Haggling with shuttle drivers at LAX/Transportation from ONT to DL

[frozman]

Hi everyone, I have a 2 part trip coming up, and I need a little advice on both parts. I've heard reports elsewhere that people "haggle" with shuttle drivers at airports if there's several of them there, is this doable at LAX? Note that I'm trying to go from LAX to the Ontario Airport area, not Disneyland (so please don't just say "take the disneyland express). Or if anyone knows of a shuttle service that can get me out to that area for less than $58 (Primetimes price, best I could find) please share. I'd be interested in something that could take me to my hotel across from Ontario Mills Mall or to Ontario Airport as my hotel has a free shuttle from there.
Now, for the 2nd part of my trip I will need to get from the Ontario Airport area to my hotel near DL. My intention was to just take my hotels free shuttle to the airport and take Primetime shuttle to my 2nd hotel for $45. I'm fine with that price to be honest, (airport to a hotel thats a good distance) but if anyone knows of something better please share. I do know how Metrolink works, but I just don't want to be lugging my bags from bus -> train -> bus, plus my Ontario hotel doesn't have a bus stop anywhere near it.
But I just feel there should be something better going from airport to airport, it's not that hard here in DC.
Thanks!

[BrerGnat]

I'd just rent a car, to be honest. I've never heard of people being able to haggle with shuttle drivers. They have very fixed prices to various destinations, and they are not exactly lined up waiting for people. They get booked in advance quite often.

You could probably score a pretty good price on an economy rental car if you look around. For the $100 or so you plan to spend on shuttling around, you could get a rental with unlimited miles for the week.

Or, is it at all possible to change your air transportation to just arrive at ONT? Is the cost prohibitive, when compared to the add'l transportation you'll have to pay for?

[frozman]

I'm using frequent flier miles and the flights to Ontario are "blacked out". So $150 vs $2.50 each way lol. Im probably gonna look into a shuttle or bus from an area metrolink station to Ontario airport.
A rental car would be kind of an issue, as I'd either have to take it back to lax and then pay $20-$30 for transportation to dl, or pay more to return it to another location, and then figure out a way to get to my 2nd hotel from there.
My returning flight is out of John Wayne, so that's easy, my flight coming in is the only issue.

[BrerGnat]

I'm using frequent flier miles and the flights to Ontario are "blacked out". So $150 vs $2.50 each way lol. Im probably gonna look into a shuttle or bus from an area metrolink station to Ontario airport.
A rental car would be kind of an issue, as I'd either have to take it back to lax and then pay $20-$30 for transportation to dl, or pay more to return it to another location, and then figure out a way to get to my 2nd hotel from there.
My returning flight is out of John Wayne, so that's easy, my flight coming in is the only issue.

Well, in case you change your mind, there are rental car locations VERY close to Disneyland (within walking distance). Just so you know. Enterprise, for sure, has a couple locations in Anaheim very close to DLR.

[frozman]

Thanks, I had looked into that, but it just seems too costly (and not to mention risky having the risk of a break in or vandalism) since having a car wouldn't do me any good except for those 2 days.
Anyway, in 2007 on my 1st trip to Disneyland, my little sister and I flew into (and out of) LAX, and after we landed we went out to that center island to try and find "The Green Sign" to catch the Disneyland resort express. We clearly had no idea what we were doing, as neither one of us had ever been to California before. While walking around we passed a shuttle that was being loaded with about 4 people, and the driver approached us, trying to get us on the shuttle too (we already had our DRE tickets, so it wasn't open for consideration). I suppose larger companies like SuperShuttle and PrimeTime may have strict set rates for certain areas, but maybe there's some smaller ones that you can haggle with.
Funny how little, what seem like insignifigant things from years ago can suddenly become of importance. But my aunt came to visit several years back (being from Northern Virginia, like me, I'm sure you can understand what I'm talking about BrerGnat), and her flight was into BWI. To make it easier for us to get her, she decided to take a shuttle to Reagan (why she didn't just take the Metro Bus to Greenbelt metro I don't know), and she chose a shuttle that advertised $20 or something like that, she got to Reagan and her fare was like $60, she then looked at the writing on the van and the $20 was preceded by the word "from" in extremely small letters. She said she managed to get him down to $40 or something like that, so it haggling be done.

Anyway I think what I might actually do is just try walking around the center island, pretending to be lost while waiting for the Flyaway bus to LA Union Station. If an offer to go out there for $40 or so comes up, I'll probably take it, otherwise, I'll take Metrolink to the station thats 2 miles from my hotel, and take a Taxi or something from there to my hotel or ONT. Once again, I'm actually very familiar with the areas in question, I've just never had to go to the Ontario area from LAX before.

[BrerGnat]

Funny...I'm not from No. Virginia. I just moved here in July of this year. We lived in Southern CA for the past 10 years. We lived about 5 minutes away from John Wayne Airport...and about 15 minutes from DLR. I hate LAX. Hate. It.

I think the prices you've been quoted are probably the best you are going to do, and they are actually very reasonable. LA is very different from Washington Metro area. The mass transit is just not there. Companies like Super Shuttle and Prime time basically monopolize the Southern CA area and, to be honest, I wouldn't trust a "no name" shuttle company to drive me all the way to Ontario from LAX for a reasonable fee. The larger conglomerates can charge less because of greater volume. I'd book a reservation with Prime Time (my favorite shuttle company for that area, by the way), so you won't be left stranded at the airport.

[frozman]

Hey, thanks for the advice. I wanted to let you know that I caved in and went ahead and booked that $58 prime time shuttle to the ONT area, along with the $45 ONT->DL area Prime Time Shuttle. I did get to thinking that I saved a lot of money with my FF miles and that the $58 isn't too bad when you think about how much I saved, and got a non stop trip to boot, so the travel time from take off in DC to my ultimate destination in LA is probably still less.

Mind you that $45 shuttle would be there no matter what I did. Plus, metrolink is a little more expensive than I remember. So it was either:
Wait for flyaway, pay $7, take bus to LA Union, wait for train, pay $10, take to Ontario Area, take taxi to hotel (around $15 with tip)

OR, pay an extra $30 with a tip to just sit back and relax all the way there.

7 more days :thumbsup:

[BrerGnat]

7 more days :thumbsup:

Nice! I can't wait to hear about your DLH stay!

Have a great trip. :mickey: