One-way car rentals or inter-city bus to return from chase?

[B. Kotcher]

I may be flying out to chase with a friend on the plains in the coming weeks but would have to return partway through his trip and get my way back to the airport somehow.

1. Are one-way car rentals always available?
2. Are they much more expensive than roundtrip car rentals?
3. How about going by inter-city bus instead? (Price, availability, potential for seatmates with hygiene issues...).

If anyone has experience with any of these things, I would appreciate the help.

--Bob

 

[Derek Weston]

I may be flying out to chase with a friend on the plains in the coming weeks but would have to return partway through his trip and get my way back to the airport somehow.

1. Are one-way car rentals always available?
2. Are they much more expensive than roundtrip car rentals?
3. How about going by inter-city bus instead? (Price, availability, potential for seatmates with hygiene issues...).

If anyone has experience with any of these things, I would appreciate the help.

--Bob

One way from eastern Iowa to Chicago was 200 or so through enterprise. May or may not be worth it to you. I'd go there and get some quotes yourself. Bus would be cheaper, I'm sure. (of course that means you're on a bus...)

 

[Bryan Stokes]

Bob,

One way car rentals are usually available, but they are very expensive. If money is a concern, then Greyhound is a viable option. It will be a little adventurous, but is totally doable and a whole lot cheaper.

If your friend can drop you off at a major city, then you might be able to catch a ride on Amtrak. The cost of taking a train will be more expensive than Greyhound, but would be more enjoyable.

Have fun chasing in the coming weeks to come!
Bryan

 

[John MacKay]

I looked at an example trip with the 1-way car rental for a week in May if you started in Wichita and dropped it off in OKC rather than using OKC for both. $450 more on the 1-way than the same depart/return point. It was close to $1000 more if you rented in OKC and returned in Wichita. But this demonstrates the 'premium' one would pay.

For the Greyhound to get to another airport (assuming a bus/taxi can take you to the airport from a particular Greyhound station), here's a list of stops (just click on the state):
http://www.greyhound.com/en/Locations/states.aspx

For Amtrak, go to the 'Stations' tab and click the region you want to go (note: KS and NE are in the West section):
http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/HomePage

I haven't taken either (will take Amtrak this summer from Milwaukee to Chicago). At least there are ways to do it.

 

[S Kalka]

This may sound odd, but you could rent a small U-Haul truck. I had a friend who was stranded by an airline strike years ago and he went that route, claiming it was much cheaper than a one way car rental.

 

[David Wolfson]

The problem with both Amtrak and Greyhound is that north-south routes from the Dakotas to Oklahoma basically don't exist. Your challenge is that you don't know where you'll end up. Thinking out of the box (as it were) perhaps you might ask in the Chase Partner thread to hitch a ride back to your depart city with someone who's returning when you need to. Since they and you will both be chasing they should be heading back from the same area you end up, and might appreciate the cost sharing and the company. FWIW.

 

[Olivier Staiger]

sometimes certain car rental companies slash rates from / to certain cities . E.G. in springtime / end of winter, many cars are in Florida and need to get back so occasionnally you can find a great one-way deal.

https://www.alamo.com/index.do?action=/hotDealsTemplate&msg=alamo-FloridaDriveOut


if you are in Dallas Fort Worth and need to find a cheap way to get to OKC, or vice-versa, the Amtrak from Fort Worth to OKC is VERY comfortable ( like airline firstclass ) and dirt cheap, starting at 26 dollars if you book in advance . There's only one train a day ( late afternoon from Fort Worth to OKC, morning from OKC to Fort Worth. )

 

[Bryan Stokes]

The problem with both Amtrak and Greyhound is that north-south routes from the Dakotas to Oklahoma basically don't exist. Your challenge is that you don't know where you'll end up. Thinking out of the box (as it were) perhaps you might ask in the Chase Partner thread to hitch a ride back to your depart city with someone who's returning when you need to. Since they and you will both be chasing they should be heading back from the same area you end up, and might appreciate the cost sharing and the company. FWIW.

I just checked Greyhound, and you can definitely travel North-South from a wide selection of cities in every state. I checked availability from Hays, Goodland, Grand Island, Kearney, and Huron as a starting point, and then ending in Oklahoma City...and ticketing was easy. I didn't check Amtrak, so that may be a completely different story.

I do agree with David, you may want to post something in the Chase Partner thread. You might get lucky. The only problem though, is no one has any idea where they're going to end up until darkness falls on any given day, so it would be a last-minute long shot that may require a post the day of (and then hope you get lucky.) If that didn't work, then you could buy a last-minute ticket on Greyhound.

Bryan

 

[David Wolfson]

The Greyhound route map shows no direct routes. No doubt you can get from here to there, but it'll take you Forever. For example, Kearney - OKC will take you through Denver or Des Moines.

The trip takes about 19 hours by Greyhound, with two transfers, and costs $150-$170 if made tomorrow, versus about 9 hours by car. You board at 4:30 p.m. in Kearney and arrive just before noon in OKC the next day. Not quite "Forever" but a haul, nonetheless. The route uses a Omaha - Kansas City feeder, so avoids Des Moines. Now from KC the bus takes about 7+ hours, which is only an hour or two more than by car, and costs around $80. Be aware that you cannot carry or check sharp-pointed scissors or knives of any sort and must ship them Package Express. However you may
check anything that's a tool, including saws and hatchets.... If you think that makes sense, I sincerly suggest you give Dr. Persoff a call!
Ideally you can work out some contingencies in advance with your friends so you can get back easily, such as their dropping you at a direct connection point the day before, or at the depart point, or two days before if they're off to Wisconsin. I'd also offer them a decent reimbursement for the inconvenience of getting you back to your depart point. FWIW.

 

[Ryan McGinnis]

Intercity buses are great if you don't have a lot of money, don't care when you arrive, and are impervious to stab wounds.

 

[David Wolfson]

Levity aside, bus isn't that bad, and they're trying to make it better, with new equipment including free wi-fi on some routes. And... as I mentioned, Ryan, you need not fear getting knifed any more -- only axed, or attacked with saws and crowbars!

 

[Ryan McGinnis]

It's been 8 years since I rode the Greyhound. In my experience, there is usually hard liquor being passed around the back of the bus (it's best to pick a seat near the driver) and usually at least several passengers will be high. I spent a good hour having a fascinating conversation with the schizophrenic guy who sat in front of me who had had a conversation with an alien and Jesus in the flesh the day before. There were a number of just-released prisoners on board as well, as apparently thats the transport method the states will pay for. The busses were usually at least 4 hours late to the stops and in general the entire trips would take at least 50% longer than scheduled. The stations are almost invariably in the worst part of town. Had an old friend take the Greyhound through Detroit and she said the guards at the station had shotguns and people kept coming up to her and asking her what she was doing in a place like this.

If all this sounds appealing to you, give it a go! And who knows, perhaps it has changed since then, though I'm kinda skeptical.

 

[B. Kotcher]

LOL, Ryan!

Hey, thanks so much to everyone for all the great ideas! The one-way U-Haul rental is especially a brilliant idea...I'd heard that such rentals can be very cheap if you're going in the opposite direction of the net migration of the country, since you save them from having to ferry the trucks back, but hadn't thought of capitalizing on this just for my own transportation. And AMTRAK is great, too--I hadn't thought of that, either, but it will definitely be the most comfortable connection if it's available. Thanks again, everyone.

--Bob