Early morning ride from RI to Logan airport?

November 14, 2017 6:27 PM

How do I get a ride from Rhode Island to Logan Airport for a 6:45 am flight? Can I count on Uber/Lyft to come get me at 4:45 am, when I need to be on the road? Is there a better alternative?

There's no train or bus from Providence early enough to get me to Logan on time to make my flight (Sun Country Airlines, Terminal C). A car service is like $150 one-way, which is what it would cost to park my own car for six nights. If I schedule an Uber ride the night before, will they actually come get me that early?

Am I overlooking a good solution?

Thank you!

posted by wenestvedt to Travel & Transportation (15 answers total)

I used Lyft (not in RI) at 4:45 am to get to an early flight just the other day. You don't schedule them in advance though, that's not how it works AFAIK. You use the app when you're ready to go. That early in the morning, the nearest driver was c 20 minutes away (much further than usual) so factor in some extra time. But yeah, that's how I'd do it.
posted by fingersandtoes at 6:31 PM on November 14, 2017

I use Lyft too, and just to the right of your location is a little clock that lets you schedule your ride in advance. Uber must have something like that too. I've done it for early airport rides. Two caveats: first, there's a 10-minute window for them to arrive, but your driver still only waits a few minutes for you once they arrive, so be ready, second, I didn't find out that my ride would have surge pricing until that morning.
posted by gladly at 6:45 PM on November 14, 2017

I’m used to city norms when getting a taxi or Uber, but have been pleasantly surprised with scheduling Ubers for early morning airport pickups when I visit my family in Ohio (thirty minutes from airport). I’ve done it the last two trips without a problem. Sure, I monitor the app like a crazy person while I get ready, but I’ve lucked out so far.

Uber does give you a message when you schedule one that they can’t guarantee a car will pick you up, so I always have a backup plan ready.
posted by icaicaer at 6:56 PM on November 14, 2017

Is going the night before and sleeping at an airport hotel an option? Would make for a much more pleasant day on the whole.
posted by something something at 7:01 PM on November 14, 2017

The area likely has a (pre-uber-style) car service still operating somewhere. If you can get its telephone number, you can schedule the pickup. Build in an extra 15min or so. You may be able to find them on Yelp or get the name from a local restaurant, hotel, etc.

Those services are not bulletproof, but they generally take enough pride in their work to show up on time. Early morning airport rides are their bread and butter.
posted by Grimp0teuthis at 7:15 PM on November 14, 2017

A scheduled uber doesn't do anything different than normal, it just sends out the notification that you're looking for a ride at a scheduled time.
posted by quaking fajita at 7:55 PM on November 14, 2017

I've scheduled two early-morning rides through Lyft; one was in Providence, RI from a hotel a mile or two from the airport, one from my home in South Minneapolis [15 minutes from the airport]. Both, coincidentally, at 4:45 AM.

Success rate of 50%. In RI, I got the alert that the driver was on the way and all was well. In MN, the time for the ride came and went without anybody responding, even though the map showed a dozen drivers within a few blocks of me, so apparently at least in Lyft's case the call does not go out at the time of the scheduled ride. I cancelled, requested a new ride, and a guy was at my door in a minute or two. He told me that if I don't have a "on the way' alert within 10 minutes of my scheduled ride, no one's coming.

On the "going the previous day" thing; I was stuck in Boston overnight last Feb, and found any number of bargain AirBNB's within a mile of Logan. Your Standards May Vary, but I was happy to spend a few hours in the place I rented for $40 or so.
posted by chazlarson at 7:16 AM on November 15, 2017

I would trust an actual taxi service for a pre-scheduled pick-up, over Lyft/Uber. Is that a possibility? I don't know the taxis in your area, but they're probably cheaper than a towncar service.
posted by hydra77 at 9:40 AM on November 15, 2017

The availability of Uber drivers here is limited. The one time the Kid used Uber when she was too lazy to walk back to the library after a coffee run there was no problem. The one time the mister tried to use Uber because his car was at the mechanic, he got a no drivers in the area message.

Have you thought of asking a neighbor who used to make yearly pilgrimages to Logan to drop off her parents and child for an even earlier flight, has the time to give (as long as the flight is before 12/11, some exclusion dates may apply), and asks only that a stop for coffee be made on the way?
posted by Ruki at 10:54 AM on November 15, 2017

Seconding Seymour Zamboni. I always use the Logan Express bus. It's cheap and convenient and cost a lot less than parking at Logan.

Then again I think maybe Ruki is on to something.
posted by bondcliff at 7:20 AM on November 16, 2017

Gosh, the things I'll do to get marked Best Answer... :)
posted by Ruki at 9:11 AM on November 16, 2017

Oh, Ruki is so, so on to something.

            '._==_==_=_.'
            .-\:      /-.
           | (|:.     |) |
            '-|:.     |-'
              \::.    /
               '::. .'
                 ) (
               _.' '._
              `"""""""`
 ______   _______  _______ _________
(  ___ \ (  ____ \(  ____ \\__   __/
| (   ) )| (    \/| (    \/   ) (   
| (__/ / | (__    | (_____    | |   
|  __ (  |  __)   (_____  )   | |   
| (  \ \ | (            ) |   | |   
| )___) )| (____/\/\____) |   | |   
|/ \___/ (_______/\_______)   )_(   
                                    
 _______  _______  _______ _________
(  ____ )(  ___  )(  ____ \\__   __/
| (    )|| (   ) || (    \/   ) (   
| (____)|| |   | || (_____    | |   
|  _____)| |   | |(_____  )   | |   
| (      | |   | |      ) |   | |   
| )      | (___) |/\____) |   | |   
|/       (_______)\_______)   )_( 

posted by wenestvedt at 1:21 PM on November 17, 2017

For the record, Ruki got me to Logan juuuust in time, and my vacation was awesome.

ALL HAIL RUKI
whose boot I did not steal
posted by wenestvedt at 6:09 PM on December 5, 2017

There is a surprising amount of traffic at 5 am. I was making my calculations on my parents's flights, when I needed to get them there for 4:30 am. But you got there! And I jammed to Tony! Toni! Toné! on the way home, where I stopped briefly before bringing S to school. S thought it was hilarious that you almost stole her boot.

And she made honors after all!
posted by Ruki at 7:46 PM on December 5, 2017

Atta girl!
posted by wenestvedt at 9:02 PM on December 5, 2017