Ground Transportation Woes: Stuck at the Airport

Ground transportation glitches are alive and well this summer. So, this story is not unusual. A traveler just arrive at JKF from Singapore on what is famous to the longest flight in the world. And that traveler now had to catch a connecting flight to DCA. On the other end there was ground transportation to consider: a Blacklane sedan waiting for the pick-up at the 10pm hour to manage the 80-minute drive back to Baltimore, the traveler’s end point. The 9pm flight turned into a three hour waiting game on the JFK tarmac. Then four, then five in what was easily topping a 24-hour day of traveling. Finally, it was 2am before the traveler got to wheels up for a 3am arrival at the now closed up airport in Washington D.C. 

Transportation Glitch

And the ground transportation glitches were just getting starts. That 10pm Blacklane driver had long since vanished and the passenger was having trouble contacting the transport office at the midnight hour for a rescheduling — and with a time when there was some assurance that the plane would actually arrive at DCA. In the end, a new Blacklane sedan somehow showed up. A car came rolling in at 3 am and the barely conscious passenger was home in bed before dawn. Easy peasy? Not so fast. 

Ground transportation glitches are all the rage in the era for chaotic flying. Of some 8.3 million flights schedule by U.S. carriers last year, nearly 200,000, or 2.4 percent were cancel and a whopping 20.6 percent were delay by nearly an hour in readings by FlightAware. 

These ground transportation mishaps cause a cascade of repercussions for travelers, not the least of which is missing schedule meetings and appointments, not to reschedule a ride and possibly gets stuck with a walloping taxi or Uber charge when the prepay schedule option is no longer available. 

Ground Transportation

“While there are federal laws and regulations regarding passenger rights and what they owe due to cancellations or delays, no such rules exist for ground transportation providers,” says John McCarthy, president of The GO Group, parent company of GOwithUs.com (formerly GO Airport Shuttle).

GOwithUs.com, an international airport ground transportation supplier, offers up these tips to aid travelers in rescheduling, regardless of what transfer company may engage at the time. 

Keep information handy: Having confirmation numbers and other relevant information ready will enable the provider to make changes faster and more accurately.   

Policies vary per provider: If you have a vehicle reserve, be sure to contact your ground transportation provider as soon as possible to reduce the chance of being charges change or cancellation fees. These costs, and when they are and are not charging, vary per operator.   

Going to the airport: It is the passenger’s responsibility to reschedule the pick up from a residence, hotel, business or any other location. Changes made within one hour of a flight cancelling or a delay should not trip any change fees. However, this policy also varies among operators.

Stuck at the airport: Know your options. Most airports offer numerous types of reserved and non-reserved transportation providers, and for those arriving in the late hours, it will help to have confirmed the remuneration plan for such instances rather than “going rogue” and taking on unscheduled transport alternatives.