Renting a car from an Amtrak station

[MARC Rider]

[OK, not sure whether this should be in the Amtrak forum or the "non-rail" forum, but I'm putting in the Amtrak forum because it focuses on car rentals at Amtrak stations.]

So you've arrived somewhere after your pleasant relaxed, on-time ( ) Amtrak ride, and you want to know how you can get a rental car. Here are some of my experiences. They may or may not be up-to-date, as some of these happened a decade ago or more.

My most frequent use of rental cars is at Boston South Station, as I rent almost every winter for my New England cross-country ski trip. There's no rental counter at South Station. At first, I used Hertz, as they have (or had?) a partnership with Amtrak and you got 150 AGR points per rental. However, you had to take a taxi to the closest Hertz office, which was in the Boston Park Plaza hotel in Back Bay. Hertz would reimburse your cab fare from the station, but it didn't reimburse cab fare from the rental office back to the station. Eventually, I swi8ched to Enterprise, mainly because they pick you up and drop you off. I did it first at their government center office, which was very convenient to the on-ramp for the Big Dig going north. Then they told me that if I wanted a ride from South Station, I needed to use their South Boston office. That one's not so bad, either, and I get to stop for a lobster roll at Yankee Lobster before I hit the highway.

When I arrive, I go up to the Metropolitan Lounge and call Enterprise. I leave my bags with the redcap downstairs. When Enterprise arrives, I go down and have the redcap wheel out my stuff to the front door where the car is waiting. The Boston redcaps are great, and the service is well worth the tip, as I'm usually hauling around a small wheelie, a large wheelie, my skis, and my daypack. Enterprise drives you the 5 minutes to their office where you do the paperwork, and you're off.

Upon return, there's a gas station right around the corner from the rental agency, so you can easily fill your tank right before you return your car. When I have checked baggage, I go to the station before I return the car. Enterprise would be happy to drive me back to the station, but usually I don't want to have to haul around all my checked and carry-on baggage to the baggage check. Access to the baggage room is around the side of the station, off Dorchester St., between the station and the post office building. You have to drive through a gate, which they let you through if you say you're going to the Amtrak baggage room. Parking is a little flaky, but you're only there for a couple of minutes dropping off your bags, and I've never had a problem. One thing to keep in mind is that this office usually closes at 6 (maybe earlier on Sundays). They'll let you leave the car in the lot and throw the keys through a slot if the place is closed, but you are responsible for damage if anything happens to the car between the time you drop it off and the time they check it out when the place opens.

Next stop -- BWI

 

[MARC Rider]

The rental car office for BWI Airport is located fairly close to the train station. Unfortunately, there's no direct shuttle from the train station to the rental car office. You have to ride the bus to the airport terminal, and then get the rental car shuttle. Otherwise, this is pretty much the standard large airport rental car center with desks for all the major rental agencies. I once rented a car here for a business road trip; my wife drove me down and picked me up, but then I decided to use the Enterprise office in my neighborhood.

Next stop - Washington Union Station

They have rental car desks at Washington, but when I used it, they just directed me upstairs into the parking garage that's over the tracks, where the real rental offices are. My final judgement was "never again," but that was mostly because renting at the station means you have to drive through downtown Washington's most congested traffic before you're on your way. It might be better to go to the airport and get a car, but maybe that depends on where you're going.

Next stop -- Savannah, Georgia

You have to rent your car at the Savannah Airport. This is a $30 taxi ride from the train station. I used Hertz at first, who had a deal where, upon return, you could park your car at the train station, call Hertz to say you were doing that, and leave your keys with the Amtrak agent at the station. Naturally, my employer then decided that we couldn't use Hertz, we had to use various cheap, no-name car rental companies to save maybe $30. So I used the no-name company, which was also at the airport, and I put my extra $30 taxi fare on my expense account.

Next Stop - Miami Florida

If they ever figured out how to finish the Miami International station to fit the Amtrak trains, this would be a breeze, as the rental car office is right over the station. If your train is running on time, you can get off in Hollywood and take a Tri-Rail commuter train into Miami International, or do what we did and take a taxi from the Miami station for about $25. Returning your car is a little tricky, because the Meteor leaves fairly early in the morning. Thus you either need to get up very early to return your rental car and then get a taxi to the station, or you have to return your car the night before, and find a motel to spend the night. We checked into the motel first and found they had a shuttle from the airport. Then we returned the car. Then we had to ride the people mover to the actual airport terminal. Then we had to wander around until we found the arrivals area, and we called the motel and said we were ready for the shuttle. Then we waited for over 30 minutes breathing diesel fumes before the shuttle finally showed up. We made one big mistake in that we didn't eat dinner before returning the rental car. The area around the Miami Airport is definitely pedestrian hostile. We were able to walk across a parking lot and wiggle through a fence to get to the hotel next door that had a decent restaurant. The next morning, another hotel patron snagged the taxi we called before we could, so we had to wait a bit longer than we planned, but we did get to the station in time to check a bag, and, anyway, the Miami station is no great place for waiting around.

Next Stop - Chicago

 

[BlackDiamond]

Flagstaff AZ. We arrived on the SWC and stayed overnight at the Residence Inn. Next morning Enterprise picked us up at the hotel and took us to the office on rte 66 about a mile or 2 away. To get the pickup I had to call the day before which I did while we were stopped at ABQ where we had cell service.

We returned the car at Grand Junction CO (GJC) where the Enterprise office is 4 blocks from the station an easy walk.

 

[TinCan782]

My "home" station is Los Angeles Union Station. There is a car rental booth there for Hertz and Budget but since that is my home station, I've never rented a car from there. Actually, I've never used an "in-station" car rental counter at any station.

The posted hours are 8AM-5PM weekdays and 8AM-1PM Saturday and closed on Sunday. Mention this because, what happens when you arrive on outside of those hours (the Coast Starlight at 10PM). I suspect this is the case at other stations as well and a taxi or rideshare to a hotel for the night would be the alternative. On this same line, even an off-site Enterprise office with traditional business hours would not be able to provide pickup service at odd hours.

Most convenient I've found was using a hotel with a car rental counter in the hotel. I typically build-in overnights to my itenerary anyway.

 

[jiml]

My "home" station is Los Angeles Union Station. There is a car rental booth there for Hertz and Budget but since that is my home station, I've never rented a car from there. Actually, I've never used an "in-station" car rental counter at any station.

The posted hours are 8AM-5PM weekdays and 8AM-1PM Saturday and closed on Sunday. Mention this because, what happens when you arrive on outside of those hours (the Coast Starlight at 10PM). I suspect this is the case at other stations as well and a taxi or rideshare to a hotel for the night would be the alternative. On this same line, even an off-site Enterprise office with traditional business hours would not be able to provide pickup service at odd hours.

Most convenient I've found was using a hotel with a car rental counter in the hotel. I typically build-in overnights to my itenerary anyway.

We've used the Hertz, but agree the hours are not ideal. Unfortunately the same problem exists at their other downtown location (JW Marriott hotel about 1 mile from Union Station), although it does have drop-off available with the hotel valet, with the same proviso mentioned above - damage after drop-off is your problem.

 

[jiml]

Another option in the L.A. area is Burbank, where car rentals are in the garage right across Empire Avenue from the Amtrak station. Enterprise is the closest, but sometimes the in-garage kiosks are closed requiring a walk to the desk in the airport terminal.

 

[jis]

Thought you rental car warriors might find this article in the Atlantic interesting...

https://www.theatlantic.com/technol...tlantic&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook

 

[flitcraft]

Next stop - Washington Union Station (regarding getting rental cars at Amtrak stations)

They have rental car desks at Washington, but when I used it, they just directed me upstairs into the parking garage that's over the tracks, where the real rental offices are. My final judgement was "never again," but that was mostly because renting at the station means you have to drive through downtown Washington's most congested traffic before you're on your way. It might be better to go to the airport and get a car, but maybe that depends on where you're going.

I agree with the suggestion to go to the airport--last summer we booked a car at National Airport, took the Metro right from Union Station to the airport, got our rental car easily, and avoided all that confusing DC city traffic. I will never rent at Union Station again, myself. The only downside for us is that we ended up booking a return flight via National Airport rather than from Philly--closer to where we were visiting. But the drop-elsewhere charge convinced me that a longer drive to the airport was okay.

 

[jiml]

Thought you rental car warriors might find this article in the Atlantic interesting...

Interesting summary. Even as a lifetime Hertz Gold Club member, I found myself looking for alternatives when travelling - even before the pandemic. Now I'm actually thinking about driving for 7 days to visit family in Western Canada rather than deal with a car rental after flying or taking the train. It's just not worth it.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Interesting summary. Even as a lifetime Hertz Gold Club member, I found myself looking for alternatives when travelling - even before the pandemic. Now I'm actually thinking about driving for 7 days to visit family in Western Canada rather than deal with a car rental after flying or taking the train. It's just not worth it.

Especially if you're able to cut through the States eh??!!!

 

[como]

Denver. I usually use Enterprise which is a 15 minute walk from Union Station. When I'm with my wife we call and wait to get picked up. On the return trip the downtown office closes at 5 or 6 p.m. so we usually grab an early dinner somewhere, park the car in the Enterprise lot around 6:15and take Lyft to Union Station. If you don't need a car and are staying near where RTD goes, get off the train, walk to another track or downstairs and take advantage of public transportation.

 

[MARC Rider]

Chicago -- They used to have rental desks at Union Station before they demolished the garage. Hopefully whatever is going to replace the garage will have a garage in it so the rental desks and cars can return. However, the rental desks closed early on Saturday and only one was open on Sunday. One time, the Capitol Limited I was riding was over 4 hours late and arrived after the rental desk closed. (This was a Saturday.) Fortunately, there were a lot of other Hertz offices sprinkled around downtown Chicago within walking distance of Union Station. However, there was snow on the ground, so it was a bit of a drag hauling my luggage about. I was able to return the car to the Union Station garage on my way out, though. Another problem with Chicago is if you're heading north and west out of town, the traffic on the Kenney and Eisenhower Expressways is usually horrible, even on weekends. The last trip where I rented a car at Union station, I kicked myself for not just riding out the Blue Line and renting at O'Hare, the traffic was so bad.

Santa Fe - When I did this, I was taking an "open jaws" trip that involved a one-way rental from Santa Fe to Denver. Unfortunately, Hertz wouldn't let me do a one-way rental from their in-town locations in either city, so I had to rent from and return to the airports. We rode into Lamy on the Chief on a Sunday morning and got the Thruway van into Santa Fe. For the fare paid, the van would take you to anywhere inside the Santa Fe city limits. You guessed it, the airport is outside the city limits. This was an extra $10 charge. I don't remember now whether it was for the whole van or each of us had to pay an extra $10. Well, it was still probably cheaper than riding to our hotel and taking a taxi out to the airport to get our car. When we got to the airport, the terminal building was locked up tight. I guess there were no flights out on Sunday. There was a note tacked on the door informing us that anyone needing to deal with Hertz should go to Signature Flight Support (the fixed base operator.) That we did, and our car keys and car were waiting.

Denver - Because I picked up the car in Santa Fe and was returning it in Denver, I had to use the office at Denver International Airport. This was another Sunday morning drop-off. I decided to unload my bags at Union Station before I relinquished the car, so I drove to the station and found absolutely no parking. But, being it was Sunday and nobody was around, I just parked in front of the station. I didn't actually see any "no parking" signs, but I figured if I was wrong and got a ticket, I'd just suck it up and pay for it. As it turns out, I had no problem, but I wish Union Station has better car access. I took my bags in, checked the bulky stuff through to Baltimore and day-checked my carry-ons.

I returned to my car and drove out to Denver International Airport. It was so far from town, I thought we were about to enter Kansas! But I finally got to the rental car operation and returned my car. Then I had to take a shuttle to the terminal, which was a long way from the rental car offices. When I took that trip, the A-line hadn't opened, although it was almost finished, so I had to take an express bus to Union Station. These ran every half hour for a fare of $11 at the time. Of course, I got to the platform just in time to see the tail end of the bus zooming off, so I had to wait around for 30 minutes for the next one. It was a perfectly fine ride in a highway coach to the underground bus bays at Union station. I spent the rest of the day hanging around downtown Denver. Had lunch at the Wynkoop Brewing company, and relaxed in the lobby of the Crawford Hotel, which is the fanciest train station waiting room I've ever seen. The eastbound Zephyr was more or less on time, and I was on my way.

For those not requiring a one-way rental, there is an Avis Agency and a SIXT agency within walking distance of Union Station, and an Enterprise at 22nd and Broadway (they'll pick you up and drop you off.)

Havre, Montana -- There's only one rental agency in Havere. It used to be affiliated with Budget, but now it's independent. It's part of Tilleman Motor Co.., the local GM dealer, where they sell Chevrolets, Buicks, Cadillacs, and GMC trucks all at one dealership. I called them for a pickup when I was on the Empire Builder and close enough to Havre to get a cell signal, but they told me to call again when I got into the station, as I guess they didn't want their drivers hanging around waiting for the train. That I did when the train came in, and my ride soon came. He took me out to the GM dealer where I got my SUV (hey, this was Montana in the winter), and I was off on my merry way. I got into Great Falls, where I was spending the night just as it was getting dark.

On the way back, I also spent the night in Great Falls, and drove back to Havre to drop my car. Well, it was a Sunday Morning -- I think this is getting to be a constant refrain for me, and it might be a good idea to avoid returning rental cars on Sundays -- I got to Tilleman Motors and the place was closed up tight. There was a phone number on the door, and a lady answered it. I think maybe I was interrupting her Sanday dinner or something, but she was pleasant and just told me to park the car at the train station and lock the keys inside. This I did and caught my Empire Builder back to Chicago with no problem. However, a couple of days after I got home, they called and said that when they picked up the car, the window was cracked, and that was going to cost me $300. The window certainly wasn't cracked when I parked the car, but I suspect that there might have been thermal stresses on the glass from wildly fluctuating temperatures, which seemed to be common out there. I didn't bother my insurance company with the relatively small claim, but I did get reimbursement of the deductible through my platinum card, which had that benefit. In any event, a good reason to plan your trip so that you can check in your rental car with a person who will record it as being returned undamaged.

 

[MARC Rider]

Thought you rental car warriors might find this article in the Atlantic interesting...

https://www.theatlantic.com/technol...tlantic&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook

Well, I'll find out in March when I rent my car in Boston for the ski trip.

I actually rented a car one evening in Chicago last October when I was at the Gathering, as I needed to run an errand. While the daily rental rate was a bit high, it was still cheaper than an Uber round trip to where I needed to go. Aside from the higher than what I think should be normal rate, they didn't try to pull any of the funny stuff described in the article on me, and indeed when I left my phone in the car after turning it in, they immediately found it and secured it in a locked drawer in their office, so I was able to retrieve it with no fuss.

 

[BCL]

Thinking of the stations I've been to, even if I didn't specifically rent a car. The Emeryville station is a major station for LD trains, including the Coast Starlight and being the terminus of the California Zephyr. There were a couple of rental car companies right across the street but they seem to have closed down I suppose because they've got less business now. I see Zipcar is available near the station.

In Reno there are a whole bunch of rental car companies at the casino hotels, although they're kind of pricey. When I've visited, I've rented a car at the airport by taking one of the free hotel-airport shuttles. One driver said that a lot of their guests rent at the airport because it's cheaper and they have no issue driving hotel guests there for any reason, although I'm not sure if they pay attention to whether or not random people might just try to catch a ride. There doesn't seem to be much around King Street Station in Seattle, although I suppose one could ask for a local pick up.

 

[flitcraft]

King St Station is quite close to a stop on the light rail that goes to the airport. I'd suggest renting at the airport--there really are few options in the downtown area that I am aware of. The Enterprise on Capitol Hill has definitely closed.

 

[SwedeC]

Last time into San Diego I had to call the Hertz airport office (10 min away). They told me to take a cab, they'd pay. They did.

 

[Northwestern]

An interesting topic. A while back, there was an article in TRAINS magazine saying there are just 19 car rental counters in various Amtrak and VIA train stations. A couple that I have used are Whitefish, MT and Jasper, AB. I once was thinking of a trip to Truckee, CA, then renting a car for some sightseeing. However, Truckee once had a car rental desk in the Amtrak station, but I believe it no longer does.

One of the problems which could occur, depending on the Amtrak train arrival times, is the possibility of long station waits. As an example, I am thinking of a round trip, on the Starlight to Klamath Falls, OR. and back. There isn't a rental car desk at the Klamath train station, but there are a number of them in Klamath. However, the southbound Coast Starlight doesn't arrive into Klamath until around 10 PM. Most rental car agencies close by 5-6 PM, thus a long wait at the station after dropping off your car.

Enterprise can pick you up or drop you off at many Amtrak stations.

Richard

 

[ehbowen]

My experiences renting cars in conjunction with Amtrak trips. Warning, some of them may be well out of date; re-confirm with local sources before proceeding!

2004: Rented at the then-existing Hertz counter at Union Station in Chicago to drive into Michigan (Owosso, Detroit, Dearborn) before driving back. Convenient, no hassles, pleasant service, excellent vehicle. Unfortunately now Gone With The Wind, but may possibly return.

2006: Reserved a rental from Hertz to pick up at Los Angeles Union Station in anticipation of a Sunday morning arrival on the Sunset Limited (old schedule). Unfortunately Union Pacific was up to their old tricks and an hours-of-service related freight delay turned the Sunday morning arrival into a late Sunday afternoon...after the rental counter closed at 2 p.m. Called Hertz from the train, tried to see if I could pick up from the airport or some other location and still return to Union Station...no dice. If I wanted to return to LAUS I had to pick up from LAUS. Called Budget, who also had a desk there, they were more flexible. While the rest of our party took a cab to our motel my father and I took the Flyaway bus to LAX airport to pick up two rental cars from Budget, a Buick LeSabre and a Grand Caravan. Both cars performed impeccably, and we turned them in at LAUS exactly one minute before the Budget counter closed (that wasn't planned!).

2010: Took the Sunset Limited west for a visit to the Big Bend country of Texas. Reserved a car from a local company, Alpine Auto Rentals. The car turned out to be rather long in the tooth; several years old and over 80,000 miles, but it performed acceptably. The service, though, was first-rate; the car was waiting for me in the station parking lot and upon returning I was told to simply leave the car where I'd found it, write down the mileage, and leave the keys under the gas cap flap. Yes, I'd use them again.

2014: Houston to Whitefish via Sunset Limited, Coast Starlight, and Empire Builder. I made a reservation with the local Hertz agency in Whitefish, which offered service to both Amtrak and the Kalispell airport (FCA). We arrived by train and were departing by Alaska Airlines, so that worked well. Upon our 4 am arrival in Whitefish I found that the car had been left in the station parking lot and I picked up the paperwork and keys from the Amtrak agent. Dropping it off at the airport after our week was a snap. 9/10.

2016: On our big circle trip around the West we (parents and I) stopped in Victoria, British Columbia for three nights. (The bus/ferry stop from Vancouver and the Clipper ferry dock to Seattle are both in the Amtrak reservation system as valid destinations, so this should be on-topic even though our passage this trip was booked direct and not through Amtrak.) We reserved a full-size car from the Hertz office in Victoria, and they took good care of us. Upon arrival at the bus stop I called them and they were there in minutes to pick us up and drive us to their office; likewise, upon returning the car three days later they were good enough to ferry us and our mountain of luggage to the Clipper ferry dock at no charge. Very pleasant people too, eh?

 

[UserNameRequired]

Enterprise has agreements with smaller airports to rent cars, they market it and have special web pages set up. They allow easier cancellation and reschedule since they realize weather can be a problem. They are expensive though!:

https://www.enterprise.com/en/corporate-accounts/fbo-customers.html
I wonder if they could do the same for Amtrak stations?

 

[BCL]

An interesting topic. A while back, there was an article in TRAINS magazine saying there are just 19 car rental counters in various Amtrak and VIA train stations. A couple that I have used are Whitefish, MT and Jasper, AB. I once was thinking of a trip to Truckee, CA, then renting a car for some sightseeing. However, Truckee once had a car rental desk in the Amtrak station, but I believe it no longer does.

One of the problems which could occur, depending on the Amtrak train arrival times, is the possibility of long station waits. As an example, I am thinking of a round trip, on the Starlight to Klamath Falls, OR. and back. There isn't a rental car desk at the Klamath train station, but there are a number of them in Klamath. However, the southbound Coast Starlight doesn't arrive into Klamath until around 10 PM. Most rental car agencies close by 5-6 PM, thus a long wait at the station after dropping off your car.

Enterprise can pick you up or drop you off at many Amtrak stations.

Richard

How would the work with several of these stations which are unstaffed (at least not by Amtrak employees)? I know a few have enclosed waiting rooms that are locked and unlocked by someone. The Fremont, California stations is owned by the city but reused a relocated Southern Pacific Type 23 station building. The waiting room was built into the original baggage check room with a Quik-Trak kiosk that someone had to open and close every day. There was a restaurant that was operated by a private operator, although it might have been them charged with opening and closing the waiting room. I could see possibly contracting with someone else to have other services like a rental car counter or vending machines, although not likely for a station serving primarily commuters.

I'm thinking of other stations around me. Oakland - Jack London Square isn't near any car rentals. The closest would be in downtown Oakland although it's close enough for a pickup ride.

 

[BarbW]

Portland (OR): First of all, many would say "Why? You don't need a car in Portland." But, we visited Portland annually and rented a car so we could traipse around the Pacific NW at will. No matter whether we arrived by plane or train, we did not rent a car at PDX airport, but always downtown. Saved hundreds of $$ each time over the airport rates.
There are several rental car agencies within striking distance of Portland Union Station. We used either Enterprise or Avis/Budget, both less than a mile away. Dollar is even closer, a third of a mile. You can cut a bit off the walk by hopping on the MAX light rail for a few short blocks.

 

[BCL]

Portland (OR): First of all, many would say "Why? You don't need a car in Portland." But, we visited Portland annually and rented a car so we could traipse around the Pacific NW at will. No matter whether we arrived by plane or train, we did not rent a car at PDX airport, but always downtown. Saved hundreds of $$ each time over the airport rates.
There are several rental car agencies within striking distance of Portland Union Station. We used either Enterprise or Avis/Budget, both less than a mile away. Dollar is even closer, a third of a mile. You can cut a bit off the walk by hopping on the MAX light rail for a few short blocks.

I thought of doing that trip with my kid, but wasn't sure if public transportation was good enough to meet schedules. I know they have an extensive public transportation network, but if I want to go to Mulnomah Falls or even Vancouver, WA I think I'd need a car.