From Stockton to San Jose - Need Help Fast!

[Time Like Tears]

So, my sweetie and I have decided to move in together. This has presented us with some logistical problems as he's in California and I am in Florida. He's booked on a flight out of San Jose on Saturday, around noonish.

Our newest trouble is that his ride to the airport fell through. Now we have to figure out how to get him from Stockton to San Jose by 11am on a Saturday, preferably without his having to spend the night in either the airport or the bus station.

The best cab fare quote I could come up with was a flat rate of $145, barring traffic (and there will probably be traffic). That's more than the plane ticket!

So, Valley/Bay Area Dopers, any ideas? Any advice will be very much appreciated.

[garygnu]

It looks like a one-way ticket on Greyhound is only $19.50 ($23.50 if refundable).
Sure, it's a six to seven hour trip on a bus, but it's cheap.

[Algher]

Get him to San Francisco and he can take CalTrain down to San Jose. There is a shuttle to the Airport.

[Time Like Tears]

Originally Posted by garygnu

It looks like a one-way ticket on Greyhound is only $19.50 ($23.50 if refundable).
Sure, it's a six to seven hour trip on a bus, but it's cheap.

Yeah, I thought of that, but there are a couple of problems there. The earliest departure on Saturday SAYS it'll arrive in San Jose at 11:15am, but that's really not enough time to get to the airport and checked in for an 11:54am flight. I've never ever known Greyhound to run precisely on time, either.

The other problem being that the next earliest he could get there is 12:30am Saturday morning. That's 10.5 hours he'd have to spend sitting in a bus station or the airport, extending total travel time to well over 24 hours.

Me? I am excited enough to say 'Go for it!' Him? It'll never happen. Thanks so much for the suggestion, though! It may well end up being the only way.

[Stuffy]

First things first, on Saturday mornings traffic between Stockton and San Jose is negligible. Second try a combination of ACE train from Stockton (I think it's on Webster street) to San Jose then a short hop to the airport. Or try Amtrak (on San Joaquin near downtown) to Oakland Coliseum station and BART to San Jose. Neither trip should be more than 2 - 2 1/2 hours.

[Valgard]

It's about 80 miles, mostly freeways. See if he can either get a one-way car rental (drop off at SJ airport) or have a friend listed as co-driver go with him.

[Stuffy]

Crap. Disregard my suggestion; I forgot no ACE on weekends, and Amtrack leaves too late. You know, if he can just figure out a way to get to Livermore by say 8:30 or so the rest is easy. The real problem is transit options are scarce on the Valley side of the Altamont Pass. Getting a buddy to drop him off at Livermore BART should be about a 30 minute trip at that time in the morning. Try getting a taxi quote for that; it's less than halfway but once he's at BART the rest of the trip should be about $10 and should be less than an hours transit time.

[Time Like Tears]

You guys are awesome, I am running all this past him. It's high stress for both of us right now, glad to have such a great pool of people who can help us think!

[Bearflag70]

My first thought was rent a car

[Stuffy]

Rental cars will be a bitch. In Stockton there's Enterprise and Avis, between them I think they have 10 cars Reserve early, like tomorrow if you want to take that option. I'm not sure what if anything is at Stockton's airport.

[Time Like Tears]

Yeah, that and neither of us has a credit card. :/

I am thinking the BART from Pittsburg (or the nearest station he can get to) to Fremont, then a cab to the airport might be the best bet. The schedules run in beneficial ways to us, as opposed to Amtrak and Greyhound. Haven't heard his opinion on that suggestion yet, though.

[garygnu]

Here's how Google would get him from the Fremont BART station to the airport on public transit. It shows to use VTA 181, but it doesn't run on weekends, but VTA 180 does, and it's almost the same route.

(I don't like using cabs, can you tell? It would be $40-$60 from Fremont.)

[Really Not All That Bright]

I know you're just asking for travel help, but are you sure it's a good idea to have him move across the country on three days' notice?

[Time Like Tears]

Originally Posted by Really Not All That Bright

I know you're just asking for travel help, but are you sure it's a good idea to have him move across the country on three days' notice?

It's not three days' notice, we've been planning this for months, it's just that his previously-confirmed ride had to bail on him at the last minute.

We're still exploring options, but mostly concentrating around the BART solution now. And yeah, cabs are hella expensive, but the time constraints involved make them a very attractive option. It's gonna be a bit touch-and-go on Saturday, I'm afraid, but yeah. Definitely a bus if he's got the time cushion we hope for.

[Time Like Tears]

Originally Posted by garygnu

(I don't like using cabs, can you tell? It would be $40-$60 from Fremont.)

$40-60 for 17 miles/30 minutes*?? Good Lord am I glad to live in a rural area!

*travel from Fremont BART to SJC, per Google

[brad_d]

If a taxi ride costs $145, it may well prove cost-effective for him to spend Saturday night in a cheap motel someplace near the airport. Doing this would remove the pretty tight morning-travel time constraint, which might make a (significantly) cheaper transport mode a viable choice.

It's worth considering, I suppose, if none of the other options presented so far work out.