Gracie, you never cease to amaze me. My husband and I haven't bought in The Villages,
but your are alway gracious in your replies to all....no matter if they have a negative
vibe to them.like this one about getting to the Villages...we have spent time in The Villages and found that if we rented the car from the airport in Orlando and drove down we had the car for the day to get settled in.and then dropped it off at the rental place (I use a site dealcatcher.com for discount codes)...heck, the rental company will drive us back to the home and from there on in we used the golf cart.....well, I confess, one rainy weekend we rented the car and drove around, but that was only one :)...the rest of the time we met people to do things with......it is amazing, and I hope that it won't be a long time before we too are Village People :)
You have a wonderful day! You deserve many. Happy holidays!
Tripngirl - Boston area, and yes we have had snow.....

Tripngirl, you are correct, Gracie is always nice to everyone. The wife and I have had the great pleasure of meeting and having dinner with Gracie and her family and she is even nicer in person.

Army Guy

The Florida Jitney went out of business and the Shuttleliner pick up point is at 301 and the Turnpike, so those are not an option. When my wife and I go North we go to Park and Fly and for 5.00-6.00 depending on your discounts you really can go wrong. The amount you are paying for shuttle's you are making up at Park and Fly. Just a thought.......... :D

I have used The Villages Shuttle many times, and I have found it to be cost efficient and accomodating. This fall the rate for residents was $35.00. It is more for non residents which is understandable. Some people live to complain.

:agree: :agree: :agree:

It is SOOOO true.

I so agree about GG!

GREAT suggestion! Thanks! Enterprise will do a one way rental for our family for about $60!

Airport ride
 

Whenever we needed a ride to JFK in New York it cost us $100.00 + a tip. So I can't say that the TV shuttle is a scam. The shuttle hours may be an issue. We're going away in May, hours don't work so we'll probably use one of the parking locations and see how it works out. Some things are cheaper some things are not. I guess it depends on where you lived before you moved here. As far as I'm concerned we made the right choice.

Another vote for a car rental.

Paying a reasonable fee for a service rendered is the cost of doing business.

IMHO - If two or more people wanted to get from the Orlando Airport with a minimum of inconvenience, the best way in would be to rent a car from Enterprise and drive directly to your home in TV. Return the car to Enterprise in TV, (no additional drop off fee), and have Enterprise drive you back home.

Being one person, I might even go this route just for the convenience.

One must shop for the most cost effective way if they have budget concerns or they just want to save money. Of course, everyone has an opinion of how they go about doing their business.

When I visited TV three years ago, I was very impressed for numerous reasons. I wouldn't let one trip from the airport color my thinking on the big picture.

I'll be moving to TV as soon as my condo sells, (on the market since January, 2010), I tired on being a TV wannabee. Hopefully, I will accomplish moving before I see another winter in the northeast.

try $12.00 for taxi ,village taxi for a 1.7 mile ride plus tip.that is a pip off.

Airport Shuttle
 

Apologies to those who think I live to complain.

However, my thread re the Airport Shuttle was prompted by my feeling that I had been ripped off, and that those who did so were reluctant to remedy the situation:

"The web site clearly states $40 per person each way yet my credit card has been charged $50 and they are baulking at refunding the difference"

The operators have reduced the price to $35 ($65 round trip) so I have used the Shuttle several times since, and have been very happy with it.

If my complaint persuaded them to look at the cost of alternatives and reduce their price accordingly then my life has not been in vain :-)

We use Yellow Cab, they are available 24-7, pick you up at your door, and charge 35.00 per person

The last time we tried to book Yellow Cab, there was no car available. But it is a small business and hopefully it will be successful and grow.

It is splendid to have an alternative to the shuttle, especially after hours. And it is a real plus to be delivered right to your door.

We were disappointed when the Florida Jitney Service closed down. We really hope the Yellow Cab business is a success.

Yellow Cab (aka "The Villages Van") just picked up our latest salvo ov guests---at the front door.

Could someone post the phone # of the 'yellow cab'? Thanks.

I used Yellow Cab about 2 weeks ago, and the driver told me they just bought a few more vans and hired more drivers, their phone number is 352-241-2000

I wish we could retire this post title because the subject is misleading and does a disservice to The Villages Shuttle Service which is a major asset to those of us who live in The Villages. A friend used yellow cab and was stuck for an extra two hours at a parking lot because they were waiting on another customer.

I had a reservation with Yellow cab to pick me up at the Orlando airport, I arrived an hour late because of weather in Philadelphia, I called Yellow Cab, and they told me not to worry they would send me another cab, within a 1/2 hour I was picked up and taken to the Bubble, I was the only passenger and feel they went out of their way. I love the service and just made reservations for them to pick up my wife and I on the 31st of March.

:agree:

I glad the admin changed the title:) :)

Thanks for the yellow cab idea and number.

Me too. Makes more sense to discuss the pros and cons.

I attempted to use the new Yellow Cab Village Shuttle coming in for a flight on Thursday night recently. Upon making the reservation, we were informed that the van would arrive at 8:30pm at Ground Transportation pickup spot 'B49'. My flight was scheduled to arrive into Orlando at 8:20pm. They were provided with my contact information as usual for any shuttle service so in the event that any changes happened, I could be notified.

Then my troubles began..... :ohdear:

I arrived on time, 8:20pm with no checked luggage, stopped briefly to use the restroom and then went directly to the designated shuttle area B49 as I was instructed, the time is now 8:30pm. The van had not arrived yet, but that was okay, I can wait a few minutes. About 15 minutes later of standing and watching every other shuttle service vehicle come and go, I started to wonder if I had accidentally provided them with the wrong date or time. So I called the Yellow Cab Village Shuttle Bus phone number (not to be confused by The Villages Shuttle Service). I was informed by a nice lady that the driver was on his way and would arrive very soon. Then after 30 minutes, I am really starting to wonder what is going on. The whole reason I opted to use this new service was to avoid waiting 70 minutes for the The Villages Shuttle Service which would not pick up people until 9:30pm. I was only coming down for the weekend so for me, my time is very important and I was eager to get to the Villages at a reasonable hour that evening. I then called back twice, only to receive their voicemail which sounded like I had called someone's house, not a real business. By then I called my relative who was awaiting my arrival and had suggested I use this new service. They had already called twice to confirm my pickup. By 9:25pm, both my relative and myself were fed up. They had my phone number, but did they call me to tell me they would be late for any reason? No. They just left me sitting outside the airport wondering if and when I might be picked up, not the way anyone would want to start their weekend getaway.

My relative was able to make contact after a third phone call to the new shuttle service and they seemed confused and uncertain as to why the driver had not arrived. Despite their efforts to salvage the situation with me, I remained doubtful that I would actually reach the Villages. Finally I decided by now that I needed to take action or I might be stranded for even longer. I accessed The "Real" Villages Shuttle schedule on my cell phone and headed down to B16 to see if they had room for one more on their 9:30pm shuttle. Luckily for me they did and I was on my way. We informed the Yellow Cab service that I would not be waiting any longer and that I was going to use the regular Villages Shuttle.

This was not a positive experience, but I realized the Yellow Cab Village Shuttle Bus service was new and may be subject to problems. Toward the end of my stay, I decided to let them make it up to me by driving me to the airport for free for the way back. I always believe in giving second chances. So the night prior to my departure, we called to schedule my pickup time. My flight was scheduled for 4:47pm. They suggested a pickup time of 1:15pm but said that the driver would contact us the next day (departure date) to confirm the pickup time. This was because they have muliple pickups to make so they couldn't quite lock in the exact pickup time yet. Having not heard from the driver or service, I decided to call them at 12 noon the day of my departure to confirm my scheduled pick up time. I was informed that I would be picked up at 1:30pm. Around 1:25pm I decided to go wait out in the garage to ensure a timely pickup and minimize wait time for any other passengers onboard the shutttle. Just then the phone rings from the driver indicating he would be arriving at 1:45pm. Despite our concern about getting to the airport early enough, he told my relative he would have me to the airport by 2:30pm. Unless I was getting picked up in a Heliocopter, we knew that this would not be possible. At 1:55pm he finally shows up without saying too much and certainly without apology. We get to the airport by 3:15pm. This was adequate time for me. However if I had not been a seasoned traveler with a pre-printed boarding pass and using the expert travel line, this might have left me in a panic state. I tipped my driver, because I thought maybe the guy could have a family to feed etc, and was on my way.

From this point forward, I will only be using the Villages Shuttle Service, even with its slightly qwerky schedule, I know at least they will be there when they say they will.

Maybe I will try the Yellow Cab service again in a year after they get more dependable, if they survive that long.

Good luck to the rest of you!

Never saw a person's first post be that long. I think you win a prize. Admins?

a good first story
 

AJB
admirable story
well handled
not a seriously ranting expose
been there done that
Arranged for a cab on Christmas Day for a Baltimore-Orlando Flight, 1999
We are rural, NO traffic at Noon Christmas
Kept calling but NEVER showed
We had a friend make a last minute jaunt and we got there just in time not minutes to spare

Reliability is more important than price

L&L

The Villages Shuttle is great, but the hours are limited. Yellow Cab offers 24 hours service (let's hope they can deliver what they advertise).

I don't feel comfortable driving to the airport. Fireboy often flies in after the Villages Shuttle stops running. In the past, I've hired private drivers to pick him up. The Yellow Cab service is way more affordable.

We had a couple of negative experiences with Yellow Cab but we're attributing them to growing pains. I sincerely hope they work out the "kinks". We're going to continue to use them. Next time is March 30.

We were very disappointed when the Florida Jitney closed down. I sure hope the Yellow Cab service prospers.