For my current trip to Maine, my wife and I decided to save on some driving and took the Acela up to Boston, where we picked up a rental car. Usually when I do that, I rent from Enterprise Sout Boston, where they'll pick you up and drop you off at South Station. However, because this year the rental car situation is so screwy, all the had on offer was a "mid-size" (what normal people would call a "compact" sedan for about $1,200 for the week and a half rental. I looked around, and South Station isn't really all that far from Logan Airport, so I checked prices there. This also has the advantage of allowing weekend returns, as the Enterprise local office is closed on the weekends and after 6, whereas the airport sites are open 24/7. This was sort of important to us, as we're returning the car on a Sunday. I quickly found a rental from Hertz for a "compact SUV" for $950. Well, seemed like a no-brainer, so that's what we rented.
Upon arrival at South Station (our Acela was about 20 minutes late, the delay having started in Washington, and they never seemed to be able to make up the time), we trudged the whole length of the platform in the 90+ F heat only to find when we got into the waiting area that the air conditioning was not working. Then we find that the down escalator to the T station wasn't working, so we had to find the elevator, which deposited us in a series of hallways that eventually led to the bottom of the escalator and the T station. We went up to the ticket vending machine, and I loaded a single ride on to my Charlie Card and bought by wife a single-ride Charlie Ticket ($2.40 each). Then we went to the faregates, and we tried to use the paper Charlie ticket in one of the faregates that seemed to accept such things, only to find that the gate couldn't accept it. After some fussing about, an MBTA employee came by and showed us how to use it. Apparently, the paper Charlie ticket has a chip or something embedded in it that allows it to be used as a contactless card. In any event, we passed through, and took the elevator down to the Silver Line platform level.
We had to wait about 5 minute for the SL1 bus. It was packed! Someone immediately offered their seat for my wife, but I had to stand the whole way. We went through a tunnel making about two additional stops, then came to the surface at "Silver Line Way" where the driver had to get out and pull the trolley poles down, as we went the rest of the way on diesel engines. Eventually we emerged from another tunnel at the airport, and wormed out way through the maze to Terminal A, where we got off. The we had to wait for the Route 22 Massport Shuttle Bus, which serves Terminals A,B and the rental car center. (That's important to know, as there's another route that will eventually take you to the rental car center, but will also give you a tour of every Terminal in the airport, and I think they're up to E at this point. Fortunately, they're not yet stopping at the new one under construction that looks like a big red outer-space Alien mothership.
The shuttle bus as also jam-packed. I had the experience for the first time of my life of being offered a seat by a younger rider. I guess there's finally enough gray in my hair.
We wended out way through the tortuous winding roadways through the airport, making a couple of stops at Terminal A, and then a few more at Terminal B, then a stop at the T Blue Line Station. (I guess we could have taken the SL3 Silver Line to the Blue Line station and caught the shuttle bus there.) Finally, we got to the rental car center, which is where we encountered the first effective air conditioning since we got off the Acela. We had no problem getting the rental car, as we have a Hertz Gold membership, so we could avoid the lines at the counter and go right down to the cars. Our name was on the board, and we were told to go to the second aisle and pick any car we wanted. The one we picked was a 2018 Subaru Crosstrek with about 37,000 miles. After spending some time adding the car to my EZ-Pass account and figuring how things worked we were off. Checkout consisted of handing our driver's licenses to the gate attendant, who then fiddled with his computer and then returned our licenses with the rental agreement. Then we were off, navigating through the maze of roadways trying to find the airport exit. We did find that, despite some confusing signage, and we were on our way.
So the question is, is saving the $250 worth it? We still have to return the car and get back from the rental car center. We're staying in Boston a couple of days when we get back, so our plan is to first stop at our hotel, check in and dump out luggage, then go back out to the airport to return the car and ride back on the Blue Line, which should be easier to do without any luggage.
Upon arrival at South Station (our Acela was about 20 minutes late, the delay having started in Washington, and they never seemed to be able to make up the time), we trudged the whole length of the platform in the 90+ F heat only to find when we got into the waiting area that the air conditioning was not working. Then we find that the down escalator to the T station wasn't working, so we had to find the elevator, which deposited us in a series of hallways that eventually led to the bottom of the escalator and the T station. We went up to the ticket vending machine, and I loaded a single ride on to my Charlie Card and bought by wife a single-ride Charlie Ticket ($2.40 each). Then we went to the faregates, and we tried to use the paper Charlie ticket in one of the faregates that seemed to accept such things, only to find that the gate couldn't accept it. After some fussing about, an MBTA employee came by and showed us how to use it. Apparently, the paper Charlie ticket has a chip or something embedded in it that allows it to be used as a contactless card. In any event, we passed through, and took the elevator down to the Silver Line platform level.
We had to wait about 5 minute for the SL1 bus. It was packed! Someone immediately offered their seat for my wife, but I had to stand the whole way. We went through a tunnel making about two additional stops, then came to the surface at "Silver Line Way" where the driver had to get out and pull the trolley poles down, as we went the rest of the way on diesel engines. Eventually we emerged from another tunnel at the airport, and wormed out way through the maze to Terminal A, where we got off. The we had to wait for the Route 22 Massport Shuttle Bus, which serves Terminals A,B and the rental car center. (That's important to know, as there's another route that will eventually take you to the rental car center, but will also give you a tour of every Terminal in the airport, and I think they're up to E at this point. Fortunately, they're not yet stopping at the new one under construction that looks like a big red outer-space Alien mothership.
The shuttle bus as also jam-packed. I had the experience for the first time of my life of being offered a seat by a younger rider. I guess there's finally enough gray in my hair.
We wended out way through the tortuous winding roadways through the airport, making a couple of stops at Terminal A, and then a few more at Terminal B, then a stop at the T Blue Line Station. (I guess we could have taken the SL3 Silver Line to the Blue Line station and caught the shuttle bus there.) Finally, we got to the rental car center, which is where we encountered the first effective air conditioning since we got off the Acela. We had no problem getting the rental car, as we have a Hertz Gold membership, so we could avoid the lines at the counter and go right down to the cars. Our name was on the board, and we were told to go to the second aisle and pick any car we wanted. The one we picked was a 2018 Subaru Crosstrek with about 37,000 miles. After spending some time adding the car to my EZ-Pass account and figuring how things worked we were off. Checkout consisted of handing our driver's licenses to the gate attendant, who then fiddled with his computer and then returned our licenses with the rental agreement. Then we were off, navigating through the maze of roadways trying to find the airport exit. We did find that, despite some confusing signage, and we were on our way.So the question is, is saving the $250 worth it? We still have to return the car and get back from the rental car center. We're staying in Boston a couple of days when we get back, so our plan is to first stop at our hotel, check in and dump out luggage, then go back out to the airport to return the car and ride back on the Blue Line, which should be easier to do without any luggage.
Another reason to stay out of Airports!
