Rental Cars near Amtrak Station In Albuquerque

[jannie]

Taking the Southwest chief in the fall and will have to rent car when arrive. Is there rental cars places within walking distance of the station? Thanks

 

[tricia]

There's an Enterprise near the station that will pick you up there. (Or at least there was a year or two ago, when I did this.) Other folks might come up with different options for you.

 

[Railroad Bill]

We have used the Enterprise in ABQ and have one scheduled for our trip this fall. They will pick you up and take you to their office on Loma. A bit of a walk but not really necessary.

 

[gswager]

You can take the city bus #50 which will take you to the airport. The bus goes through the car rental places along the route. The transportation center is right next door to Amtrak/Greyhound station. I've used it several times.

http://www.cabq.gov/transit/bus-routes

 

[jannie]

Thanks I ckecked prices - and the airport cost of rental is significantly (around $200.00 for a wk) higher than renting at one of the other locations. My concern is that the train is 'suppose' to arrive at 3:55 p.m. and the locations (not airport) all close at 6 p.m. -- hopefully whatever is causing the SWC to be late will be resolved by later in the fall.

 

[ParanoidAndroid]

The delay-causing construction on the SWC route is now estimated to end by September 4th.

 

[Saddleshoes]

A year ago I took a cab to the airport Enterprise location. I think the fare was $15 with tip.

 

[tricia]

Thanks I ckecked prices - and the airport cost of rental is significantly (around $200.00 for a wk) higher than renting at one of the other locations. My concern is that the train is 'suppose' to arrive at 3:55 p.m. and the locations (not airport) all close at 6 p.m. -- hopefully whatever is causing the SWC to be late will be resolved by later in the fall.

I had this same concern when I rented from the downtown Enterprise. They told me that if the train was delay past their closing time, I should call from the train and they'd arrange for my reservation to be transferred to Enterprise's airport location. We didn't need to do this, and I don't remember if the airport would have honored the price on the original reservation--suggest you call the downtown office and ask.

 

[jannie]

Thanks everyone - looks like I'll need to call Enterprise to ck if train is late if the Airport location honors the downtown price. My trip will be after Sept 4th.

 

[Alice]

I've arrived past closing in other cities with car transferred to airport, original price honored, and once in Portland cab fare reimbursed. I keep them up-to-date with schedule starting way ahead in case of lousy cell service down the line.

 

[me_little_me]

We stayed a few nights in ABQ so we just waited until the next day to pick up a car. In our case, we found Hertz to be cheaper so we took the Railrunner up to the Montano Station and Hertz picked us up from there.

If you are visiting ABQ for a day or more first, then skip the car until you need it. The nearby Hotel Andaluz is very nice and is an easy two block walk even for us seniors. The Parq Central is a little further but they have complementary pickup and drop-off at the train station. Both hotels have a quick, close, inexpensive and short ride to Old Town where you can enjoy your first full day. Or stat at an OLD Town hotel or B&B. Bus from Amtrak Station or short taxi/Uber ride down Central Ave. Moreover, if you are arriving on a Friday or Saturday, you can have a pizza dinner (very good & that's from a NY Italian) at J C's New York Pizza Department in downtown near the station on Central. Sit outside and watch the awesome parade of weird cars and pickups cruising by. Loved it!

Remember, the RailRunner train will take you from Abq to Downtown Santa Fe and you can walk or take the free shuttle from there to Santa Fe Old Town (where car parking can be iffy).

THEN after seeing Old Town and Santa Fe, you get a rental car.

Note that RailRunner train (listen for the cartoon beep-beep as the doors close) and Albuquerque bus system offer discounts to seniors. Veterans with VA card ride RailRunner (and I think city buses) for free.

We lived in NM for 22 years, five in ABQ and my brothers & sister, their kids and grandkids live there so we now go back by train. We have stayed at both the above-named hotels and did exactly what we suggested above.

 

[Milw6166]

You will need to be careful about the #50 bus concerning weekend vs weekday schedules. Also, Hertz is not served directly, probably go to airport then their shuttle. Or, taxi out there from Transpo Ctr. The returning to Transpo Ctr use their shuttle and #50 or taxi. I am in the same boat("riding the rods" I mean) as far as on-time train. Would appreciate some local advise to confirm my concept.

 

[Paul CHI]

The airport rental operations add about 30% in outrageous tourist fees to the basic cost of the rental, but you do have the advantage of 24 hour operation which the downtown offices do not. I think it likely that the airport rules will not permit any car driven off the property without those fees.

$15-20 is about right for cab fare to the airport. You can take a city bus if you're not in a hurry: the bus terminal is right next to the tracks.

 

[SarahZ]

The airport rental operations add about 30% in outrageous tourist fees to the basic cost of the rental, but you do have the advantage of 24 hour operation which the downtown offices do not. I think it likely that the airport rules will not permit any car driven off the property without those fees.

$15-20 is about right for cab fare to the airport. You can take a city bus if you're not in a hurry: the bus terminal is right next to the tracks.

Sometimes it depends on the airport. Out of all of my local Hertz offices, the airport location is the cheapest. Most people I know, including myself, rent from that location.

For the most part, though, yes... the airport can be wildly more expensive. It never hurts to compare rates within a geographic area.

 

[jannie]

Thanks for all the great advice. Sounds great to go to Santa Fe, but no time. I'll ck out Hertz, though have often found it more expensive. I believe the hotel may be an option and pick up the car the next morning -- will have to keep in contact with the rental agency.

 

[erinch13]

We arrived by SWC on July 2. Had an Enterprise reservation at the downtown Enterprise. The SWC was late, and we were going to miss it. I called them and they transferred me to the airport Enterprise. They honored the reservation. We had an SUV reserved which they did not have . We had lots of luggage for a long trip, and they gave us a mini van for the same price. If I had originally ally reserved at the airport it would have been close to a thousand more for 3 weeks.

It was the 4th of Muly weekend, and it still worked out.

We called a cab. Yellow cab. Well worth looking up their number and having it on hand, as there aren't any waiting at the station.

 

[seat38a]

The airport rental operations add about 30% in outrageous tourist fees to the basic cost of the rental, but you do have the advantage of 24 hour operation which the downtown offices do not. I think it likely that the airport rules will not permit any car driven off the property without those fees.

$15-20 is about right for cab fare to the airport. You can take a city bus if you're not in a hurry: the bus terminal is right next to the tracks.

Many of those fees are there to pay for the construction bond that paid for the rental car facility. Just like the PFC is used to payoff the bond of the airport terminal, new consolidated rental car facilities owned by the airport usually have some sort of fee like this. Older facilities don't charge this since there is nothing to pay off. The ABQ facility is new and probably still has a ways to go before the construction bonds are paid off.

Sticking it to tourists or people from out of town to the benefit of locals is nothing new.