neos

We're flying into PHL in a few weeks and have a 9-month old in tow. I wanted to know how difficult it would be to get a cab with an infant car seat?

I wouldn't be against renting a car for one day but prices from PHL seem exorbitant.

peetahvw

Unfortunately all the cab companies in Philly stopped offering on-demand taxis with car seats. That being said if you're bringing your own seat, I've never had problems with taxis in Philly letting me install it myself (many non-crown-vic cabs in Philly have LATCH points)

Unlike in NY there is no legal requirement for the baby to be in a car seat while in a taxi - but thats a risk/decision up to the individual.

One other option, depending on your destination is taking SEPTA. The train from PHL will let you leave your baby in a stroller for the entire ride, and its a roll-on-roll-off situation (for any of the Center City destinations) so no need to even lift the stroller up/down

CDTraveler

Take Septa. I live in the PHL metro area and cabs in this region are generally awful and overpriced. Plus the traffic to/from the airport is usually a mess now that road construction season has started. Within the downtown area traffic is such that you can often walk to your destination far faster than a cab can get you there.

Lovethecabin

As a frequent PHL visitor (not a resident) I agree with the bold. We use Uber exclusively (usually XL or Black) when staying in the city.

seagull22ds

Yeah depending on where your going the R1 SEPTA to Center City would probably be the easiest.

Just walk out of the terminal and down the stairs to the SEPTA station. Its 8 bucks a person and takes you right to 30th street station


Dave

CDTraveler

From the terminal to one of the Septa stops at the airport, the easiest way is to take the skybridge over the street and then either stairs or elevator to the platform.

On Septa.org you can find more info on the fares and options from the airport to City Center. If you think you will be making more than one or two trips by public transit in a given day, consider getting an Independence Pass from the conductor for unlimited rides in a single day. From the website you can also purchase tickets by mail if you have enough lead time. Advance tickets are cheaper than buying them on the train.

If you want to be downtown (aka City Center), the station you'd want is either Suburban Station or Jefferson, not 30th Street, which is on the opposite side of the river from City Center.

travelmad478

Downtown Philly is referred to as Center City, not City Center.

CDTraveler

I live here. Both are heard on a regular basis.

travelmad478

I've never heard anyone call it City Center. I have lived either in Philly, or 45 minutes from it, for 20 years. If you can point me to a written reference, I'd be interested to see one.

rittenhousesq

ditto. I've lived in Center City since 1990.

Zooter

No one from Philly says anything but Center City for that area.

cestmoi123

That requirement doesn't exist in NYC either.

"Drivers of yellow medallion taxicabs and for-hire vehicles and their passengers, are exempt from laws regarding car seats and seatbelts."

http://www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/html/faq/faq_pass.shtml

MSPeconomist

I agree.

At PHL, it's easy to find the elevators down to the SEPTA platform, but at other stations, they can be harder to find.

You might also want to check on car service costs. For example, when yellow cab started a fixed rate sedan car division, their prices were comparable too taxi fares during normal (but not particularly light) traffic.

fairviewroad

This is probably a moot point for the OP by now, but for posterity's sake I'll mention that the Airport line, like all other SEPTA Regional Rail services, is no longer referred to by its "R" designation. The Airline Line is now simply the "Airport Line."

Long Train Runnin

What is the status of the Airport Line service with the current SEPTA equipment issues? Would the train still be the advisable solution not only for OP but for PHL visitors in general since from what I've seen they are kind of making up schedules on the fly.