There Are No Taxes On San Francisco Limo And Towncars

It's a familiar situation, a business traveler or vacationing couple is headed for the Bay Area and reserves a car for airport pick-up. The car service company quotes the rate for towncar service from an airport to San Francisco or Napa Valley - and of course there is a tax. But wait, travelers should be aware that there is no legal tax for limo and car service. Check with your car service before you make a reservation.

Using a limousine or towncar for the trip into San Francisco saves money for the traveler because hotels can charge $25 to $85 dollars a day for parking in their garage. For someone attending a convention or trade show garage charges can be avoided by reserving a clean Lincoln Towncar or SUV with a pre-screened, professional driver from Quicksilver Towncar or another limo service.

Then if the traveler wants to take a wine tour to taste the chardonnays in Alexander Valley, or the costal Pinot's in the Santa Cruz Mountains, they can rent a car for the day for less that the cost of hotel parking.

Truth About Car Service Taxes

The fact is, there are no taxes on services in California. This is something every traveler should know. This includes Oakland Airport, San Francisco International Airport and San Jose Minetta International there are no taxes on limo or car services.

Don't get scammed by your limo or car service. A per passenger surcharge is prohibited by the P.U.C (California Public Utilities Commission) for limousine carriers. You are renting the whole car.

The real PUC tax is small. The P.U.C. operating fee is only 25 cents per $100.00, 2.5 tenths of 1 percent. Most reputable limo and car service companies do not pass this along to any customer.

It's All About Them

Each Bay Area airport has its own way of operating. Here are some urls to help you plan your trip.

- SFO: Limousine transportation information http://www.flysfo.com/web/page/tofrom/transp-serv/limo/
- OAK: Shuttles, Limos & Taxis http://www.flyoakland.com/shuttles.shtml
- San Francisco Towncar: http://www.qstc.net/
- SJC: Mineta San Jose International Airport Ground Transportation: http://www.sjc.org/travelers/ground_trans.html

Travelers Alerts

Potential bottleneck: In November 2005 the San José City Council approved a $1.5 billion implementation revision to the terminal area improvement program for the Mineta San José International Airport Master Plan. The first major element of the new airport is the North Concourse, currently under construction, located between Terminal C (American and Southwest) and Terminal A (everybody else). This quarter-mile long "horizontal high rise" will have nine gates, new dining and retail concessions, and will feature a "paseo" much like the downtown San Jose open air dining and club strip. Mid 2008 is a generous estimate for the completion date.

SFO new cell phone lot: SFO has added a new free parking lot where people can wait for arriving passenger to call before going to pick them up. Quicksilver Towncar Service has the same arrangement with its drivers. For a map of the new cell phone waiting lot go to http://www.flysfo.com/web/page/parking/options/cell-phone/index.html.

For business travelers or vacationing couples traveling to the bay understanding the transportation trade-offs and knowing the law helps the smart traveler save money.