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Green Journal: Getting to the Airport the Green Way
August 20, 2007

If you travel frequently like I do, you’ll want to check out some new alternatives to the standard car service to get to and from the airport for your next trip.  Ok, for full disclosure, the “greenest” way to the airport is probably public transportation.  However,  trying to maximize sleep time before those early Monday morning flights (or trying to get home as quickly as possible after a cross-country “jaunt”) makes public transit impratical for me.  I recently tried two different car services that promise a more ecologically friendly transport experience.  Both PlanetTran and EcoLimo offer great alternatives to the standard Lincoln Town Car. PlanetTran has a fleet of Priuses (or is that Prii?) and Lexus RX 400hes and provides services in the San Francisco Bay Area and Boston. EcoLimo has a more diverse fleet– Priuses and Lexuses, as well as Biodiesel E Class Mercedes and Chevy Suburbans and services additional markets– SF, Los Angeles and Washington, DC. Both services were on time, at my house and at the airport. With PlanetTran I was picked up in a high-end Prius– leather, etc., while I got the Biodiesel E Class with EcoLimo. Both cars were new, clean and comfortable. As an aside, my EcoLimo driver happened to do a little name dropping– apparantly, they were the Oscar night green limo of choice for a certain high-ranking ex-government official who won an Academy Award for a documentary on global warming– wink wink. As for cost, at least PlanetTran was equivalent to traditional car services. For some perspective, they charged me $60 (including tax, tip and airport fees) to go about 20 miles from my home to SFO. My previous car service charged $50 (which I think was at the low end for most services in the area). EcoLimo charged more, but I think that was an error on their part and it was too difficult working through their customer service to correct it. Between the two, I’d probably go with PlanetTran. Overall, they had a better website with an automated reservation system and they proactively email pdf receipts on the day of your trip. With EcoLimo it took three calls to their accounting department in Los Angeles before I could get a receipt (in fairness that was shortly after their launch so they may have sorted things out by now).  However, if you have a Brady Bunch-sized family, the EcoLimo Suburban maybe would be the way to go (or just pack less). 

-Charles the Car Guy

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