Booking transportation while traveling is normally difficult just for an individual or family, but for a group it’s even more problematic and troublesome to manage.  The following are some tips to help with reserving transportation for groups. Please feel free to share these with others, or write us with your own tips and we’ll include them into our format with comments.

Group Transportation Tips:

1. Private or Public:  It’s easy to figure out what would be the primary goal here.  One will save money, and the other is more convenient.  This is the first question to tackle and one that will depend on the audience.

• Private: If your booking transportation for a group of executives, well then you might want to go with the private transportation.  These would include limos, private shuttle or buses, coach, taxis, or even planes or other types of needs depending on the clientele.  We would recommend a few here but there are so many and depending on your area there would be specialty services designated in that area.  For example, some airports only allow certain taxis or shuttles to pick up in their loading zones, so it’s always good to check to make sure the one you select is okay to pickup and drop-off.
• On the other hand, if your booking a group going to the airport and they are on a budget, then you might want to use the public outlets.  These would include public buses, shuttles, and other forms of transportation like trains, or subways.  One of the larger nationwide airport services is Airport Bus, and they can accommodate a large number on short notice, but it’s because they are already running 24 hours a day.  If your coming in last minute and need to get a group to or from the airport, this would be the first call I would make.  The other options here would include Super Shuttle, where they can accommodate groups via multiple passenger vans and coordinated rates and times.

2. Considerations and Extra Charges:  This bring ups an interesting subject for some groups traveling from outside the US.  Not every country has the same gratuity views and are not always sure on options work best for them.  The key here is to find out every additional charge and in today’s economy there are lots of extra charges.  If you don’t know, ask.  You’ll be much happier knowing upfront versus at the end.  For example, limo services typcially have gratuities between 25 – 40 %, whereas some public bus services are not even allowed to accept tips.  Private coaches will probably charge for gas, plus time, as well as gratuity for the driver, and if you are traveling overnight, then a room for the driver is also expected.  This means that you must take into account each of these additional charges before making your decision.

3. Support:  This crucial for any group, as if one thing goes wrong, there are a lot of people that are effected.  The best consideration is to go with a company that is reputable and has plenty of back-up options in case something get thrown off.  For example, a group booked two shuttles for a 5am pickup, but then extra people show up and they need an extra van at the last minute.  It would be nice to have one company that can support these needs and get an extra van there to get everyone to their destination on-time.

These considerations, as well as individual needs of any group, will help making sure that the right plans have been made for reserving transportation for groups.

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