would. Scratch that place off the list. So much for the convenience of a closer drive to that side of town.

So in my world at least, there is such a thing as paying more for less, and most of these class C/B part 121-adjacent FBOs seem to fall into that category. Which brings us back to the ye ole' canard that pilots are cheap. If charges such as the aforementioned appear reasonable to the gallery, then I'm ok resembling the remark then.

As to rental cars. Love em. Not hot on crew cars. It's location dependent of course, but for me they're either have been a hassle, a guilt trip, or both. No thanks. I rather just get a rental and not be on some former cell phone retail store now FBO desk jockey's clock (the genesis of the $170 air incident).
 
FWIW, Atlantic in Reno filled my tires for free while I was buying fuel from them. I am a hangar tenant here. There is nothing in my lease that talks about putting air in tires but Atlantic's been very cooperative... at least in Reno.
 
For commercial flights I prefer a rental car, the longest line is usually for the shuttle bus to the car lot. With both Hertz and National I just pick a car and go. Flying myself it depends on where I'm going. Looking at houses a couple years ago I needed a rental car, and had to change airports and ended up having to take a taxi to pick it up, would have been easier if I had known ahead. Had one FBO return go missing for a week, so that sucked, but I didn't get charged for it. For overnights where I don't have any business to do except eat and sleep I prefer walking or the folding bicycle. The trick there is finding airports with a hotel/food nearby.

Also, what, no option for public transport? Sometimes it's a good option. SQL is a hike(or short Uber/Lyft/Cab) to CalTrain, then into the BART/Muni system and you can get many places you might have business in the bay area. HHR is also a short hike to the LA transit system, but it sucks unless you're going to downtown LA, which was the one time I've used it.
 
Depends on what you need to do. When we went to SAN a couple months ago Signature gave us a ride to our hotel in their van, and we Ubered back a few days later. When we went to SNA a couple years ago we rented a car through Go Rentals (I had an employee rate which made it like $20/day) so we could go to the beach and such. If I just need lunch I'll grab a crew car. We tend to go places where we don't need a car and stay downtown so Uber is a better option.

If you go to FBOs that have decent services they should be able to make the vehicle reservation, do any necessary paperwork once you arrive, and get you a fair rate. Often times the car will be waiting for you on the ramp when you open your door. Your problem is making reservations on your own and thus having to go to the counter to do the work.
 
Z06_Mir said:
If you go to FBOs that have decent services they should be able to make the vehicle reservation, do any necessary paperwork once you arrive, and get you a fair rate. Often times the car will be waiting for you on the ramp when you open your door. Your problem is making reservations on your own and thus having to go to the counter to do the work.
Click to expand...
Building on that, asking any decent FBO to book a room not only gets you a good rate, it can even overcome 'no vacancy' situations. FBOs apparently are good hotel customers. In general, if just need a room, transportation for a drink and a meal on a stop over, just ask. That's what FBOs do for their best customers and they will do it for you for minimum $$$ if you hold your face right.

Come in assuming that everyone at the FBO is an asshat is shooting yourself in the foot.



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Bill Watson said:
Building on that, asking any decent FBO to book a room not only gets you a good rate, it can even overcome 'no vacancy' situations. FBOs apparently are good hotel customers. In general, if just need a room, transportation for a drink and a meal on a stop over, just ask. That's what FBOs do for their best customers and they will do it for you for minimum $$$ if you hold your face right.

Come in assuming that everyone at the FBO is an asshat is shooting yourself in the foot.



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Click to expand...

Exactly! FBOs do a lot of volume and have good rates and can make miracles happen (even if the rate isn't good sometimes you can make a room appear). The vast majority of hotels that FBOs use also have complimentary shuttles to/from the FBO. All included in the price of fuel/tie-down/hangar so as the customer you may as well use it anyway :)
 
hindsight2020 said:
Unrelated to the thread, but tell that to Atlantic in KOKC that charged me $170 dollars 2 weeks ago to put some air up on my tiny glorified go-kart tires. No that's not a typo. The treatment I got is certainly not what I expected. 3 year customer too. I contested the charge of course, I would have never agree to such a rate. Nothing. Asked where was my complimentary toolbox through the wing while they were at it (they didn't get it, I forgot they must not frequent POA :D). The line man agreed to bring it up to the GM the next day and call me back... and well it's been 2 weeks. They 'blew' me off (pun fully intended) as a small potatoes guy, just like I told the line guy they would. Scratch that place off the list. So much for the convenience of a closer drive to that side of town.

So in my world at least, there is such a thing as paying more for less, and most of these class C/B part 121-adjacent FBOs seem to fall into that category. Which brings us back to the ye ole' canard that pilots are cheap. If charges such as the aforementioned appear reasonable to the gallery, then I'm ok resembling the remark then.

As to rental cars. Love em. Not hot on crew cars. It's location dependent of course, but for me they're either have been a hassle, a guilt trip, or both. No thanks. I rather just get a rental and not be on some former cell phone retail store now FBO desk jockey's clock (the genesis of the $170 air incident).
Click to expand...

I carry a 12v tire inflator and tire valves in the plane after I had to call in for help to a remote field.
 
Morgan3820 said:
I carry a 12v tire inflator and tire valves in the plane after I had to call in for help to a remote field.
Click to expand...

Oh indeed. I usually carry a foot pump myself, but I forgot it at home after putting everything back in the plane with the whole getting it back from annual shuffle. I was trying to be proactive by asking for air since I've had mildly sagging tires pinch and rip the tubes before. Much good that did me. LOL

For the record, other places have been quite accommodating with non-issue requests like a little bit of air or what have you. I made the mistake of extending the same assumption to what up until last week was a 3 year+ patronized establishment. Oh well. It's unfortunate, because it does imo fuel the cheap pilot stereotype and that's an unfair characterization imo considering the full context of the situation.
 
Tantalum said:
Unless you're going somewhere just for the novelty of flying then I find the magic number to be about 300 miles or greater
Click to expand...

Depends on logistics at both ends of the trip. Living on a strip with the hangar in the back yard makes 100 miles work for me.

Durham NC to Pittsburgh at 263NM is a win!


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Bill Watson said:
Durham NC to **Pittsburgh** at 263NM is a win!
Click to expand...

Maybe that's my problem? I sense that most of the pilots who have responded go to large metro areas with multiple rental car companies, etc, etc.
For example, there is a destination that is an hour-long flight, but I tend to do Sunday-Monday trips and the ONE rental car agency in the town (Enterprise) is not open on Sunday. I run into this all the time. My life would be MUCH easier if Enterprise allowed pilots to pick up cars outside of business hours. Then there are places like Hatteras, NC which have an airport on the beach, but if you need to go anywhere, you have no rental car option and I doubt Uber is available.
 
Tantalum said:
Incidentally, I'm not fancy enough, nor rent enough, to get one of those "elite" memberships where you just walk up and take any car you want.. I suppose that would make it easier
Click to expand...

Doesn't require any minimum rentals. You sign up on their website, enter your driver's license and CC. The first time you rent they have to see your DL and CC, after that it's painless. I have Avis, Hertz and Enterprise. Avis is the best service for commercial airportsm. Hertz has the best one-way rates and branches in hotels. Enterprise is well, it's different.
 
Bill Watson said:
Building on that, asking any decent FBO to book a room not only gets you a good rate, it can even overcome 'no vacancy' situations. FBOs apparently are good hotel customers. In general, if just need a room, transportation for a drink and a meal on a stop over, just ask. That's what FBOs do for their best customers and they will do it for you for minimum $$$ if you hold your face right.

Come in assuming that everyone at the FBO is an asshat is shooting yourself in the foot.
Click to expand...

Sometimes the rate for the rental car at the FBO location is higher than at a community location. That is frequently the result of a franchise tax collected by the airport. I can ***** and moan about it and complain if the FBO doesn't give me a ride to the local Hertz or I can just enjoy the luxury of someone pulling the rental up to my plane and pay price asked.

With hotels what I have received through the FBO is usually the 'government' rate and yes if the call comes from the FBO there is usually a room available.
 
It sounds like if you are flying to a remote airport (with no FBO), then you are screwed and if you fly to a be city, then the costs are high, but you have options.
Again, if this is the best there is, than so be it. I wish something like turo.com could be more aimed at GA pilots.
 
Paying more for less?

That reminds me of living in New York!

Seriously though,

The trip that you make can be entirely planned out ahead of time. What time the Rental car companies stay open until, rates..etc If the airport doesn't have the availability you want, fly to another one. The more accessibility you want, the more things are going to cost.
 
Ryanb said:
Sounds like you're just renting from the wrong company. Always pleasant experiences with Enterprise.
Click to expand...
They would be my last choice. The last time I used them (long time ago), I rented from them over on U.S.1 to drive from Miami to Clearwater for a series of technical workshops. The tires were so bad that I couldn't go over 50mph without the car shaking to the extreme. Ended up stopping at the one in Ft Myers, they needed to go for a test drive, gave me a different car and after much delay I was finished my drive .. missing half the day's sessions. I then had to stop and trade cars again to take the right one back to Miami. Major hassle. No more Enterprise for me.
 
talkingbob said:
It sounds like if you are flying to a remote airport (with no FBO), then you are screwed and if you fly to a be city, then the costs are high, but you have options.
Again, if this is the best there is, than so be it. I wish something like turo.com could be more aimed at GA pilots.
Click to expand...
The best option for a rental car, as far a convenience goes, is to have the FBO arrange for one in advance, especially if you want the car to be there on a Sunday. If there's no FBO, that's a problem. A location like that probably doesn't have Uber or Lyft either...

The service received from rental car companies is all over the place. It depends on the individual operator. I have had good and bad service from Enterprise, depending on the location. That goes for FBOs too, so it's hard to make generalizations.
 
Everskyward said:
The best option for a rental car, as far a convenience goes, is to have the FBO arrange for one in advance, especially if you want the car to be there on a Sunday. If there's no FBO, that's a problem. A location like that probably doesn't have Uber or Lyft either...
Click to expand...

This should be required knowledge for a Private Pilot. Seriously though, I had to learn the above all on my own (the hard way). We really need a post-PPL ambassador thing that trains new pilots on all this.
 
talkingbob said:
This should be required knowledge for a Private Pilot. Seriously though, I had to learn the above all on my own (the hard way). We really need a post-PPL ambassador thing that trains new pilots on all this.
Click to expand...
It should have been. It's all a part of pre-flight planning.
 
talkingbob said:
This should be required knowledge for a Private Pilot. Seriously though, I had to learn the above all on my own (the hard way). We really need a post-PPL ambassador thing that trains new pilots on all this.
Click to expand...

Really the basic things one needs to consider when traveling somewhere is the same whether you fly airline or GA; where to stay, where to eat, how to get around, etc. The specific details and the nuances may vary but should not be all that difficult for anyone to figure out.
 
SkyDog58 said:
Really the basic things one needs to consider when traveling somewhere is the same whether you fly airline or GA; where to stay, where to eat, how to get around, etc. The specific details and the nuances may vary but should not be all that difficult for anyone to figure out.
Click to expand...

Again, what is being confirmed by the replies in this thread is that flying to small GA airports not served by airlines will result in limited options for getting around the local area you fly to. It's really a shame, since so many public use GA airports out there just have a self-serve fuel pump (if that), yet could be within 10 miles of where you are wanting to go and they simply cannot be used due to no ground transportation.
I see this as a problem that needs a solution.
Almost like there needs to be some way to have "self serve" crew cars or something...
 
talkingbob said:
This should be required knowledge for a Private Pilot. Seriously though, I had to learn the above all on my own (the hard way). We really need a post-PPL ambassador thing that trains new pilots on all this.
Click to expand...
I train my students on those things. I also have done AMAs on Reddit and even welcomed questions here. Unfortunately some people don't want services (cost) so they don't learn how to acquire them until it's too late. The number one thing to know is that if you need info on the airport, area, services etc just call the fbo. They will know and will tell you anything you need to know even if you don't go there later on.
talkingbob said:
Again, what is being confirmed by the replies in this thread is that flying to small GA airports not served by airlines will result in limited options for getting around the local area you fly to. It's really a shame, since so many public use GA airports out there just have a self-serve fuel pump (if that), yet could be within 10 miles of where you are wanting to go and they simply cannot be used due to no ground transportation.
I see this as a problem that needs a solution.
Almost like there needs to be some way to have "self serve" crew cars or something...
Click to expand...

I worked at an airport not served by airlines. Granted it was a busy ga airport but there are a ton of places like that with rental cars and such available without an airline terminal.
 
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