East Bay Connection

Signed up for private transport from Concord to SFO. Unusually heavy traffic required abandoning ride at Lafayette where I transferred to BART. The guy charged me full fare AND his tip.
He said, «too bad that is what you signed up for.»
Seriously!
Never again.

Buyer beware! I recently booked a round trip from my home to SFO. They called a few days before to confirm the shuttle from my home to SFO. Nothing was said about the return trip from SFO to home. When I landed in SFO I realized I had never received a call about the return trip home so I figured it wasn’t confirmed. I then received a call on my cell phone about the private car that was waiting for me at baggage claim. Private Car??? Apparently they stopped shuttle service from SFO six months before and it said in their computer that I agreed to a private car and to pay $ 120. I never would have agreed to that charge. I was stuck… if I didn’t take their car they would still charge my credit card… if I had my credit card company dispute the charge then I would be banned from ever taking their shuttle. Of course I will never use their service again. I just looked at their website and they say nothing about a private car only from SFO. I learned my lesson about confirming the reservation myself and I just want to help others from encountering the same dishonesty and trickery by this company.

Negative stars. Very rude people. Waited 20 min for the car and my flight was 1 hour delayed. Had 3 small children with me. Car seat reeked of smoke, dirty interior. Driver didn’t speak English. Would not recommend at all. Get an Über!

DO NOT use this service. We have used them several times and every time the driver has been 20 – 40 minutes late picking us up and have gotten lost going to the destination. Drivers don’t speak English nor understand. Manager is awful and does not care if your experience was poor. He shouts at you if you dare call to complain rather than want to rectify the situation. Additionally, they have charged our credit card without authorization. Unilocal needs to make an option for negative stars. It was that bad. You should walk before you use these people.

If I could give them a negative 5 review I would! This was my first limo experience and it was the worst! I booked a limo and on the way to San Francisco the suspension went out and we got stuck on the side of the road for almost a half hour. Myself and my party was then picked up by a van but they still wanted to charge me for a limo price. I had already paid for a limo on the return trip and I was still picked up by a man and still had to pay limo prices.
I called in the morning in the supposed supervisor had the worst customer service skills I have ever endured! Do not use this limo service at all!

Used them for years to/​from SFO. Recently tried to book a round trip, when I called a few days later to confirm a lady informed me they no longer offer the shared ride service to pick up from the airport. She said customers complained too much about waiting for other people at the airport for the shared ride. The private car transfer is the only option for SFO pick up. Website has not changed. Strange. They have always showed up on time for pick up and have gotten to SFO in under two hours.

We have used this service for years. In the past we found the shuttle (s) to be clean and in good repair & the driver (s) courteous. They have always helped with the luggage without asking. They have never overcharged us, & once went out of their way to accommodate a family member who was leaving on a week-​day business trip & overslept. They waited & got her to the airport ON-​TIME!

With any shuttle-​type booking, one has to keep expectations within reason: 1) You must expect multiple, if not a full load of fellow passengers, 2) AND you must expect multiple stops in your pickup area, 3) AND you must expect the company to try and fill every seat possible, it keeps costs down.
We have never used the Car services offered, we always chose the Shuttle option. We have left from both SFO and OAK, & taken day flights to red-eye’s, so our experience with the company has run the gamut. Fortunately we have never (knock on wood) had a flight cancellation, so we cannot speak to that issue. But we know they have been diligent about any flight delays on our returning flights, & always arrive in a timely manner (on departures too).
That being said the one big issue we do have is the driving. The shuttle drivers are in crunch-​mode to meet time deadlines, we realize that. But as some of my fellow Unilocaler’s mentioned, (& we agree); they do weave in and out of traffic, they speed, they are a bit herky-​jerky on the gas & brake peddle, and they have cut fellow drivers off in traffic. This can cause the potential for motion sickness and/​or anxiety at times. Hence we’d rather issue 2.5 stars NOT 4 on this one issue.
So it’s best to keep it in mind that it’s a shuttle service. The driver (s) remind me of a more courteous New York City cab driver! LOL! So for a better experience perhaps its best to keep expectations in check.
Thanks!

Had a great experience with East Bay Connections last week as I was leaving the Bay Area. The driver arrived on time and was very polite, and he was nothing short of a gentleman, made my 45 minute drive feel so short! I would definitely recommend East Bay Connections to anybody in the area.

I am long time client who will not use this service again. Last reservation I made I said I wasn’t sure I would need a return trip when I booked. Because I was not sure, I did not think I booked. I did not worry about it because I also didn’t get a confirmation call. Upon my return and on my way home I received calls from the office saying the shuttle was waiting for me at airport. Long argumentative conversation resulted in (they do not confirm return trips) my giving in to the full charge because the driver was there.
YESTERDAY, at 11:35am I booked a one-​way to SFO for a 6:45am flight. TODAY at 2:00pm I called to cancel and was told there would be a charge for cancelling within 24 hrs (for a 4AM pick up!). There was no mention of that in my conversation yesterday (argued by the gentleman).
I will dispute the charge. I will not use them again! The shame is that I find the owner Ahdid/​office terrible in handling clients but the drivers are very professional. Very upset with how this is handled.

Recently used East Bay Connection for a trip from the East Bay to SFO. I have to say the driver was extremely nice and professional. The car, another story. On our pick up, the car motor was making such a noise that we weren’t even sure we would make it do the airport. On our pick from the airport, we got into a car which «may» of recently lost it’s air shocks. My daughter got car sick, and my husband and I had to go to the Chiropractor to get our back adjusted. The ride home was horrible! When I called the service the following day regarding a refund for my return trip, I was offered a free ride for future service. I explained that I would not be using the service int he future due to both vehicles, I felt unsafe. I asked about a refund, and that was denied. Ok, you got your money, but you will never get mine, my companies, or my friends again. I can’t believe $ 105.00 is more important than this Unilocal review.

Just used them from Walnut Creek to SFO. Great service, awesome drivers, clean cars. I would definitely use them again. Thanks again East Bay Connection!

The day after I wrote this review someone from the company contacted me and said he would investigate and get to the bottom of this and get back to me… never did. Never got back to me. Zero follow-​up. That says a lot!

Always on time, drivers dress sharp, smooth ride all the way around.

Worst experience ever. Made a reservation for a 5:30 am pickup for a 7:45 flight. They called two days later and moved it up to 4:30. Called again today to move it up to 4:10, again for a 745 flight out of OAK. Really? You need 3 hours and 35 minutes to get me to an airport that might be 30 minutes away on a Saturday morning. When I told them that that was unacceptable and wanted to cancel they informed me that by canceling within 24 hours of the reservation they would charge me a cancellation fee. I told them that was okay as I charge a reservation change fee for them changing the reservation within 24 hours. I also told them that I had already called my credit card company to stop any charges that they might try to get me for. Their response was the my name would be put on a list of people they would never allow to use their service in the future. My response, «that’s not much of a threat, as I’m sure I would never use them in the future». You shouldn’t either.

Just rode with these guys today and as usual, good service. Arrived at my place on time, and we all got to sfo way ahead of schedule. It was a last minute reservation and they came through.

I’ve used them several times in the past with no complaints. This time was different. Both drivers each way were extremely aggressive on the road. Both times we were in rush hour, which I know is very frustrating in the bay area. This is no excuse to cut in and out of traffic, slam on the breaks several times because they’re looking at their phone or elsewhere. Several times I thought we were going to slam into someone and felt like I was going to get whiplash, and did end up car sick due to the extreme jerking around. Both drivers did things like slam their hands on the steering wheel, sighed very loudly, threw their hands up at other drivers, and were overall VERY irritated the whole time. It makes for a very uncomfortable and stressful ride. Had I known I’d be that stressed I’d have driven myself.
When I reserved online, I know I had selected round trip, but when calling the night before my return trip, they said no, they only had the one way trip and I couldn’t get the discounted rate for online booking. I argued with the guy for a while but had to go to a meeting, this was a business trip so I just gave in and paid the extra few dollars.
When I arrived at the airport on my trip there, the credit card machine wasn’t working so the driver made me sit there while he tried over and over to reach the «office» who wasn’t responding. He continued to play with the CC machine and finally got it to work after about 10 minutes. I would expect better technology in this day and age. I didn’t have an extra 10 minutes to sit in a van on the road in front of the terminal.
All of the staff, both on the phone and in the vans need refreshers on service. Nobody speaks good English so it was difficult for us to communicate on several occasions. Overall I was made to feel like a big burden and feared we would get into an accident due to crazy driving both ways. I will not use them again.

BEWARE!!! They will over-​bill you without your consent.
They will pick you up and drop off off at the airport and charge accordingly — but if you arrange return pickup they double bill you. It happened twice to me.

For the record, I leave reviews for excellent service and for terrible service. This falls under terrible service and my next step will be a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, as well as a chargeback with my credit card company. East Bay Connection has been well informed of this issue and is choosing to ignore me. Great customer service.
I initially received a reasonable quote for shared van shuttle service to the East Bay, around $ 70. I request to book it, go through the process and email my credit card number. Once they have my financial information, I get confirmation of my order, along with the notation that the van is not available and a Town Car has been booked for me instead. Since they now have my credit card information, I’m stuck with this very expensive car service. Fine, I suck it up and agree to pay the $ 118.75, which at least includes gratuity. Fast forward to my pickup. The guy arrives, he’s polite enough, although I have to stand there and motion for him to put my bag in the trunk. For that much money, I’m not handling my own suitcase. He drives me home, and when it comes time to charge my card, tells me the price is now $ 130. There is apparently a $ 10 charge for after midnight. This charge was not quoted in my email, and they had my flight details, it did not arrive late, so this charge came out of nowhere. If there was a $ 10 charge, then it should have been included in the intial email, NOT when I’ve just been dropped off. This would make the fare $ 128.75, but nope, I get quoted $ 130, and a $ 1 charge for using my credit card. They upcharged me a lousy $ 13. Is that really worth alienating what could have been a good customer?
Bottom line, don’t use this awful, dishonest company unless you like hidden charges and incorrect price quotes and confirmations. I will never use this company again. I will make sure all my friends, acquaintances and their companies never use East Bay Connection and I will get my money back. Seriously, use someone else.

Our family has used the services of East Bay Connection Multiple times throughout the years.
The vans are usually well kept and clean. We have never had an issue with them being late to pick up but have had them be a few minutes late with air port pick up.
My one pet peeve is the stupid jokes that the drivers try to tell. I just stare at my husband all bug eyed because its so painful for me to hear them bomb at jokes they’ve probably told to every customer they’ve ever picked up.
Other than stupid jokes we will use them for more trips.

Expensive, bad, inconvenient, and worst shuttle service.
This company charges people prior to their trip and says it is «prepaid.» I made a reservation 24 hours ago and I was concerned with a business trip that may be delayed. She told me that I could always transfer my reservation to another date if the business trip was delayed. When I called to transfer my reservation. They charged me for the transfer! I spoke with Amid who continued to make comments like «WOW» everytime I tried to explain and then he would say «I am the only manager» when I asked to speak to someone else. However, I found out later that he was not the only manager. When I asked for additional information, Amid would reply «you don’t need to know that.» This is not convenient service and not cheap.
The level of service is poor at best. I would recommend steering clear of this shuttle service.