This was not what I expected, but I was happy with it. I would describe Alpha-Trans as "quirky" and…read morewould say it's probably not for everyone. Here's my experience. I'll let you decide.
I usually fly in and out of SFO when coming the Bay Area and use Super Shuttle when possible. I was surprised to see that their prices from SJC to Mountain View were $55 for the shared shuttle and $100 for limo service. A cab is only $45! Since when is a shuttle more than a cab?!?! Disappointed, I looked elsewhere.
I found Alpha-Trans listed on this page: http://www.sftodo.com/parking/san_jose_airport_shuttle_vans.htm, which gave them a "phone customer service" rating of "Very Good," so I looked for other reviews. I found Liz L's review here and since her main complaint was that they called her too much (and then got annoyed when she didn't answer), I though I wouldn't mind that so much. Better too much communication than not enough, and I don't turn my phone off.. so what the heck?
I made a reservation online and after not getting any response or a price quote, I called the number and was immediately greeted by a friendly man with a thick Russian accent. He said that he would send me a confirmation in an hour, and then basically asked me to repeat all the information I had just typed into the web form. He told me that the best he could do for me was $45 from Mountain View to SJC and, having come this far and not wanting to roll the dice with a regular cab, I said fine. About 3 hours later, I got a phone call (expecting an email for an online reservation, but whatevs) confirming my reservation for a 5:45 pickup the next morning. I pointed out that the reservation was for a 7:15 flight in the evening and he said "Oh yes, I see. It says PM here." He then said "Well then the pickup should be at 5:30 because traffic is bad that time of day." I said "That's great. I'll be ready at 5."
Well, 5 came and went, and then around 5:30 I got a call from I assume the same guy, saying "I'm the guy who's going to drive you the airport. I'm leaving now and I'll be there soon." So I went out to the sidewalk and at 5:42 (so he did at least beat the original target of 5:45) a white, totally unmarked Lincoln Town Car pulled up. I was expecting a van with a bunch of other people in it, but, again, whatevs. The dude gets out and he's wearing sweat clothes with some paint on them and he says "man, I was really busy today. I didn't even have time to change my clothes. I just looked at the clock and said 'man, I've got to go!'" Hmmm. He also apologized for having stuff in the trunk, which seemed to be some chunks of particle board and maybe some tools. It turned out, based on the next stage of the conversation that he had been working on renovations to his house, and that his really busy day mainly involved coordinating various workers who were working on his renovation.
We started driving to the airport and, after a conversation about cash vs credit cards and his complaining that "You should work for a credit card company! They take a part of every transaction and they don't care!" and "Everyone just carries credit cards these days! They pay for coffee and everything, just with credit cards!" he began a very loud conversation with someone on the phone--he was holding it up to his ear and shouting, even though the phone was clearly set to "speaker" mode--in which he was trying to get the person on the other end of the phone to check the back seat of his car for his wallet, that he had apparently lost sometime earlier. Maybe in this guys car? It turns out not.
Well, despite being "late," once in the car he said "What time is your flight?" "7:15" "Oh, we'll be fine. You just need to be there by 6:15." but then as we approached the freeway, "I hope the traffic isn't bad on the freeway. It's so hard to tell which way is the best way to go. But we can take the carpool lane." as if these were all new thoughts that he had never before contemplated.
We arrived at the curb at exactly 6:15. On time. Somewhat to my surprise, he produced a wireless credit card reader that looked to be fairly new and in good condition. Indeed, it worked without a hitch--no network problems, not out of paper, the ink wasn't fading into inscrutability, and it read my card on the first swipe, not the 7th after being wrapped in plastic or cheescloth. My new friend shook my hand heartily and wished me a nice trip.
So why four stars? Well, it was very entertaining! And at every point I felt very well taken care of and communicated with, even though the easy access to my driver's mental activity did perhaps expose more of the seat-of-the-pants nature of the the enterprise than I am accustomed to seeing. So would I recommend it? Sure! I think it's not to everyone's taste and might not be to my taste if I was really anxious about, say, getting to the airport at a particular time, but if you can leave yourself open to the experience, it could be well worth it!
