Is it that I'm Just Cheap Or ....????
 

During my usual scaning of various threads on FT, I've come to the conclusion that although FT'ers (for the most part) will go to the ends of the earth to get that free/cheap/discounted ticket or hotel, many think nothing of posting that they paid 'only' e 180 for a taxi from the airport, or gbp 100+ for a car service into the city, or e 110 for a water taxi in Venice!! Call me frugal, but I was raised in NYC using mass transit and have no problem adapting to public transport elsewhere. Granted I generally travel solo and at the most have only a small carry on as luggage, but I always seem to chuckle at the comments of others who seem to think that it's faster to take a car service (in the middle of any city's rush hour) than the airport bus or train and for a fraction of the cost. Yes, I'll concede that if you're travelling with family, staying for a month and have a pile of luggage to cart around, it could be economically feasible to pay that much~~ or if you are travelling on biz and someone else is picking up the tab (although even in that case, if I have to be somewhere in a hurry, during rush hour, I wouldn't even think of taking a taxi). What brought this to mind was a post in CO's forum about a service in TLV that for a mere $100 will pick you up at your plane and transport you the 5 min or so to immigration!!! Call me cheap or crazy, but I just don't see the value in that, especially as follow up posters mentioned the time that CO flight arrives, immigration is usually empty and CO has its own 'free' special bus that takes BF passengers (of which I will be on an upgraded ticket) to a special line anyway.

What a pleasure to read this post. No, you are not cheap; you know the value of the dollar and you know the value of your time!! ^ Like you, I adapt to public transportation wherever I travel. The only time I take car service is when I arrive late at night and my concern is security. I also don't have a large expense account to hire the most luxurious limosine service to chauffer me around. Yet as you said, often, the fastest way to get from point A to point B is by train/subway.

some public transport systems suck big time! I live in the suburbs of the English city of Leicester and usually use BHX, which is about 35 miles away. Taking a bus to the city centre, another one to Birmingham and a third one to the airport would take well over two hours, and make me look like an idiot carrying my stuff from one station to the next. Considering that I normally have to change planes to wherever I am going, the £35 cab fare suddenly looks extremely good value!

It's also worth noting that many people travelling abroad are linguistically challenged...And, contrary to popular belief in certain English-speaking parts of the world, not everyone speaks English, in fact most people globally don't. I believe I would be able to find my way and understand local language instructions virtually anywhere within Europe or the Americas, but I wouldn't be so confident about being able to pick the correct bus route for wherever I want to go while travelling around, say, China.

I fully agree. I almost always take public transport where it is a feasible option (and try to arrange things so it is). In fact, I purposely chose the location of my current flat for ease of access to public transport, and sold my car.

And it can be a bonus in many places, too... Just come back from Prague, where the airport to Zlicin (to Metro B) bus service got me to/from my hotel in Andel in 30 minutes - something I've never been able to do in a taxi in rush hour traffic.

You don't necessarily need linguistic skills to do it (and sometimes it can be half the fun), you just need a bit of common sense, experience, and good communication. Buy a day pass where you can, they're much simpler. Don't know how - start pointing at things, gesturing. If they offer a 1 hour ticket, make a 'bigger' gesture until they get there. I don't think there's been anywhere I've failed to figure this out.

I also try to take public transportation, partly to save my money for places where it buys something more worthwhile, partly because it (for me) adds to the travel experience.

I had an realization a couple of years ago in Chile (I don't speak Spanish) that improved my confidence about this. I was in the central Santiago bus station and needed a ticket to Vina del Mar. The realization was that (a) I wanted to buy a bus ticket, (b) the fellow behind the window wanted to sell bus tickets, so therefore (c) we would jointly figure out a way to do it. Once it changed from "how will I do this?" to "how will we, both of whom want to do this, make it happen?" it was smooth sailing. I would now feel up to trying the same thing in Beijing or Tokyo (or smaller places in those countries).

You are not cheap at all, you are normal :) .
I almost always take public transportation, both to the airport and while getting around the cities. I have even managed to get around LA and Miami using public transit (with the help of advice from other FTers :) ) .
The only times I use a cab is in places like Malaysia where it's cheap while public transit is confusing.

I think a lot of people are just too lazy or intimidated to figure out a subway system. If you have lived in a city like London or NYC were it is essential, its easier to figure out the next city. If you are not used to using it, a lot of people figure why bother and don't realize its usually faster.

I think they are very interesting. I like to visit subways and supermarkets whenever I travel -its great people watching and you get a sense of the area. Sometimes I will just take it to the end and get off and look around.

I have been on the following subway or mass transit systems:

Chicago
NY
Miami
NYC
Atlanta
Houston

London
Paris
Munich
Amsterdam
Prague

Ah yes, a habit of mine for many years now, too... It has got me into the odd scrape, however...

(Nothing I couldn't talk my way out of, but.)

Great post.....I often use mass transit even when I can get reimbursed from my company for use of a taxi since it is cheaper and generally faster. This was true recently when staying in Taiwan. Their MTS is fast and cheap. I often find myself booking hotels within walking distance from MTS station.

One thing to remember: workers at the airport usually take public transit (lack of free parking). Usually, this means that it is fairly easy to get to the airport.

It takes me perhaps 10 or 15 minutes more to use public transit than to take a taxi. Sometimes, in some places (JFK comes to mind), public transit is quicker than a taxi.

I avoid taxis as a general rule: they are far too expensive for the service provided.

Mauld,

You are not cheap at all, you are able bodied and know the value of your money. I think that the use of private transport makes sense when there is more than one person and lots of luggage. For example, Taller half and I could easily take the HEX (14 GBP) or Tube (5-6 GBP) from LHR to the center of london, store our bags (5 GBP for each) and then buy a peak one way ticket from zone 1 to zone 4 to get to our final destination or we could pay 28 GBP and have our mini cab guy pick us up and get us home for a shower and to drop off our bags.

From LGW its a no brainer, use the Gatwick express or the Southeast service and store bags. That is an expensive ride to the northern provinces.

We did it once, from oxford with Taller half's father and it was worth the 120 GBP, there was no way he could have made it on a bus from oxford/transferring to a cab/transferring to a train and up to the terminal.

As for the express service at more "difficult" airports, it depends, often if you do this, its to get out of paying customs or duty on products, hassling with the masses etc. I know that my mom's friend to get off the plane and through customs and immigration in THR all the time.

The other thing I was going to mention was that for some, there is a "cache" about arriving to your swish hotel (pricelined, pointed, paid for) in a private water taxi. Make sure your priority tags are sticking out so everyone can see who you are . :rolleyes:

lala

I'm sure some here do, but I've also come to realize that FT is a great source of information for how to get around a city. Specifically, I think there is a Travelbuzz thread dedicated to the fastest mode of transportation between almost every major world airport and its downtown area.

I know I've used several of these threads to figure out whether a limo, cab, train, bus/train combo, shared van, etc. is the optimal way to travel given a specific time of day and destination. For some airports, it's pretty clear cut (for example, from ORD or LHR the train is always a solid bet with little downside risk), but for others it can vary from "Definitely use a cab" to "Definitely use a train/bus" depending on what time of day you arrive - or even down to the minute you burst through the outer airport door with luggage in hand. I love FT for this kind of information...

I try to use common sense. I had colleagues who insisted on taking a taxi from downtown Brussels to the airport- just plain silly given the cheap and excellent train service. Used the HEX from LHR (not cheap but definitely excellent) for the first time this year and I can't imagine using a taxi.

Exceptions: early-morning flight in a place where public transportation was doubtful (7 AM flight out of St. Petersburg) and a genuine splurge taking a classic black taxi in London when we went to dinner one night. We just sat back and soaked up the atmosphere.

Uh, I still dread the day when my co-worker insisted on taking a cab from ORD to downtown when the train system can take you for a few bucks. We both had been to Chicago a few times and there wasn't an issue with not knowing how to navigate the system...

I use common sense & let timing/reason/budgets dictate. Sometimes I do limo/private car service, some times taxi, sometimes subways, sometimes shuttles. Depends on city, time, reason. I don't brag in either direction, whether I spent a lot or very little.