PlanetTran

I’ve used PlanetTran several times now, a few times in Boston, which is their headquarters, and once out in the Bay Area. The rides themselves are fine. I’ve always had courteous drivers who were on time. No complaints there. One extra star for the drivers.
The way the company handles billing issues is ridiculous, however. It’s like getting a slice of Bostonian gruffness when the issue is completely the fault of the company. The issue was that called to make a reservation with a coupon code. The rep confirmed the code and I received an email confirmation showing the code.
When payment was to be charged after the trip, the code was not honored. I called to have this fixed. The company told me that the rep put the code in the wrong field and that it shouldn’t have been honored. They said they would have to «check with the president» and made a big deal about it. In the end, they did honor the discount, but after a lot of attitude. Overall, the way the handled this was incredibly unprofessional. I wanted them to succeed, but instead they turned away someone who was otherwise happy with their business model. Given that they’re more expensive than ride sharing companies nowadays, I don’t bother with them and their attitude anymore.

if there was an option for no star, i would definitely go for that. really bad customer service.

There are two things that a limousine company MUST deliver: on time pickup, and reliable vehicles. Planettran has met my expectations over the past 3 years of using them around 20 times, 100% on time pickup. However, of the past 5 trips with them, 2 times the vehicles were unacceptably dirty, smelly, and/​or unsafe due to age, and 3 times they arrived with the wrong vehicle, each time in an original model Prius when I specifically requested a larger hybrid or an SUV hybrid to accommodate several passengers or large amounts of luggage. The most recent time their mistake happened after adding a comment on their reservation form, sending 2 emails, and making 2 phone calls reminding them of my needs. Over the past year their service has become unreliable and their fleet is aging. I won’t use them again.

I really want to like PlanetTran given the dearth of reliable transportation in the East Bay: I’ve booked a dozen trips with PlanetTran and they showed-​up on time, every time.
However, their drivers are a bit too zany for my taste:
* Surely Sam took us from the East Bay to SFO in the rain, with the window half-​down. I thought he had a purpose in doing so, but he didn’t; then it was just funny
* Casual Chris arrived 10 minutes early and then did whatever it is that he does in front of the house. What he didn’t do, was consult the traffic situation, as we sat stone-​still in the parking lot that was 580. After that mess, he proceed to my destination at 15 miles-​per-​hour below the speed limit, traffic in all lanes of 101 passed us by in a blur
* Forgetful Phil inquired about my airline thrice (despite my providing the info on the PlanetTran .com) and drove past my terminal anyway
My plea to PlanetTran: can we retain drivers with skill-​sets broader than what it takes to simply get from point A-​to-​point-​B?

Planettran is absolutely the best way to go for long trips (30miles+, or 1 hour rides). They are on time if not ahead of time, offer wifi in vehicles, cars are all hybrids and impeccably clean, and all of their drivers are polite and nice to talk to — if you aren’t busy trying to finish up some last minute work. Their online booking and great customer service make it a real cinch to maker your reservation.
The only improvements /​recommendations they could offer in their service from my perspective are:
1. A little less reliance on GPS. Experienced a couple of 10min conversations at 4 in the morning with drivers who are nice, but lost, because they just went with the GPS will get me there to pick up my customer notion. That said, they are still on time, but I would rather use those 10 min to finish my breakfast than talk on the phone, explaining how to come pick me up.
2. Planettran is not as price competitive with shorter trips. You do get a better experience with a clean and green ride, but it’s difficult to justify the difference in prices still.
3. Lastly, as East Bay-​er, rides to OAK via planettran are significantly more expensive than other taxi services. I think it is because the company mainly operates out of SFO — which is probably why rides to SFO are actually cheaper than most other car services.

Nothing but good things to report so far from PlanetTran. They’re on time, courteous, Priuses are clean and surprisingly spacious.
Prices are not the cheapest but you get what you pay for. Their reservation website is great, keeps receipts, etc. The drivers also do not ask for tips (which are not expected) and thus even though the prices are slightly higher keep in mind the 10−20% tip you’d normally leave is already factored in.

As a first time user to their website, I have to say it wasn’t the easiest I’ve encountered. In selecting a one way fare from SFO, I actually had to stop and look up the zip code for the airport before it would continue on to give me a quote. Once I got that quote, it was much more than other companies. $ 45 for a one way, 12 mile ride is not what I consider a fair deal.
So… I wasn’t too impressed. :(

I live 10.5 miles from the airport, and was quoted $ 106 each way for my family of 3. Reducing my carbon footprint or not, I’d sooner ride my bike to SFO than pay that much.

I have used this company twice now, and planning on using it a third time this coming Monday, for rides from south San Jose to SFO. Drivers show up on time — both times, actually, slightly early. Drivers are nice, friendly and professional. Cost is considerably cheaper than a limo, and much more reliable than a cab. (After having had a Supershuttle NOT show up one morning for a business trip ride to the airport, I’ve been afraid of trusting them.) However, PlanetTran has been very reliable for me so far, and I will use them whenever I am able!

Car service to the airport doesn’t get any better than this. You can book online, they always show up on time (usually even a little early), the drivers are all friendly and professional, the cars are clean, and on top of everything else you can feel good because the cars are environmentally friendly.

I moved to SF from Boston (where PT also has service) and brought with my love for this green car service. I’m not sure what the other reviewers on this site are talking about
— Customer Service is awesome
— Tips are clearly included in the price (no need to pay additional)
— The web site is easy to use and keeps all your receipts in one place (great for filing expense reports).
— Prices are cheaper than a taxi (for long distance trips like to/​from the airport or south bay)
I really want to see these guys succeed in the bay area, so I hope you all use their service!

After posting this review and tweeting about my experience, I received multiple, detailed, follow-​up messages from the PT team who tracked down the error that caused my issue, offered 25% off on my next trip and, overall, took ownership of the issue and did what they could to make it right. Very responsive, well done!

My colleague & I booked separate cars to drop us off for a flight at SJC. Mine showed up on time and was a flawless experience. His didn’t show up at all — they had his reservation on file, but for some reason didn’t have a driver assigned. They couldn’t send him a replacement car for another 30 mins, so that was just unacceptable. We had reserved them for a pick up at the airport the next day and that worked out fine. The only negative then was the driver who drove on the freeway by ‘pumping the gas pedal.’ You know the type — you end up with a slight headache after the ride with all the oscillations. Not the best way to drive a hybrid. Overall, I’d give them another shot as the promised services & price are worthwhile positives. Just confirm the reservation and hope that you get a good driver.

Are you kidding me? $ 45 quote for what would ordinarily be a $ 12 to $ 15 cab ride. green is great, but this is highway robbery with a hybrid gun!

I found PlanetTran through Green Zebra last year, and couldn’t be happier with them. I fly in and out of SFO at least twice a month, and lost my taste for taxis when a cab driver, after receiving a 20% tip from me, refused to get out of his car on my albeit ridiculously steep hill, despite the fact that I was wearing a knee brace in a torrential downpour, and humping two weeks’ worth of luggage. He blithely popped the trunk and sat there. It was too late when I realized I should have left his damned trunk open and let it fill with water. But I digress…
In a nutshell, the things I love about PlanetTran:
1) in the 45 trips I have taken with them (just counted ‘em on the website!), they have been late exactly ZERO times, including when my flight has been delayed six hours, or come in an hour early
2) They are more expensive than a taxi, but much cheaper than a Town Car
3) Their drivers are always courteous, professional, and communicative. They come to the door and carry your bags.
4) Online reservations, even a few hours before flight time – nuff said!
5) Price is inclusive of gratuity (though once in a while I throw an extra few bucks the driver’s way)
6) The cars are immaculate and in great working order
7) I once screwed up and ordered two cars for the same trip. Both showed up at my house. I was not charged and I never heard a peep from PlanetTran’s customer service
8) All that green stuff makes me feel warm and fuzzy as a San Franciscan
Thank you, PlanetTran!

Let me preface this by saying I love my company. Progressive values. Stunning San Francisco waterfront location. Great benefits. And denim. But seriously, cutting back on travel expenses so much that for a trip to Vegas I had to take the first flight out instead of getting a hotel the night before? Not cool. What I don’t quite understand is the extra cost of a car service at 4:30am (not a typo, that’s AM) rather than BART to SFO almost offsets the cost of a cheap hotel. Not to mentioned a much, much, much more rested Unilocaler for his presentation.
But I had no choice. And fortunately, at the recommendation of a co-​worker, PlanetTran was there for me. My driver arrived right on time, drove me out to SFO in a quiet, clean hybrid sedan, and made my early morning wake-​up call about as enjoyable as it could be. I’d totally use them again.
As for the trip? I rocked the presentation, despite a malfunctioning air conditioning. And I collapsed when I got home. Sleep never felt so good.

Planettran is the only car company I use in the Bay Area to transport my boss (usually to and from the airport). I can depend on them to be on time, be friendly and of course be green.

I love that they are enviro friendlier than most sedan services, and their customer service is great. I use them quite a bit for work for these reasons. BUT, the last time we called them for service they said they were running up to 45 minutes late. There was an international plane to catch and the 45 minutes later would have been too long — it was a late night flight, it was raining — bad time for this to happen Ended up having to drive to the airport, and park in long term parking for 10 days!

Always on time, always friendly, normal and not ‘car service-​ish’ at all. Plus, you can feel like you are doing your part when getting a ride that isn’t shared by 20 others on your way to the airport.

Update from January 2012:
After using PlanetTran for 5 years and taking almost 20 trips with them, they decided to move their garage to San Bruno (not sure where it was before), which more than doubles our rates. A trip to San Jose Airport cost us $ 63 in November 2011 and $ 138 in December 2011. This is for a 15 minute trip!
So, I knock them down from my original 5 stars to 3 stars not just because they raised their rates but for two reasons: (1) they should have let their customers know of such a dramatic price increase — they regularly email us with new information and this was never mentioned, (2) they should not even offer their service to areas where the price is just not reasonable. Clearly, they’ve decided that they only want to serve the San Francisco area, so they should not promote the service to customers in the South Bay as the prices are completely unreasonable for that area.
I’m happy to pay higher than market rates for great service, but these rates are just outrageous.
— My original review —
PlanetTran offers a shuttle service to San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland airports, but also says they will ‘drive you wherever you need to go’ in the Bay Area (although I’ve not taken them up on the offer as of yet).
I was looking for an airport shuttle service and was annoyed that most of them seemed to have use Hummers or Lincoln Town Cars or similar obnoxious vehicles. A quick Google search later and I found PlanetTran, which uses only Toyota Priuses. I was very impressed with their website, which makes reservations very simple and will give you an up-​front quote. The rates were reasonable ($ 110 one way from Cupertino to Oakland airport), an all-​inclusive fee that includes any taxes and tolls and tip for the driver. No hidden charges. They bill your credit card as soon as your trip is completed, so you don’t need to carry cash.
Both drivers I’ve used were very nice and professional. They were on-​time and kept in touch via cell phone prior to pickup. The biggest bonus was that their vehicles were equipped with WiFi so you can use your laptop or iPhone while quitely slithering to the AirPort in a sleek black Prius.