I would have given a more terrible review, but the pickup actually went well. Pickup from San Jose was great, but due to 101 South traffic, we arrived at the Monterey Marriott 45 minutes late - an inconvenience to those waiting there to pick you up but not the fault of the company. However, the return trip was awful - and NO PICK UP! The "bus" was supposed to arrive at the Marriott at 11:45am to take me to San Jose to catch a flight. We were waiting since 11:20am in front of the hotel. At 12:30pm we called to see where the bus was and were told " Oh, a black (unmarked) Escalade came to pick you up an take you to the bus terminal. The driver went inside and asked for us by name - and nothing more! We were not staying at the Marriott. Driver did not even come bak out and ask "Is anyone waiting for the Monterey Airbus?" No, he just left! Not even a phone call to ask if I was there waiting!!! I was never informed about a "car" coming to0 get me to "take me to the bus" or we would have looked out for it. I would think, as a retired businessman, that there would at least be a car door magnet or paint job showing it's part of Monetary Airbus by its logo. My friend had to leave his job for the day to drive me back to the San Jose Airport. I hope they learn something from this review. Either mark your shuttle cars, or not on the confirmation that it will be a car picking you up at the hotel to take you to the Monterey Airbus bus depot! read more

Avoid this shuttle service due to unreliability and lack of customer service! Take my experience as your forewarning. I booked an evening shuttle a few weeks in advance of my travel plans flying into San Jose to shuttle into Monterey. On the day of my travel, my flight was delayed so I called into their phone line to see what could be done. Their representative told me no problem, I would be moved to the next shuttle and my reservation would be updated so I would have a seat on that shuttle. Once I landed in San Jose, I hadn't received an email confirmation nor text of the change so I called back into the phone line and was told that the change was never made and that the shuttle was now full. The next shuttle wasn't for much later in the evening and I had firm plans to arrive in Monterey at a certain time. I was left with no option but to book a Lyft (which I obviously was avoiding due to the high cost and possible unreliability of drivers in the area). I reached out to management to request a full refund for my ticket and they granted this, although beware, you have to fight for this refund even if the cause of your issues falls on the company's fault. Additionally, I asked for compensation in the cost incurred for the difference in my Lyft ride vs the Monterey Airbus Shuttle ride and I am still in battle with Groome (the multi-million corporation who is the parent company of Monterey Airbus Shuttle) to get this compensated. AVOID AT ALL COSTS. read more

Have been using this service traveling in between Monterey and SJC/SFO for years but since Groome has taken it over the customer service has gone down hill quite a bit. I recently was returning from an international trip to SFO and my flight was not arriving until 1:39am I could not find anything on there website if they picked up at that time and I messaged several times through their website while I was in the UK with no response! When I finally landed back in the states I called and they gave no explanation as to why they didn't not respond and no they don't do early morning flight pick ups! Super frustrating!! read more

It was 98 degrees at SJO and they picked us up in a shuttle with NO AC. I am in perfectly fine health, but elderly or disabled persons may have actually died on the 1.5hour drive in stop and go traffic. The shuttle driver handed us a lukewarm tiny water bottle and mentioned the AC wasn't so cold. Bit of an understatement I'd say. The ride quality of the shuttle was also horrible. Above 40mph the whole thing shook. I willl never, ever, ever use this service again and highly recommend literally any other method of transportation short of walking. I will be telling all of my colleagues and entire company to avoid this service at ALL COST! read more

Horrible, Horrible, HORRIBLE customer service. I needed to use this service in a pinch and the driver was a disaster-so late Shoddy buses that speed over bumps and completely jostle, your belongings-so unnecessary. Oh, by the way, Monterey Airbus will keep you waiting for an hour to pick you up, but when you arrive at the pickup station four minutes late, they will leave you high and dry-the drivers will not pick up their cell phones and there is no back up phone assistance to help you. Monterey Airbus is cheap amateur hour-Monterey Airbus does not care about the people they transport-don't do it folks. read more

I have been taking this shuttle for the last three years, every few months. Drivers have been friendly, but the buses are too rough and service has now become downright dangerous. Last time I rode the bus, it broke down. I was asked by the driver to help two other passengers, who were foreign. They did not know how to get around and needed help. If I got them to SFO, I was promised by the driver that I would get a refund and also be reimbursed for the Uber cost. This ended up costing me more than double the price of my ticket. I was happy to help, but deeply disappointed by the lack of response from the company as to the refund. I have been calling and emailing every few days without any refund. I know plenty of people from Monterey who have been treated badly by this shuttle company and now I will also stop using this service, and may have to take the matter to small claims court. Don't bother with this shuttle company if you're not prepared to take on a rescue mission for poor tourists who might be stranded without your help when this bus breaks down. By the looks of things, the driver seemed way too familiar with the situation when the bus broke down. What if it had broken down in the middle of the highway? read more

I had to get to Monterey from SFO. So I took the Monterey Airbus. Glad I did. Bus was clean, driver was courteous, service was on time. Seats were adequately comfortable. I booked on-line and saved $5 off of the $50 fare. Only bummer was having to step over homeless people upon our arrival in Monterey. I recommend the Monterey Airbus. read more

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As always, an on-time and reliable service. On my trip today, however, there was an unpleasant surprise: the bus is brand-new and apparently has no shock absorption whatsoever! Every bump in the highway feels like a severe blow, sending everyone flying up from their seats. I am not exaggerating at all -- it is a terrifying and physically challenging way to travel. If you were on a plane in this sort of severe turbulence, it would make the newspapers! I hope Monterey-Salinas Airbus will consider sending this bus back to its manufacturer, and replace it with something which offers an acceptable level of passenger comfort. read more

Going to the airport is always a stressful time for anyone. The online reservations make reserving a seat on the bus so easy and it puts your mind at ease when filling in your flight info and suggested leave time does all the thinking for you. To top it off the drivers unnderstand the passengers stress and makes us feel at ease knowIng where to go and terminal information. I was unable to get the "kid" young mans name who drive the Bus monday 2/10/20 from monterey at 4:45 but he got us all to our destinations safely and on time. Huge thanks to the driver and the company. By the way the upgrades buses are AMAZING!!! Reclining comfortable lazy boy seats and USB ports per seat makes this travel to the airport much more enjoyable than other similar companies. Thank you for being such an awesome transportation service. HIGHLY RECOMMEND TO ALL FAMILY AND FRIENDS!!!! read more

Groome Transportation - Comfy seats! - Airport Shuttles Near Me - Monterey, California

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Good experience. No issues to and fro from SJC to SFO. Will definitely go with them again.

Here is the email I sent and our experience. Kaelen, Thank you for responding to my email. You are out of the gate as the new owners and you are running last. You should have had everything in place before announcing that Groom is now Monterey Airbus. I have NEVER had a problem contacting a live agent at Monterey Airbus when I needed to change or cancel an existing reservation. Your call volume surely did not all of a sudden change when you took over. You have the statistics to see how many of your customers book online versus by call. I needed a live agent yesterday at 5:20 with my wife was having problems and a 5:30 pickup. All I got then and this morning after 4 calls was your looped message which is a lie. Listen it says someone will be with you to make a reservation but nobody comes on. I want to talk with an agent and the $5 is unimportant to me and am sue a lot of people. Suppose I left something of value on the Airbus? There is nobody to answer. This is the worst form of customer service which is no customer service at all. The word will get out. First you need to change your message and then you need to stop using call volume as an excuse. I never had a problem contacting and getting hold of a live agent when contacting Monterey Airbus. Maybe you should hire somebody from that company to help you run Groom till you can get up to speed. Gary Geiger read more

The vehicle that was provided to the driver was too small for the amount of reservations (was a Cadillac Escalade instead of an actual bus). Driver was put in a bad position when there were literally not enough seats for the amount of people he was supposed to pick up. Poor planning on management's part. read more

Giving 1 star for existing, and 1 Star because I arrived at my destination eventually. Here are my issues: 1. Their website is atrocious and difficult to use. They make it difficult to book online, probably so you have to call and pay the over the phone price. Thankfully I spoke to the only nice customer service agent I've spoken to in their office and she was willing to give me the online price ONLY because their website was experience technical difficulties all morning. 2. Outside of the aforementioned agent the customer service reps are condescending and rude. They provide extremely limited information. I never received a confirmation of my purchase, didn't receive a text or email to say I'd be on the bus, and if the bus is 20 minutes late you has no way of knowing if it's late or if it just passed right by you somehow because they give you NO updates. 3. As mentioned above sometimes the busses are late. Sometimes by a significant margin. I understand traffic exists. But we also live in an age where it's possible to know when a bus is running late and let the passengers know so they aren't stressing that they've missed it or worse, not able to make other arrangements if it's gonna cause them to miss their flight. So biggest issues I'd say overall are a severe lack of communication (not even a receipt of sale) and the rudeness of the reps (minus one of the many I spoke to). I will use them as a last resort but from now on they are not at the top of my list of shuttle services. read more

I had a reservation Sunday morning Aug 20 at 5:15 am. I arrived 15 minutes early, there were two other passengers there. The bus never came, we weren't notified although my cell number is clearly on the reservation. At 6am we gave up. Fortunately I'm from Monterey and could get home and get my car and haul us all to the airport. With no traffic, we made it to our flights. Very unprofessional. Have a back up plan and consider other options. read more

I have taken the Monterey Airbus multiple times and am a frequent rider. Like many shuttle services there are good drivers and bad drivers and shuttle busses that are better maintained then others. However I feel like when you are the only company providing a service (aka there is no other shuttle service from Monterey to the Bay Area airports) I guess you can get away with shitty service and poorly maintained shuttles. I have noticed that the quality has gone down but I never felt compelled to write about it until today. I am riding in the shuttle going 75 miles per hour on 101 and the driver has both front windows rolled down which is causing a wind tunnel effect that is out of control. My ears are popping and there are things blowing around and knocking on the doors making loud noises that sound awful. I asked the driver repeatedly to turn on the AC instead and he ignored me/conveniently couldn't hear me because of the wind tunnel, even though I was seated right behind him. When he finally responded to my ask to have the Ac on instead of the windows down, he said very gruffly "AC is broken" no apology for the wind or the noise. Which is super weird because when we started the trip he asked us to let him know if it got too cool in the back to let him know. Now I'm not saying that everyone has to bend over backwards, but a simple "sorry for the windows down on the freeway but the AC isn't working so I'm trying to keep it cool for myself." It's clear the windows being down are not for any of the passengers since no one asked him to put them down. This particular driver also shamed one of the customers because they brought too many bags. Now I know the customer was wrong for doing that but it seems to me there are better ways to interact with customers than to lay into them about how they screwed up. This is by far one of the worst experiences on the shuttle and unfortunately it's not an isolated incident. I will definitely be looking into other alternatives because this is ridiculous. In the meantime I guess it's yelp reviews or hope someone else starts another shuttle company. Update 12/24/19: Still sucks. Our driver picked us up 15min late and then missed a stop so she had to turn around and drive the other direction to go back to the stop. They are almost always late which is one of the worst things you can be as an airport shuttle. read more

So disappointed with their customer service. I have used them several times before and I will never used them again. Left us waiting outside in the cold for an hour with no updates. read more

Be Careful! Booked and paid 24 hours in advance. They text me link to track our driver. Never showed up. Called they said we missed driver but we were 15 minutes early, he never came. They did not call even though they had my number. The car never came close to us as we were tracking. Let us hanging with no way to SFO Airport. Rent a car and drive. Wouldn't trust to deliver pizza. read more

Not impressed. I apparently missed the 3pm shuttle by 1 minute. And the 4:15 shuttle ended up being 20 minutes late. A total of 90 minutes sitting at the airport to save $25 compared to a Lyft. Not worth it read more

Scheduled my ride from the San Jose airport to Monterey days in advance. They required payment and a suggested tip so I did both. Paid for my fare and added a nice 25% tip. They further wanted my flight information so they could track which shuttle I should catch. Thought they might be tracking my flight to ensure they were ready to pick me up? Nope. Mayhem at the airport resulted in my flight landing late in San Jose. Opened up a "live chat" with them and got no response. So I called them and was told they have shuttles well past midnight. But was also told there would be a 4 hour gap between when my flight landed and the next shuttle left the airport. When I told the person on the call why would I wait 4 hours for a 1-hour ride I was again met with silence. I hung up and made other arrangements. I then e-mailed the company after getting home and asked for a credit (as they do not offer refunds). Was never told I would be forced to wait for hours for their scheduled shuttles. And, so far, I've again been met with no response. Just more silence. I'm out $50 and got no ride, no service, and no communication. No refunds available and no credit toward future service. If you or I ran out business this way we'd be out of business quickly. This company is awful. read more

Update 12.27.19: Called them to see if the shuttle had left sfo and the lady told me no but then said she'd check with the driver, who told her he did leave. I couldn't see the shuttle name where I was standing but just as I was approaching the bus in front of the Monterey one, the driver drove off. I told the lady where I was standing so it would've been nice for her to tell the driver that I was there just walking from the walkway. Instead, I had to wait more than 1 hour for the next shuttle (bcuz they r never on time). Nothing changes from my below review of them. If you wanna save money and are willing to be inconvenienced, this is for you. As others have said, until another shuttle service operates between these airports, Monterey Airbus will continue as they are. ------------------------------------------ For even having an airport-to-airport service: 1 star. For getting me to SFO: 1 star. My reservation was for 10 am and as other reviewers have pointed out, it's ridiculous they don't have a proper system in place to call or text people if they are running late! I waited for 35 mins before my shuttle came! Once the guy arrived, he made an announcement that they were running 22 mins behind schedule, and then said they had to make an unplanned stop because some people needed to use the bathroom. WTH?! Is this a shuttle or a tour bus?? Also as others have pointed out, the ride was VERY bumpy and I did feel at times the driver was going too fast, likely to make up for the delay. I don't absolutely hate it but it'd be nice if they'd take some of these concerns seriously and implement better practices. read more

This morning, I booked a 3:15pm trip from Monterey to SFO. It's 3:50pm and the bus has yet to arrive to pick us up. When I called the office at 3:30pm to ask what's going on, the receptionist said the bus would be late because it had two household pickups to do. Wtf? Why would you let anybody book a 3:15pm trip with the knowledge that the bus would be 30+ minutes late due to the home pick-ups that YOU scheduled? Why not at least give me notice that the bus would not be here at the scheduled 3:15 departure time? This is so unacceptable! The one job of this company is to transport people from point A to point B at the scheduled times -- and here they are 35+ minutes late with zero notice or justifiable explanation. Just that they voluntarily opted to book two at-home pickups with full knowledge that this would result in a 35+ minute delay for all the other passengers booked for the 3:15 departure. I'm standing here with many other unhappy people who are having to find alternative means of transport and rescheduling flights/accommodations. What a waste of everyone's money and time. UPDATE: Driver just arrived at 4:02 PM. This entire nightmare means that two fellow booked passengers have to pay an extra $600 to alter their accommodations and sleep in the airport tonight. The driver was apologetic but ultimately powerless because it's not his fault that his boss is running a joke of a company. read more

This company is a disaster. I've dealt them for many years, but the Covid was the worst. No refunds only credits. A website from the early 90's, surly customer service ...if you can get them, a spine jangling ride. the whole experience is just subpar. Call an Uber to and from the airport. You will get a better deal than these pirates. Disgusting. read more

Do not use this service it is over priced and they don't off a refund just credit

I'm glad Monterey Airbus is back in operation again after a year plus on covid break. The price is reasonable, the driver was courteous and timely, but..... The vehicle was AWFUL! It might sound wimpy, but the bus rode like it had bricks instead of shocks. Every pebble on Hwy 101 felt like we had run over a boulder. Monterey Airbus (aka Groome Transportation) had 15 mos to do a little vehicle maintenance. Come on - fix the suspension! I've ridden on military vehicles that ride better. read more

Great experience! Our driver Claudia was warm and efficient and on time and so pleasant. She's also a great driver. I highly recommend!

Booked a scheduled pickup from SJC to SFO for me and my family. The bus never showed up after 50 minutes from the scheduled pickup. We almost missed our flight and had the frustration of our lives waiting for the bus to come. During this time, we contacted customer service and were put on hold for the entire time with no status about whether the bus is coming or not. read more

DO NOT DO IT! they were running at least 40 minutes late and had no intention of contacting me. (i called after 15 minutes of waiting past the pickup time.) i had to take a ride share to make my flight, and they have a no reimbursement policy. worse, it was suggested to me by their call person to take a different mode of transit and ask about a reimbursement via email. more than a week later that email has gone nowhere. i will send a second email and update this if refunded. read more

I have had past good experiences using the air bus, but today was horrible. the AC was leaking all over the bus. water was dripping on my head as well as the man in front of me. when we came to a safe stop, i informed the driver that the AC was dripping all over me. his response "what do you want me to do? call another shuttle?" he had no interest in offering me a towel, apologizing for the uncomfortableness, nothing. not to mention, it was pouring rain outside and already freezing. the ride was extremely uncomfortable. i will likely never use this service again. so disappointing. I'll be calling and asking for a full refund! read more

Groome Transportation - Airport Shuttles Near Me - Monterey, California

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This is a HORRIBLE company! An agent called me the MORNING of my pick up time to cancel my ride. Apparently, their driver never showed up for their shift and so the ride was canceled. This call came in at 6:33AM and the pick up was for 6:50am as I had to make a flight to SFO. The only solution the agent offered was a later leaving shuttle at 8am but that would have made me too late and would have led me to miss my flight. There was NO other options so I was forced to take an UBER to the tune of $200+ Not only that, but Groome Transportation automatically booked me on the 8am shuttle and then marked me for that as a "no show" and still charged my card for the $65 shuttle service. I reached out over 15 times via phone and email and absolutely none of my emails have been answered and every time I call I am told the manager is either not there or can not come to the phone and will call me back. Her name is Cora. I am reporting this company to the BBB. read more

I used the Airbus for the first time this week, and have no complaints. I arrived from SFO on an international flight, and customs took longer than expected which made me a few minutes late for my pick up time. The driver left without me, but after contacting customer service, who was nice enough to stay on the line with me until he got a hold of the driver, I was able to make it. Anyhow, fast service, helpful staff and decent price. read more

This is a horrible service. I have taken this bus twice, both from San Jose Airport to San Francisco Airport. The first time, the bus arrived late for 40 minutes, but at least it was there. The second time, I was at the bus stop for 40mins, and 25 mins after my departure time I got a message saying that I missed my bus. This is completely unacceptable. read more

Not reliable service. Very poor customer service. I took it 3 times in all directions and always had problems. Late drop off. Sometimes didn't pick me up at airport and had to wait for hours... If you can, avoid this read more

I usually fly out of SJC since flying out of Monterey tends to be expensive. Monterey Airbus has gotten me to and from the airport reliably and on time, every time. Their fares may look high, but compared to airport parking they're actually quite reasonable. Buses are comfortable and have charging points for electronics. On my most recent trip, I accidentally booked my return trip from SJC on the wrong date, and didn't notice until I was already on my way back. One call to their operator later, and my reservation was rescheduled for no additional charge! One warning: I've found the trip planner on their website to be a bit "optimistic" in terms of how long it will take to get to the airport. If you're like me and like to arrive at the airport a few hours early, consider taking an earlier bus than the one they recommend. read more

So I took the Airbus back from San Jose to the Prunedale stop. Although the driver was nice and got us home in record time, the bus hit every bump which made us almost come out of our seats. With that, when I got to my destination, the driver took out my new suitcase that I got the weekend before which was a carry on from the back of the bus and it was damaged. I wrote the business and there was no response. When I called, mind you multiple times, to speak to a manager, the manager would be conveniently out of the office and would call me back in an hour....never called. Finally after 4 attempts I was able to get a hold of a manager to be told that I had to send an email to a different email address and to put a person's name in the subject area and they would contact me. They never have. It's a great service if you are looking to get to San Jose and SF airports, just be aware your personal property may be at risk and they do not care about their customers! read more

Today was probably my 15th shuttle with Monterey Airbus and I am constantly impressed with the professionalism and level of service. Not only is this shuttle extremely convenient for my travels, but I am always greeted by the friendliest drivers. Today was no exception! Timothy was friendly, helpful, and just a great guy. One of the nicest drivers I've met on the shuttle. I will always recommend Monterey airbus! read more

Groome Transportation - Airport Shuttles Near Me - Monterey, California

Im on it, right now! Amazing driver! Not normally a fan but this guy taking me to San Jose, is the man! If I was rich i would steal him from this co. & he could drive me, forever! read more

There is a reason most of the reviews in the last 2-3 years are now 1 star. This used to be a great service, but sadly seems to have lost a lot of that. They are difficult to reach by phone, require tipping in advance if you book on the website, use an automated update system for delays (which has excessive error, +/- 30 minutes), busses have broken seats, the ride will rattle your teeth out, baggage policy is strangly restrictive (can't bring anything in a cardboard box period, regardless of size), but the prices have only gone up. Recommend finding another option if at all possible. read more

This company is a total ripoff. Lousy service, unhelpful reservation personnel, and impossible to reach by phone.

If you want to know all the road bumps between Monterey and SFO, this ride is for you.

Do NOT use Monterey airbus. I had a 3:00 AM reservation and the driver left early. I arrived just before 3:00 and they were gone. They also refused to refund me for the round trip. Not worth the hassle. I ended up driving to San Jose and my time travel was cut in half and parking near the airport was half the price of a round trip anyway. read more