Groome direct bus, formerly Workman

[Babubhat]

Rode the airport shuttle yesterday. Large bus said Workman on it. Same schedule, same gate at airport. nothing has changed but the vendor

[Stu from NYC]

Wonder what they do with direct pickups. Having to wait while 25 people get dropped off all around the villages would give me second thoughts.

[Bill14564]

Wonder what they do with direct pickups. Having to wait while 25 people get dropped off all around the villages would give me second thoughts.

The Groome bus I was on held eight so maybe four stops. We weren't the first stop so it didn't seem too bad. A post in another thread complained about what they perceived to be inefficient routing (they were the last stop).

Don't know how many a "large" bus might hold.

[thelegges]

We always parked at Brown wood hotel and picked up the shuttle straight to mco. Wonder if that will change

[Babubhat]

No change. Reservation comes with parking pass if needed. The website is a replica of Workman site. See Groome faq.

Parking at Brownwood Hotel & Spa: You can park your car for any length of time at The Brownwood Hotel, if a Groome Express Depot customer! Passengers must park in “overflow” parking which is the lot to the far left when looking at the Brownwood Hotel. Place your parking pass that was sent along with your confirmation email on your vehicle dashboard prior to departure. View Map of "Overflow" parking for Groome Express Depot Customers.

[asianthree]

No change. Reservation comes with parking pass if needed. The website is a replica of old Workman site

I hope they start earlier and later than workman. With workman sometimes there was 2-3 hours between shuttle times

[Hape2Bhr]

I hope they start earlier and later than workman. With workman sometimes there was 2-3 hours between shuttle times

I had a 1am scheduled pickup with Groome back in June...arrived by 1:10am. I could not get their driver map location to work on my phone. No complaints though. I had a very early flight.

[Kittycat522]

Wonder what they do with direct pickups. Having to wait while 25 people get dropped off all around the villages would give me second thoughts.

No Groome has two types of routes now so not dropping off tons of people all over. The same as workman used to run it leaves from LSL and brownwood hotel only and goes directly to airport for $40. If want home pick up with this route it is an additional $15 and takes you to LSL OR hotel. This is called their express service and exactly run like workman. No changes. Then they also have their other system in smaller van that picks up and drops off all over and goes to airport. So the express workman route is the way to go. Vehicle size will range from 6-30 seats depending on reservations. Workman wants to focus more on day and multi day trips

[Persia]

[QUOTE=asianthree;2252440]I hope they start earlier and later than workman. With workman sometimes there was 2-3 hours between shuttle time/QUOTE]

I used Groome's all the time and was pleasantly surprised to find their services here. They are consistently on time and run 23 times a day, making it very convenient for flight times. The one thing we did not have was pickup to my home town so I had to drive to the depot to meet the van. I do know that they had institured the home pickup - for a small additional fee. I loved the service and the convenience of being dropped off directly at the boarding doors of the airport.

[JMintzer]

No Groome has two types of routes now so not dropping off tons of people all over. The same as workman used to run it leaves from LSL and brownwood hotel only and goes directly to airport for $40. If want home pick up with this route it is an additional $15 and takes you to LSL OR hotel. This is called their express service and exactly run like workman. No changes. Then they also have their other system in smaller van that picks up and drops off all over and goes to airport. So the express workman route is the way to go. Vehicle size will range from 6-30 seats depending on reservations. Workman wants to focus more on day and multi day trips

Groome used to charge $35 to pick up/drop off at your house. Now, it looks like it's $40. Not an additional $15... I think it went up last Spring when due to increased gas prices...

[Bill14564]

Groome used to charge $35 to pick up/drop off at your house. Now, it looks like it's $40. Not an additional $15... I think it went up last Spring when due to increased gas prices...

The $35 -> $40 change was recent - I paid $35 for a trip in early June.

The $15 is an additional charge to take you to your home from the Express depot (Brownwood hotel). Think of it as a taxi ride from the depot to your home so that you don't need to leave your car in the hotel parking lot.

[Bogie Shooter]

The $35 -> $40 change was recent - I paid $35 for a trip in early June.

The $15 is an additional charge to take you to your home from the Express depot (Brownwood hotel). Think of it as a taxi ride from the depot to your home so that you don't need to leave your car in the hotel parking lot.

Works the same for Lake Sumter depot……….
No parking lot.

[Stu from NYC]

We will be giving them a try

[JMintzer]

The $35 -> $40 change was recent - I paid $35 for a trip in early June.

The $15 is an additional charge to take you to your home from the Express depot (Brownwood hotel). Think of it as a taxi ride from the depot to your home so that you don't need to leave your car in the hotel parking lot.

I -did- say "I think prices went up in the Spring"...

Why pay an additional $15 to get a ride home from Brownwood or LSL when they'll take you directly home for less money?

[tophcfa]

I -did- say "I think prices went up in the Spring"...

Why pay an additional $15 to get a ride home from Brownwood or LSL when they'll take you directly home for less money?

Depending on where you live, the extra $15 is chump change compared to your time. If you live in the northern sections of the Villages, you will be the first picked up or last dropped off resulting in a MUCH longer ride. That was before a single home was built south of 44, I can only imagine the additional time now. If they had home pick up services that were exclusively for smaller sections of the Villages that would be different.

[Bill14564]

I -did- say "I think prices went up in the Spring"...

Why pay an additional $15 to get a ride home from Brownwood or LSL when they'll take you directly home for less money?

My guess: A more predictable departure and arrival time at the Villages. (a recent post complained about being the last to be dropped off at home)

The departure time meant less to me than keeping my car in the garage - I chose the residential service.

[JMintzer]

Depending on where you live, the extra $15 is chump change compared to your time. If you live in the northern sections of the Villages, you will be the first picked up or last dropped off resulting in a MUCH longer ride.

True. I live just north of 44. In the half dozen times I've used Groome's, I've only had to wait for 2-3 stops. Maybe adding 10-15 minutes to the trip...

[JMintzer]

My guess: A more predictable departure and arrival time at the Villages. (a recent post complained about being the last to be dropped off at home)

The departure time meant less to me than keeping my car in the garage - I chose the residential service.

Also true.

[jbsnarkin]

I haven’t been able to get an answer to this question yet

I have 20 loyalty points with Workman that is good for 2 free trips or 1 round trip. I can’t get an answer on what happens to the points.

Does anyone else have this issue?

[Vermilion Villager]

Groome works well for those living South of 44. Last to be picked up and first to be dropped off. I'm in Marsh Bend and there has only been one time someone was dropped off before me. :evil6:

[Kittycat522]

Groome used to charge $35 to pick up/drop off at your house. Now, it looks like it's $40. Not an additional $15... I think it went up last Spring when due to increased gas prices...

Yes, the cost of the shuttle is $40. That was Workman‘s price. It’s now grooms price for their express service which is the workman schedule and prices. The extra $15 I mentioned is if you want the express route to pick you up at home and take you to LSL or Brownwood hotel to catch the express service to the airport so that would be a total of $55 one way

[Kittycat522]

I haven’t been able to get an answer to this question yet

I have 20 loyalty points with Workman that is good for 2 free trips or 1 round trip. I can’t get an answer on what happens to the points.

Does anyone else have this issue?

I called and asked that question the other day and they said if you book a trip right now, they’re gonna honor it but going forward they will not that’s been phased out so our loyalty points are not going to transfer from Workman to groome

[Drrichross]

Depending on where you live, the extra $15 is chump change compared to your time. If you live in the northern sections of the Villages, you will be the first picked up or last dropped off resulting in a MUCH longer ride. That was before a single home was built south of 44, I can only imagine the additional time now. If they had home pick up services that were exclusively for smaller sections of the Villages that would be different.

We are in Mulberry, so always first on, last off. Usually adds about an hour to 1.5 hours as we ride thru the rest of TV picking up or dropping off others. We are snow flakes and prefer to store our car in our garage for the often months we are north. Extra $15 will be worth it to save that time. But question is if that is per person (I would assume) or flat rate. Will be looking into this as we are back down in a couple weeks.

[tophcfa]

We are in Mulberry, so always first on, last off. Usually adds about an hour to 1.5 hours as we ride thru the rest of TV picking up or dropping off others. We are snow flakes and prefer to store our car in our garage for the often months we are north. Extra $15 will be worth it to save that time. But question is if that is per person (I would assume) or flat rate. Will be looking into this as we are back down in a couple weeks.

Not sure how Groome will work, but Workman charged $15 for the ride between the Terminal and your home and it was a flat rate even if you had more than one person. However, we only use that service if it’s a single traveler. Whenever we have more than one traveler we use a private driver. With 2 people the private driver only costs a little bit more and with three or four travelers the private driver is cheaper than the shuttle. The problem with private drivers is that you usually have to book them well in advance as they tend to have a full schedule. When you spontaneously book a trip on short notice it can be difficult to find an available driver, so the shuttle is a back up option.

[JMintzer]

Yes, the cost of the shuttle is $40. That was Workman‘s price. It’s now grooms price for their express service which is the workman schedule and prices. The extra $15 I mentioned is if you want the express route to pick you up at home and take you to LSL or Brownwood hotel to catch the express service to the airport so that would be a total of $55 one way

Yes, I understand that. But now, you've got to make two trips and wait for two pickups... For me, that makes zero sense, as I live just north of 44 and I'm one of the last to be picked up to go to the airport and one of the first to be dropped off...

For me, home pickup (leaving out the Brownwood stop) makes more sense...

[Stu from NYC]

Wonder why they go to Orlando and not Tampa airport?

[Bill14564]

Wonder why they go to Orlando and not Tampa airport?

My guess: Orlando is 25 miles closer, you don't have to deal with downtown Tampa traffic, and Orlando might have more flights.

[JMintzer]

My guess: Orlando is 25 miles closer, you don't have to deal with downtown Tampa traffic, and Orlando might have more flights.

Yes, Yes and Yes...