Super Shuttle will cease operations on December 31st, marking the end of an era. While I wish no ill will toward the displaced employees, I cannot say that I will miss the blue and yellow vans…
Since 1983, Super Shuttle has a offered a budget alternative to taxis, but with the rise of Uber and Lyft has simply been pushed out of the market by Darwinian natural selection (I use the term loosely). Some people still use film cameras and horse-drawn carriages, but Super Shuttle was approaching the same status.
Why pay (in some cases) more for a shared van that makes several stops than a private ride on Uber X? In almost all cases, Super Shuttle was more expensive than Uber pool or other ride-sharing pool services.
I used to use Super Shuttle on a semi-regular basis when I lived in Washington, DC. For early morning or late night flights out of Washington Dulles, Super Shuttle made a lot more sense than paying a crooked Washington Flyer taxi. But it was never a great experience. Driving to at least three other hotels was time consuming and it always seemed like I was picked up first or dropped off last.
On one Thanksgiving Day morning, my scheduled Super Shuttle never showed up. After waiting 15 minutes, I was forced to take a $95 taxi ride and almost missed my flight.
Thus, I’m thankful for Uber and Lyft. As unsustainable as those business models may be, they have completely changed the way I travel.
But there is sadness in this announcement too. Talk about a Christmas gift to the employees of Super Shuttle. Maybe some will start driving for Uber or Lyft. Hopefully all will find an equally or more fulfilling line of work.
CONCLUSION
Part of surviving in the U.S. economy depends upon anticipating trends. I routinely see the empty Super Shuttles at LAX. I see how few still use it and the desperation of some ground agents as they tried to solicit rides on the curb. The writing has been on the wall for quite some time. I’m quite sad to see this company close, but I won’t miss it…
Will you miss Super Shuttle?
image: Super Shuttle
The only time I ever tried one they failed to pick me up and I had to go door to door at my college apartment to see if anybody could drive me to the airport.
Really? Super Shuttle allows a private option. Also, it’s competitive with Uber’s often-capricious pricing.
If you are traveling in a group of 3 or more, u need an Uber XL and this was not an issue on the super shuttle.
Lastly, if u listen to SoftBank CEO, Masayoshi, the whole point of venture capital is to let Uber operate at a loss, wipe out the competition and then jack up prices.
But if Uber jacks up the prices, more venture capital will go into Super Shuttle 2.0 or a similar endeavor.
Meanwhile (hopefully) public transport will continue to improve.
If I could get from the airport to my homee easily by train like I do in Frankfurt, I would not need a car…
Why would you assume that public transport would improve? Uber has generally been causing public transit to get worse in many markets, as the highly subsidized Uber fares are cheap enough for people to use Uber instead of public transit. This starves the transit agency of income generated by fares, and leads to cut routes or less frequent service. Additionally, the extra cars on the road from those Uber trips increase traffic and slows down buses.
Also, I think your assumption of venture capital going into Super Shuttle 2.0 is optimistic. The reason there is so much venture capital sloshing around is because money is cheap right now. Interest rates are at all time lows, and investors are needing to find other places to put their money. That may not be the case in the future.
“If I could get from the airport to my home easily by train like I do in Frankfurt, I would not need a car…”
We have republican dumbfuxks who will never allow that. The evil don’t want to pay more taxes and the stupid don’t know what’s good for them.
Also the liberals should stop allowing homeless to infringe on the rights of people paying their taxes. Any liberal wishes they can house a homeless in their home. It’s easy for republicans to be jerks because the liberals are entitled idiots as well.
In Singapore, they say they do want to have white elephant subway stations so they build them up only where there’s demand. One potential stop was not built until this year because only now was there demand.
The same goes with airport trains. If there is little demand, don’t spend a couple of billion dollars. One problem with many places is insufficient population density due to local zoning rules. Single family homes are not compatible with multi billion dollar subways.
I always look for your comments. They are the highlight of my day!!
Well I used them many times in New York City and never had a problem with them. I will miss them.
Matt,
Your articles are great because they do provoke thought and They don’t step on eggshells as to avoid posing of some far-off link partner.
My issue is that everyone travels differently and choice is good.
Many people, like the elderly with baggage, really like curbside to curbside transportation. They have a hard time with train luggage racks and the last mile getting home after the train station.
I live in Pasadena, and live in the 1% of Los Angeles where by using the Flyaway/Gold Line, I never have to touch a car to get home. But someone even a mile from me would not be able to do that.
When we travel outbound, we usually go to city centers because that’s where tourists go and where the trains go.
When we return home, we return to residential areas, areas where there aren’t convenient stations anywhere in the world.
No, I won’t miss it … even though I was often picked up last and dropped off first (there are some benefits of not living far from a freeway). I’d stopped taking it a long time ago.
But your post has me asking myself a few questions:
– What’s happening with their competition? I’m primarily thinking of PrimeTime.
– What is the next thing after Uber and Lyft?
– What is it about that business model that made it fail the way it did? It’s hard for me to understand why they couldn’t compete on price.
It is sad, especially now, as you point out, Matthew. But, no, I won’t miss it either.
Good question on PrimeTime. This will help them.
Lousy company to work for. Low compensation, unhappy passengers, poor repair policy, unhelpful dispatchers, lousy overpaid managers, etc.
Last time I used Super Shuttle was 3 years ago. Very early pickup, 4am I think, for flight from BWI to connect in Toronto for Tokyo. Driver showed up on time and honked his horn to let me know he arrived even though I was standing in the driveway. Woke up my dog and every other dog on the street along with my family. I got in and saw the check engine light, tire pressure and low fuel lights on. Asked if we were going to make it to BWI which is 35 miles away and he said “probably”. The van he was supposed to use wouldn’t start and he hadn’t noticed there was no fuel in this van. Brakes squealed, shocks were non-existent. We made it but I was done with them after that.
Interesting. That brought back memories of check engine lights when I used to use it…
Just used this service in Las Vegas airport to hotel return and also in Los Angeles airport to San Pedro return. All the drivers were very helpful and polite and cheerful. Picked up at exactly the arranged time in clean comfortable vans.
So sorry they will loose their jobs.
Super Shuttle does come in handy in one specific circumstance – when you’re traveling with a large family and have a ton of luggage. Like our upcoming trip where we’ll have to get to SJC from my sister’s house with 8 people and a bunch of bags to go to Hawai’i. I guess you can still order two Uber XLs for less than the price of one private Super Shuttle, but still…
Sounds like a fun trip!
Of late, the only folks I’ve seen using the service at my three most traveled airports have been travelers that I’d think were unaware of Uber or Lyft as a result of age and lack of tech savviness (LOTS of elderly couples) or groups from areas where Uber and Lyft aren’t prevalent or simply don’t exist – think non-urban Midwest and rural South, based on accents and a host of other indicators. Ridesharing likely isn’t something they do frequently or would otherwise think of and/or trust. Even then, those numbers clearly were dwindling as evidenced by SuperShuttle. To be fair, though, the last couple of times I used them (early-to-mid 2000s), my experiences were pleasant, or at least unmemorable.
I haven’t taken Super Shuttle for years. But decades ago, when I was a San Francisco-based flight attendant, the company was a godsend. A taxi from downtown to SFO cost a fortune on my F/A salary, and the only other option for me was to take a taxi from my apartment to the Airporter Terminal in the Tenderloin, which meant paying a taxi AND a bus fare.
When Super Shuttle came on the scene and I could get picked-up at my door and dropped-off at the terminal – for a fraction of what a cab cost, I was thrilled!
Was the experience always great? No. And like you, Matthew, I often had to endure several tedious en route stops. (I remember joking to friends that courtesy of Super Shuttle, I was seeing parts of the city this San Francisco native had never seen before!)
Like Blockbuster Video, Super Shuttle was a great idea – at the time. But time moves on…
“it always seemed like I was picked up first or dropped off last”
I actually started a spreadsheet to document this when I took the off-airport parking shuttle because I was so sure I was always last!
Turns out after 33 rides and an average of 10.5 riders per shuttle, my average drop off position was ~8.
/nerd
“I actually started a spreadsheet to document this …”
I can appreciate that! 😉
Mine was more of a binary distribution. Either the van started dropping off in the town to the south of where I live — in which case I was last to be dropped off — or the van went straight to my town, in which case I was (almost) always the very first to be dropped off. On the pick-up, I was always last in the van.
I note that the shuttle from JFK now has very restricted hours, ie no service after 1900. It used to be good: reliable, cheap, convenient. Drop off/ pick up at Bryant Park and Grand Central. Pretty useless now.
I find Uber quite confusing: I don’t want to have to scurry around airport parking lots looking for the right car. They might well have great ‘tech’ but the quality of the instructions/advice/support is simply abysmal.
US cities have appalling public transport. Sometimes it’s explained as an American preference for individual, independent travel/commute. But I think that’s BS, as Americans make sensible use of public transport in other places ( Europe, Asia, Australia), including to/from airports.
For sure, doing it with kids is more problematic.
Time to flush this turd. SS would always ask “what time is your flight?” so they would have leeway to take you to the airport at the last minute. I had to factor in a extra hour ot two in if I really wanted time in a lounge. Getting dropped back home was always an hour-long tour of South SF.
Wow seems rather sudden, but as you said the writing had been on the wall. I’m surprised your more liberal readers are not trying to protect this industry and its jobs, nor has anyone “balked” at your suggestion that they drive for “predatory” Uber. I guess they took the day off.
Yikes. Cant keep your politics out of any discussion eh? You must be a joy to be around
I haven’t used Super Shuttle since about 1999. Sorry!
I tried Super Shuttle a couple of times and hated it. They left me stranded in the morning once while trying to get to the airport and that was enough for me. Once I boarded one at the airport and they guy refused to leave for over an hour till he had enough people in it. That was not their policy to wait that long, but the driver needed to make money. I swore I would never use them again, and I didn’t. Would rather pay the taxi and I did. Now with Uber, who needs them or regular taxi’s. Goodbye and good riddance.
A neighbor parked that annoying ugly van in front of my place all the time. I won’t miss that for sure.
Not that I’m trying to plug our business, but we have been offering an alternative to SuperShuttle since 2008 – small mom and pop shops that now will have a chance to grow their businesses and we are happy to promote them as well as offer Uber/Lyft pre-arranged airport rides.
S.S. was great if you had a bike box. Used at LAX and PHX many times. About 10 years ago I got a “coupled bike” that fits in a 26″ x 26″ x 10″ case. Or 62 lineal inches. So the smaller box/case fits easily in most vehicles.
I will miss S.S. due the much larger luggage availability.
Given the fact that Uber, just one week ago admitted there are rapists and murderers in their driver ranks I will never employ them. I bet they don’t even do the simple thing like have enough insurance coverage. So, go cheap, but go risk your life.
I’ve used Super Shuttle for years. Sure I’ve had a couple of issues but nothing is perfect. I’ve never worried about being murdered in a Super Shuttle.
For me, I won’t miss Super Shuttle because it was formed by a bunch of crooks. I was one of the original drivers at LAX in 1983 that would pay them $80 for the use of the van for 12 hours and pay for gas. After I made back the $80 I would give them 25% of the money that I was paid. In those days the only game in town was cabs that were very expensive and we would take people to downtown for $10, compared to $30 in a cab. For about 4, 5 months made some good money but the good folks at Super Shuttle would always adjust the pay scale, of course in their favor. After a year of hard work in establishing the company, they changed the pay scale in which we paid the gas and got paid minimum wages and get to keep tips. I saw my wages go from about $250 to $500 a night to $50 to $100 a night while Super Shuttle made out like bandits. We then entered a phase of cheating that we would take an extra passenger and not register it, pocketing that fee. It felt wrong after a few weeks and I left, a year later they had nothing but labor disputes after labor disputes and lawsuits after lawsuits. They used people and the original owners became very, very rich while the people who fought hard to build the company got nothing. So in a way feel sorry of the disappearance of Super Shuttle because the folks that started it made the money and the folks now there are caught holding the bag, but I guess that’s life.
In March of 2019 we had an early morning flight and had arranged a SS pickup for 3:30 am. At approximately 3:00 am SS called and said that they had no vehicle available to pick us up. We were supposed to be the only passengers so it was not a shared ride. SS should have sent us a taxi but they didn’t. Fortunately I had a friend who had volunteered earlier to take us to the airport and I had to call him and wake him up to get to the airport.
Some service and we have found alternate delivery means to get to the airport here in Phoenix. So I am not sad to see them cease operations.
I was not aware of this until I got an arbitrary email from SuperShuttle that my trips in January and February 2020 were cancelled. I called and asked why they were cancelled. The phone rep put me on hold for about 20 minutes and then told me they were going out of business. It was funny because the automated recorded on-hold message was still pitching “10% discount when you book through our app”.
I will miss them. I have never used Uber or Lyft and I hear all the horror stories about bad drivers. At least SuperShuttle is a company and not an individual I don’t know where they came from.
Now I have to find a replacement for my Jan / Feb trips.
I’ve been driving for SuperShuttle for 9 years. I still do. SuperShuttle has been providing transportation for people with disabilities and also larger groups. My question is who is going to serve the people needing a wheelchair assistance? I think that service is still needed. Also, I understand the excitement some people are sharing about Uber and Lyft being cheaper, but there is a reason for that. None of the regulations that apply to SuperShuttle, actually apply to Uber and Lyft. The insurance for instance. Driving for Uber and Lyft doesn’t require any insurance coverage other than the required by law for a regular car. That could be like $300 a year liability insurance. I pay like $8000 a year. You do the math. Not to mention all other permits and restrictions. Rules that apply to one, don’t apply to the other. This is the real reason behind SuperShuttle going out of business. The truth is that if SuperShuttle was working under the same regulations as Uber and Lyft, the fares would’ve been maybe 30% lower. And vice versa- if Uber and Lyft had the same expenses as SuperShuttle, their fares would’ve been higher. In fact most of the European countries banned Uber at the moment they tried to start operations there. Simply because they don’t meet any requirements and regulations. United States is one of very few countries allowing them to do business just like that- without any permits, without proper insurance, without any training for the drivers. You take your car, they take a quick look at it, then less than a minute “orientation” and you’re good to go. If this isn’t an unfair competition, I don’t know what is.
It is funny how the market works, In a Ride Share you knever kniw what you are getting into. Is the driver fit ti drive or is he or she already working for 12 hours on another job ? An insame amount of passengers in Ride Share got killed , raped or robbed by their Ride Share Drivers in recnt years or were involved in accidents. However, People find it “cool” to use Ride Share Services like Uber and Lyft, even though they are not really that much cheaper then other existing services. A complete industry of chauffeured servces gets deleted because they need to come u with suoer expensive commercial insrance and licensing fees but the passengers do not want to spend on safe and professional transportation,