Any tip suggestions for shuttle service between JFK and Yale, for one person and a party of two respectively?
My son uses CT limo
We use go shuttle. My question is how much does one typically tip ?
My general rule is 15% of fare or 2 dollars per bag, whichever is greater.
Thanks. That’s a safe rule. I wonder what is the expectation for Yale students as they don’t have income. Are they expected to tip the same?
^^ Those students that can’t afford to tip, do not take a limo, car service or taxi. Instead, they take the JFK Airtrain to the ‘A’ train, get off at 42nd Street, transfer to the Shuttle to Grand Central, and take the MetroNorth to New Haven. The total cost for the one-way trip is about $24 during non-rush hours (and no one asks for, or expects a tip).
It may be helpful that I report back from my experience. I noticed that there is a statement on the window of the shuttle that says something like “gratuity is not included in your fare”, so yes, tips are expected. However, it does not seem that all drivers expect to provide good service in return for generous gratuity. For my ride to Yale from JFK, the driver is a pleasant person and provides good service, so I tipped him over 20%. For the ride from Yale to JFK, the driver was actually rude. I ended up still tipped him at close to 15% that seemed not expected by him. The driver was very happy for the tips and became very friendly right after. It made me wonder if this guy wanted tips before the ride was started. :-). I would say for a student, with a round trip of $95 in fare between Yale and JFK (that means less than $47.5 one way), it’s OK to tip $5 one way, but if you are very happy, give the driver $10.
I should also mention the later driver was instructed to take more passengers but he took no attempts to find the missing ones, despite my offering to help. If he expected tips, it would be an incentive for him to take more passengers. But maybe it was just this guy, and he did not have a good day.
Op,
We have done GO shuttle and CT limo. Definitely like GO shuttle better. Easier to schedule on-line, and more reliable on pick up times. On move out, my D was late to the shuttle stop. They called her on her cell and waited for her to get to the stop, thank goodness!
We definitely prefer GO Shuttle for reliability and convenience. One time my S’s cellphone was left on a van–it had fallen out of his pocket and slid into the abyss apparently; and of course he didn’t notice until he was about to board the plane to our home halfway across the country. The lovely folks at the GO office tracked down the van, found the phone, and sent it off to us via FedEx immediately. They were wonderful.