Surf City Shuttle

I agree totally with the first review. These people threatened to ""leave me at the airport"" when I complained that the driver was no where in sight, though waiting 40 minutes exactly where I was told to be. I am 72 year old single female, and he was ""threatening to leave me there""??? and he knew it was paid in advance. The ""driver"" was waiting ""outside"" the SJ airport??? Like am I supposed to cross the freeway with my suitcases? Jim was unbelievably rude and offensive, and kept saying it was all MY fault. I am calling the credit card company to ""charge back"" this whole amount. This was at the end of a 9 hour travel day, that he was threatening me to ""shut up"" or he would leave me there. Pros: pick up to go to airport, went fine Cons: left waiting for 45 minutes, threatened, yelled at when returning to sj more

If there was a possibility of a no star rating.....that is what I would rate Surf City Shuttle. They are rude, condoscending, broke every stipulation in their own contract, arrived 2 hrs late for pick up, etc. etc. etc. I confirmed with this vendor and specifically requested carseats for my children. Not only were the seats NOT installed when they arrived....they had no bucking equipment. I called numerous times to discuss this issue, along with them being late, etc...etc....and have not received a call back AT ALL. I assure you once James Brice (the owner) gets his money.....you as a customer mean SQUAT. If you want good service, DO NOT USE THIS VENDOR. Long story short, I am fighting the charge through my credit card company because these people will not call me back to rectify the situation. Again, they got their $$ so I mean nothing now......By the way....they took over Santa Cruz Airport Shuttle also.......so again, if you want to get where you are going STAY AWAY from Surf City Shuttle and Santa Cruz Airporter (different number that is routed to Mr. Brice.) Pros: There is NOTHING positive about this vendor. Cons: poor customer service, late pick up, unsafe ride, no response to calls, etc. etc. more

I've used Surf City Shuttle many times in the past and will definitely use this service again and again! This is a much needed relief from riding the Santa Cruz Airporter. Go James! Pros: Safe Driver more

I was stranded at the airport last week in San Francisco and called the old Airporter number. It was almost midnight, but the owner was still up and answered the phone. It turns out the Airporter had gone out of business, but he said his company was in the same business and it would take an hour to come get me, if I wanted a ride. The taxi was going to cost $225, so I decided to wait. When the driver got there, the car was new, clean and the driver was well-spoken and friendly. I was tired after traveling all day and really didn't want to talk much, so he turned on some French music and then woke me up when we arrived in Santa Cruz. Total cost $123. Great Service Pros: Green Service Cons: ??? more

Again- DO NOT USE THIS SERVICE. The good rating seems more the rare bird. My elderly mother was supposed to be picked up from the airport, because we couldn't drive over ourselves that day. You're supposed to call once you get to baggage claim for the driver. The driver whose supposed to wait in some ""cell phone wait area"" would never pick up our calls, but only returned our call once to tell her she needed to take some other shuttle which didn't arrive to long term parking where he was supposed to meet her-- This after not responding for about 20 minutes and about 6-8 telephone calls. (Cell phone number you're supposed to call just rings, and it says call back until someone picks up-- well, no one ever did.) Like she needs to be dragging her luggage from baggage claim, to long term parking shuttle, to meet him somewhere? We ended up using a taxi, save yourself the hassle... We went with this business to try to support local business and because he had green cars. Doesn't matter if he doesn't provide service. Pros: NONE. Didn't provide service. Cons: Don't use this service if you plan on really getting picked up or getting a phone call back more

I booked a one-way ride from SJC back to Santa Cruz. Ride was one hour late, due to a driver ""getting lost"". Driver/owner called to let me know, I was a little annoyed. He said ""don't worry, I'll give you a discount"". He ended up coming himself, picked me up and said he'd give me a $10 discount. I asked for air in the car on way back, he turned the air on for 2 minutes then turned it off. Got car sick and driver/owner talked the whole time about how successful he and his business are. I can't remember how the money exchange went, what bill I had and what change he had/didn't have exactly. But basically, he didn't have correct change for me, could've given me a $3 more discount with the change he DID have but instead shorted me the already meager discount he told me he'd give me and said he'd credit my credit card $5 if I reminded him via email. Bad form and poor service. I do not plan on booking a ride with this company again. more

James arrived at my home exactly at the scheduled time. We picked up another passenger, delivered him to San Jose Airport and promptly went on to SFO. I felt we had a safe drive, with pleasant conversation, and it was on time. more

Please heed my warning and you may save yourself time, money, and whatever hold on sanity that you still possess. My experience with Surf City Shuttle was by far one of the most unprofessional, unpleasant and just plain weird experiences that I have ever had with any ""business"". Pros: no redeeming qualities whatsoever Cons: everything and more more

I have been using Surf City Shuttle for the past two years and not once did they ever let me down. Even on a couple of occasions when my flight was delayed, they tracked my flight on the computer and still met me when I arrived 3 hours late once. As for the driver, before I started using this company, I couldn't find anyone who I felt like spending an hour in the car with, but the owner, James, is intelligent, professional and usually has something interesting to say. Also his other passengers are also professionals as far as I can tell. He seems to attract a more discriminating client base. Pros: New car more

Based on the my own personal negative experience with this shuttle company....my guess is that James Brice, the owner is the author of all of the positive remarks. He is a phony. The reason he can say that have a 98% on time record is that he doesn't count the times he doesn't show up. Again - if you want to get to the airport, DON'T book with him. He did not show up for the pick up we scheduled. He did not return phone calls. And yes - we missed our flight and had to pay a $350 rescheduling fee. Cons: You will not get to the airport! more

I was supposed to be picked up by another shuttle company on my return trip to SFO which never showed up. At the last minute, I had to hurriedly make other arrangements. Surf City Shuttle was recommended to me by the front desk clerk at the hotel I was staying in. When I called I spoke with James who told me he would be there in 10 minutes. That was at 9:30pm. Needless to say, I made my trip on time and everything was fine. I just wanted to say to everyone who travels a bit should put this company on speed dial. Great job! Pros: New car Cons: Didn't notice any more

As the owner of Surf City Shuttle, I would like to say that we try to do our best. There is no such thing as perfection, but our records indicate a 99.7 percent on time service rating. That is total passenger trips minus missed or late trips divided by total clients. This is outstanding by anyone's measure. If there is a problem or, if you see room to improve, don't hesitate to let us know. Pros: Great Service! Cons: ??? more

I normally was taking the Santa Cruz Airporter since there is not many options for getting over the hill and it was the least expensive. When I found out about Surf City Shuttle I wanted to try it out. Without a doubt this is a far superior service. Not only was the driver/owner there on time at the ungodly hour of 4:00am, but he came to pick me up on my return and even asked, if I had had anything to eat, which I hadn't, and then pulled over so I could get something to eat. Now that's service! His vehicle was in great shape ( I think new) and he had a variety of music to listen to. Not that I was listening to the music because James (the owner/driver) had the most interesting background and was really enjoyable to talk to. All in all a really great service! Pros: Professional/Puntual Cons: Zip more

The other reviewer is correct, this is a scam. I wish I had read the review of this sooner. James is the person I dealt to get a shuttle to SFO for an international flight. When booking a trip to SFO, James will charge your credit card immediately upon making the reservation over the internet. I called James to cancel and received an email from him as well telling me that I would receive a credit for the $78 charged within two weeks. He seemed legitimate and sincere, but apparently he's a good actor. After two weeks I had not received my credit. My first call to him was to ask when my credit would be applied to my account. He assured me that it was in the works and he would double check when he got home. Again, that never happened. He now will not answer the phone when I call. I have sent several emails to him, with return receipt and he is not opening them. If you dare to use his services, don't pay until his services are complete. Pros: Can't say that I know of any at this point Cons: Charges you without providing any services more

This service is run by a single individual who is in no way qualified to be a shuttle driver. The incompetence of this man is unbelievable. My experience is as follows. I had booked a shuttle to San Francisco Airport for an international flight to Australia that left at 10:30pm. I made it clear to James (the owner/operator/idiot) the importance of arriving early for international flights (even though someone operating a shuttle service should already be aware of such things). When I made arrangements for this shuttle, everything seemed to be in order. However, the day of my flight James called me to inform me that he had overbooked and that he would be running a bit late. I originally had scheduled to be picked up at 7:30 so that I would have plenty of time to make it to the airport, seeing as I was traveling internationally. I told him that as long as he was there no later than 8:30 that would be ok, even though that made me quite nervous. At 8:30 when he still had not arrived I called him to see what was going on. After about 15 minutes of him not answering his phone he finally picked up and told me that he was running late because he had been pulled over returning from his previous run to the airport. Considering what time my flight was I knew that it would be near impossible to make it to the airport in time, but he insisted I call a cab and have the cab drive me to meet him. So, having no other options, I called the cab company to arrange for a cab. When I explained my situation to the dispatcher she knew James by name, and said that she received this type of last minute call on a regular basis. By about 9:15 the cab had still not arrived and I knew that there was no way for me to make my flight. The next day I had to rebook a flight which cost over $750 in addition to the original cost of the international flight. He even charged my credit card the next day, and has not answered my numerous calls. This is a scam. Cons: Missing your flight and still getting charged more