Hello,
My family and I will be traveling to Asia this summer. We will be staying for two days in SFO to prepare for our long flight. We will be flying JetBlue into OAK and are wondering what service/taxi to use to get to our hotel (St. Regis San Fran).
Are there taxi's available at OAK airport that are van style which will accomodate a family of four and their luggage? Or should we hire a service, such as SupperShuttle, which will take us to our hotel for $70 in a van.
Thanks so much.
Eastbay1K
May 29, 06, 11:55 pm
Unfortunately, with 4 people and lots of luggage, BART isn't a viable option.
http://www.flyoakland.com/shuttles.shtml
This is a link from the OAK website for shuttle services and a color chart below as to where they go. I'd expect many of them are flaky. Supershuttle may be the most reliable.
number_6
May 30, 06, 2:36 am
You're staying at the St. Regis (one of the most expensive hotels in SF) and looking at how to save $10 on the taxi fare? Oakland taxis are notorioiusly poor (cars are in bad condition and drivers are exploited), much worse than SF taxis. Best bet would be to arrange a car service in advance; Supershuttle is also reasonably good and readily available at OAK. Enjoy the St. Regis, it is a good hotel, but eat elsewhere.
flying fool
Jun 3, 06, 7:42 pm
I agree on the private car. With four people and luggage out of Oakland, it's really the only good option. As noted, cabs there are sub-par at best. There are lots of airport limo services that would shuttle out of Oakland. You might call the concierge at your hotel for a recommendation.
Hayden
Jun 5, 06, 8:12 pm
Another option would be to rent a car at OAK and return it 2 or 3 days later to SFO. Dollar, for example, has a full-size car rate near the end of June of about $138 for 3 days ($38/day plus taxes, a facility fee of $10, and a one-way drop charge of $3.63).
Depending on what you're doing in SF, it might be nice to have a car. You will wind up paying through the nose for parking in downtown SF (probably $20/night or more), but if that means you can go to Muir Woods or somewhere similar, then maybe it is worth it. Of course, it depends on how much luggage you have...
-Hayden
Hayden
Jun 5, 06, 8:35 pm
Oakland taxis are notorioiusly poor (cars are in bad condition and drivers are exploited), much worse than SF taxis.
I live in Oakland and have necessarily taken Friendly Cab (and Veteran's Cab and its other names)--I can only agree with Number 6. The owner of Friendly Cab has been sued by the District Attorney for illegal dumping at their maintenance office, and sued again when he simply switched the location at which he was doing the dumping. He was sued again (!) by the DA for illegally filling a creek near the airport to make a parking lot for an unpermitted night club (the City never did issue permits for the club). The work literally occurred in the middle of the night, with the result that the parking lot looks like an amusement park ride.
Separately, Friendly Cab has been sued for not picking up seniors and disabled patrons.
Back in 2002, the drivers sued five firms controlled by the Singhs, including Friendly Cab, essentially for taking their money or skimming from their income, and for giving them non-roadworthy cabs.
All that said, my experiences with the drivers have generally been good, but it gives me a bad feeling when I have to use Friendly Cab and I know that I'm supporting the owners at some level.