17

My family is going to a wedding in Ann Arbor. From a map, it looks like it's within reason to Lyft or Uber from the DTW airport. (Where "reasonable" means something like "under $50".) Does this make sense or are there any gotchas?

I know this can be calculated with the app (or various online price estimators), but I'd really love to hear from a local or someone else with personal experience.

Improve this question
16
  • 2
    Useful to say what day and time of day you plan to arrive and leave. Weekday rush hour? Sunday morning?
    – smci
    Commented Feb 28, 2020 at 8:43
  • 3
    Yes, dragging bags halfway across the airport to reach the uber dungeon nobody knows where it is and has no cell service, to get an amateur driver chosen at random who texts continuously while driving, and talks incessantly about politics, and doesn't know the way, is so much better...
    – Harper - Reinstate Monica
    Commented Feb 28, 2020 at 15:01
  • 4
    If your schedule is flexible, there is a very affordable bus service (AirRide) that will take you downtown. Fairly comfortable and there's even wifi.
    – abought
    Commented Feb 28, 2020 at 15:34
  • 3
    I've used it quite a few times; it's clean and generally works pretty well. They're good about letting you use the next/previous shuttle even with a reservation (space allowing)- that helps smooth out uncertainty when baggage claim or flight delays are involved.
    – abought
    Commented Feb 28, 2020 at 15:43
  • 2
    I'm not sure why you're asking this instead of just checking the app. It's kind of like asking if the price to fly between two cities is reasonable. Go look at the price and see for yourself. What kind of local/insider knowledge are you hoping for here?
    – Kat
    Commented Feb 28, 2020 at 19:40

6 Answers 6

Reset to default
7

I write this answer from a Lyft going from Ann Arbor to DTW.

Booking this ride on Lyft cost $50, whereas it was $100 on Uber with surge pricing. I’ve seen it as low as $35. So yes, for convenience, Uber and Lyft definitely work.

But as other answers mention, there are better options for more like $13/trip.

Improve this answer
36

Both Uber and Lyft apps allow you to enter both a "from" and "to" location that is nowhere near your current location.

Thus you can simple open the app, enter DTW as the pickup location, the location of your wedding as the destination, and it will give you a price for that journey. This allows you to confirm that taking such a journey is feasible, and roughly how much it will cost - although obviously the cost can vary based on the time of day/traffic/etc.

Looking at the moment, Uber is quoting a little under $40 from DTW to Ann Arbor.

Improve this answer
10

Also consider the Michigan Flyer https://www.michiganflyer.com/

A bus from DTW to Ann Arbor that goes 13x a day.

Improve this answer
1
  • Highly recommend this, I did it about a month ago and it was very comfortable
    – Andrew Alexander
    Commented Feb 29, 2020 at 13:52
8

I'm not a local, but a while ago I worked at Ford and lived in Ann Arbor for a time, so I did that commute every day. Your main gotcha is going to be the state of I-94 (and I-275 as an alternative route). This can be very bad in rush hour. If you're arriving in the evening after 7pm, you should usually be safe.

If you're getting a hotel for the weekend, consider that Ann Arbor is not a small area, and it has limited access to I-94 along the west side. If you want to minimise costs from the airport, then staying somewhere in the south-east or east of the city should make your Uber cheaper. Assuming of course that someone local can give you a ride to the wedding.

Improve this answer
4

Since you said you want personal experience, I have made this trip a few times via Uber while visiting Ann Arbor. It should be reasonable, though my last trip was 2 years ago ($36 at ~8 AM). There can be a large amount of traffic slow down in the morning on a weekday, as Graham's answer indicates.

The pickup time was a bit longer than I was used to, I think it took 10-15 minutes for the driver to arrive at the Airport. I also took an Uber from the hotel to the wedding venue, it is a very common area for weddings so the driver should be familiar with where to take you.

Improve this answer
3

Rent a car for cheap. I was just in Ann Arbor a few months ago. My wife goes all the time. If we are there for only a day, Uber makes sense for a one time round trip from the airport and back. If you are there for more than one day, rent a car. Unless you want to burden family members with schlepping you around, it’s more convenient for everyone. Plus, Ann Arbor is a pretty nice area. And, except for rush hour, the drive is easy. It would be worth the $20-30/day or so as long as you do not have to pay for hotel parking. We usually don’t.

Improve this answer
0

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .