Is there a shuttle?

Started by kyouhomu, February 10, 2014, 01:20:55 PM

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kyouhomu

I'm staying at the Holiday Inn and I'm wondering if there will be a shuttle that goes to the convention center!

phr34kish

There has been one in the past - I don't see why they'd change it for this year.

MeloettaMeridian

Yes! There is a shuttle that goes from the Holiday Inn to the Convention Center, and vice versa. The shuttle also hits the San Jose Airport Hotel and the DoubleTree. I believe the shuttle takes ~10 minutes to go one way.

DangerHeart

I took it before, its not so bad if your used to buses. Just be prepared to wait for it early if your on a schedule. I was late a few times because I waited to long to get on the shuttle. Traffic and stuff messes up the schedule.

Zonbi

Is there a way to find out which hotels will have a shuttle? Or is that all of them? We're trying to find a hotel that might at least be within walking distance of one with a shuttle (or one with a shuttle! Though slightly fat chance).

luffy77

Are the shuttles free?  Also I am staying at the san jose airport hotel and is it safe to walk to and from it to the con?  Mainly at night?

echoshadow

Yes the shuttles are free.  Also if you plan to walk, it's a long walk. And yes you'll will go through some shaddy places if you walk all the way there. Just wait for the shuttle or call a taxi. Although at night the busses take longer.
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luffy77

Ok, I'm just glad to know there is a shuttle. Do the shuttles run all night or stop at a certain time?  I have always stayed at the fairmont so I never had to worry about shuttles.

kookiekween99

Quote from: luffy77 on February 11, 2014, 12:31:22 AM
Ok, I'm just glad to know there is a shuttle. Do the shuttles run all night or stop at a certain time?  I have always stayed at the fairmont so I never had to worry about shuttles.

Here's last year's shuttle schedule to give you an idea: http://2013.fanime.com/essentials/accommodations/#shuttle-bus
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Quote from: luffy77 on February 10, 2014, 09:37:22 PM
Are the shuttles free?  Also I am staying at the san jose airport hotel and is it safe to walk to and from it to the con?  Mainly at night?

It's a bit of long walk, like 4 miles. In addition to the shuttle San Jose also has light rail.

MeloettaMeridian

Quote from: Zonbi on February 10, 2014, 09:18:24 PM
Is there a way to find out which hotels will have a shuttle? Or is that all of them? We're trying to find a hotel that might at least be within walking distance of one with a shuttle (or one with a shuttle! Though slightly fat chance).

The only hotels with the shuttle are the three near Clockwork Alchemy - that would be the Holiday Inn, the San Jose Airport Hotel, and the DoubleTree. Fortunately, the rest of the hotels (i.e. the Hilton, the Marriott, the Hyatt, the Fairmont, the Sainte Claire, and the Ramada) are within two blocks of the Convention Center.

It seems there aren't any available rooms at any of the hotels available through Fanime Housing, though. I also believe you need to actually have a room at one of the three hotels where the shuttle service is available in order to use the shuttle. I think your best bet is to wait and see if any rooms open up (which will inevitably happen by April if not sooner than that).

kyouhomu

Is the Holiday Inn too far from the convention center to walk and are there usually people walking back and forth often?

Mr Lex

Quote from: kyouhomu on February 11, 2014, 03:39:36 PM
Is the Holiday Inn too far from the convention center to walk and are there usually people walking back and forth often?

Only if there's people in the mood for a two hour walk.

DangerHeart

Quote from: MeloettaMeridian on February 11, 2014, 02:10:41 PM
Quote from: Zonbi on February 10, 2014, 09:18:24 PM
Is there a way to find out which hotels will have a shuttle? Or is that all of them? We're trying to find a hotel that might at least be within walking distance of one with a shuttle (or one with a shuttle! Though slightly fat chance).

The only hotels with the shuttle are the three near Clockwork Alchemy - that would be the Holiday Inn, the San Jose Airport Hotel, and the DoubleTree. Fortunately, the rest of the hotels (i.e. the Hilton, the Marriott, the Hyatt, the Fairmont, the Sainte Claire, and the Ramada) are within two blocks of the Convention Center.

It seems there aren't any available rooms at any of the hotels available through Fanime Housing, though. I also believe you need to actually have a room at one of the three hotels where the shuttle service is available in order to use the shuttle. I think your best bet is to wait and see if any rooms open up (which will inevitably happen by April if not sooner than that).

I'm sure you do need a room at one of the hotels to use the shuttle but when I stayed at the Raddison(now the Airport hotel) the driver didn't ask, we just climbed right on. Plus there's the shuttle that goes straight from Fanime to Clockwork since you can go to both with one badge.

MeloettaMeridian

Quote from: DangerHeart on February 11, 2014, 03:57:11 PM
Quote from: MeloettaMeridian on February 11, 2014, 02:10:41 PM
Quote from: Zonbi on February 10, 2014, 09:18:24 PM
Is there a way to find out which hotels will have a shuttle? Or is that all of them? We're trying to find a hotel that might at least be within walking distance of one with a shuttle (or one with a shuttle! Though slightly fat chance).

The only hotels with the shuttle are the three near Clockwork Alchemy - that would be the Holiday Inn, the San Jose Airport Hotel, and the DoubleTree. Fortunately, the rest of the hotels (i.e. the Hilton, the Marriott, the Hyatt, the Fairmont, the Sainte Claire, and the Ramada) are within two blocks of the Convention Center.

It seems there aren't any available rooms at any of the hotels available through Fanime Housing, though. I also believe you need to actually have a room at one of the three hotels where the shuttle service is available in order to use the shuttle. I think your best bet is to wait and see if any rooms open up (which will inevitably happen by April if not sooner than that).

I'm sure you do need a room at one of the hotels to use the shuttle but when I stayed at the Raddison(now the Airport hotel) the driver didn't ask, we just climbed right on. Plus there's the shuttle that goes straight from Fanime to Clockwork since you can go to both with one badge.

Ah. Thank you for the clarification. :)

Nina Star 9

So just to clarify -- you get onto the shuttle with a Fanime badge, not with some sort of hotel-given signal, correct?

My group didn't end up getting a hotel actually on the Fanime block, and we are looking at possibly staying a hotel not on the block but near to  where the shuttles run so we could take advantage of those to get to the con. If there is some sort of hotel wristband or having to show your room key or some other way to get on the shuttle, a lot of people (like us) who didn't or couldn't get an actual Fanime block room are going to get screwed out of being able to attend the con at all simply because we wouldn't be able to get there for our rooms.

Maybe this year Fanime can run even more shuttles (more shuttles? more often?) to make sure that there is room for everyone who has to stay at one of the further hotels, Fanime block or not? I have not had to take the shuttles in previous years, so I don't know how quickly they fill up, but I have a feeling that a lot more people are going to be staying further away this year.

Biblio

Quote from: Nina Star 9 on February 17, 2014, 09:44:40 AM
So just to clarify -- you get onto the shuttle with a Fanime badge, not with some sort of hotel-given signal, correct?

My group didn't end up getting a hotel actually on the Fanime block, and we are looking at possibly staying a hotel not on the block but near to  where the shuttles run so we could take advantage of those to get to the con. If there is some sort of hotel wristband or having to show your room key or some other way to get on the shuttle, a lot of people (like us) who didn't or couldn't get an actual Fanime block room are going to get screwed out of being able to attend the con at all simply because we wouldn't be able to get there for our rooms.

Maybe this year Fanime can run even more shuttles (more shuttles? more often?) to make sure that there is room for everyone who has to stay at one of the further hotels, Fanime block or not? I have not had to take the shuttles in previous years, so I don't know how quickly they fill up, but I have a feeling that a lot more people are going to be staying further away this year.

I don't know if there will be any changes to the shuttle service this year, but I can speak to the use of the shuttle the last 2 years since I visited CA while staying at the Marriott.

No, there wasn't anything special given by the hotel to imply you needed to be at the hotel itself. Depending on driver, they may or may not glance at your Fanime/CA badge. It wasn't a big deal. Just have it visible, just in case.

2 years ago (first year of CA), the shuttle buses were large. Reminded me of those tour buses with large capacity.

Last year, the shuttles were dramatically smaller. Reminded me of the ones that airports used to shuttle you to their long term parking lots. Their small capacity held up the shuttle lines quite a bit because the shuttle would fill up and then you'd have to wait another 20 minutes before another one showed. If you were lucky, you could get on that one, otherwise, you'd have to wait for yet another one. CA staff was really good about the lines on their end once they realized what was happening. They had bobbies directing the shuttle line with tape on the floor. I went to CA twice last year and both times took longer than planned because of those lines. The transit time on the road itself was fairly short.

So, yes, the shuttles are a nice convenience. As long as there's enough of them (or they're big enough). Otherwise, it'll probably worse this year than last year. And last year was pretty bad.

Hope that helps!


Nina Star 9

Biblio>
Thank you for your reply. That was very helpful. :]

I decided to book at the Hotel de Anza, despite the higher price (though we have enough people in our room that it isn't -terrible-...), because of the proximity to the convention. Our group decided to not brave the shuttle system this year and pay a little extra for convenience, since a few of us have oversized cosplays and would rather be able to walk than have to somehow cram onto a tiny shuttle in hoopskirts and the like.

I also really hope that the shuttle situation isn't crazy this year. I have a feeling it'll be pretty bad, which is why I opted to not have to deal with it. This con really needs to do something to alleviate some of the craziness around housing.