possible ga shuttle

[general]

cola monkey and i are playing around with the idea of maybe doing some shuttles from atlanta and gainesville this season. the idea is to pick up at the airport, amtrak, and bus stations, have guests stay the night here in our home (dinner and breakfast included) and deliver to the trail (either amacolola or springer) the next day. we have one extra bedroom and can make comfortable arangements for several others. your dogs would be welcome in the house as long as they jive with mr. bud. if not, then we can always work something out (basement or something). we also have a very unigue tree house on our property that is 8x10 with a 4' porch for folks who may be interested in that. it has a single bed and carpet. your dog is most certianly welcome to stay in there as well. we can take you by mountian crossings at neel's gap for fuel, last minute thoughts, and much advice. we have a beautiful home on the upper chattahoochee river (near helen) and were fun folks too.

we would also like some advice on:
how much to charge for this service (as to not loose our shirts)?
should we maybe construct a separate hostel space in our basement?

[The Solemates]

cola monkey and i are playing around with the idea of maybe doing some shuttles from atlanta and gainesville this season. the idea is to pick up at the airport, amtrak, and bus stations, have guests stay the night here in our home (dinner and breakfast included) and deliver to the trail (either amacolola or springer) the next day. we have one extra bedroom and can make comfortable arangements for several others. your dogs would be welcome in the house as long as they jive with mr. bud. if not, then we can always work something out (basement or something). we also have a very unigue tree house on our property that is 8x10 with a 4' porch for folks who may be interested in that. it has a single bed and carpet. your dog is most certianly welcome to stay in there as well. we can take you by mountian crossings at neel's gap for fuel, last minute thoughts, and much advice. we have a beautiful home on the upper chattahoochee river (near helen) and were fun folks too.

we would also like some advice on:
how much to charge for this service (as to not loose our shirts)?
should we maybe construct a separate hostel space in our basement?

I would expect this service to be a little more expensive than most services along the trail because you are going out of your way by travelling a further distance, and thus should ask for a decent shuttle fee, which should factor in gas, car insurance, car maintenance, car depreciation due to miles, and your time. However, it need not be ridiculous. I would personally call around and determine going shuttle rates, and make my rate 10-20% less than theirs to be fair to the hiking community. On top of that, I would charge $15 or so for each night's stay per person. If you could also offer fuel, food, and other consumables for purchase it would help, as well as accepting hiker boxes.

people beginning the trail are willing to pay a little more because they havent been paying all along the trail for services yet. this is an advantage for you. but, always be on the hiker's side, and do not get into petty competitive disputes with your friends down the road at the hiker hostel.

hope it works out!

[kyhipo]

good luck to ya general ky

[Red Hat]

Hey, General, I think you were my first trail magic in March of 04. What a great day that was at Neels Gap. (I was Oldkathy back then...) FYI Hiker's Hostel charges $55 for a similar shuttle, night, breakfast, and shuttle to the trail. It is not a money maker, but quite a bargain for the NOBOs. My suggestion would be to be in the same price range if possible.

[general]

damn, crunching numbers is too revealing. the best i can figure, the lowest i can go for the ride and a fine, fine, home cooked southern supper and breakfast, is $83.00. that's $0.34 per mile and $15 for the stay. that's from the airport. from the Gainesville bus or train station, $42.60 is the bottom dollar.

is this too much?
if so, what would make the stay worth the price?

[general]

Hey, General, I think you were my first trail magic in March of 04. What a great day that was at Neels Gap. (I was Oldkathy back then...) FYI Hiker's Hostel charges $55 for a similar shuttle, night, breakfast, and shuttle to the trail. It is not a money maker, but quite a bargain for the NOBOs. My suggestion would be to be in the same price range if possible.

i remember you oldkathy. glad to know you're doin' alright. how far did you go? i imagine that you had a wonderful trip.

[The Solemates]

damn, crunching numbers is too revealing. the best i can figure, the lowest i can go for the ride and a fine, fine, home cooked southern supper and breakfast, is $83.00. that's $0.34 per mile and $15 for the stay. that's from the airport. from the Gainesville bus or train station, $42.60 is the bottom dollar.

is this too much?
if so, what would make the stay worth the price?

i wouldnt ever pay that, but i am sure there are those who would.

[Red Hat]

Well, it may be a little high. Of course, Hiker Hostel picks up at Marta end, not the airport anymore, and does not cover supper. Dinner is usually at a restaurant in town. Marta only costs about $1, as I recall, and dinner was about $10. So $65-$70 would be comparable. I suppose they figure an average price of $55, since they probably pick up more hikers at Gainesville than Marta.

As for my hike, in 04 I was only out for Spring Break. I enjoyed time in Helen and Hiawassee before heading back home to teach. In 05 after I retired, I started at Springer again and got about 20 miles past Erwin before jumping up to Damascus to meet my husband and getting off trail. I hiked about 100 miles of VA in '03 and another 150 in '05 after visiting with relatives. Altogether I've done about 700 miles. Lots more to go....

[Sly]

I would personally call around and determine going shuttle rates, and make my rate 10-20% less than theirs to be fair to the hiking community.

How is lowballing, and possibly losing money, being fair to the hiking community?

[sparky2000]

The taxi from the train station in 05 was $40.00 to the ranger station - no bed, no meal, no company.

[The Solemates]

How is lowballing, and possibly losing money, being fair to the hiking community?

I do not suggest to lose money, by any means, I was just saying that the a lot of people who do shuttles, etc do so because they love being with hikers and it only supplements their income. they may not bring home as much profit. Of course, there are many exceptions as well.

[Sly]

damn, crunching numbers is too revealing. the best i can figure, the lowest i can go for the ride and a fine, fine, home cooked southern supper and breakfast, is $83.00. that's $0.34 per mile and $15 for the stay. that's from the airport. from the Gainesville bus or train station, $42.60 is the bottom dollar.

is this too much?
if so, what would make the stay worth the price?

Most shuttlers charge $1-$1.50 per mile from pick-up to delivery. It's not only the costs of fuel, wear and tear, insurance etc. but time. However, if you're taking them further from the trail, you may have to make a price adjustment.

Unless you're independantly wealthy, like L. Wolf, I wouldn't give anything away for free.

[general]

Well, it may be a little high. Of course, Hiker Hostel picks up at Marta end, not the airport anymore, and does not cover supper. Dinner is usually at a restaurant in town. Marta only costs about $1, as I recall, and dinner was about $10. So $65-$70 would be comparable. I suppose they figure an average price of $55, since they probably pick up more hikers at Gainesville than Marta.

As for my hike, in 04 I was only out for Spring Break. I enjoyed time in Helen and Hiawassee before heading back home to teach. In 05 after I retired, I started at Springer again and got about 20 miles past Erwin before jumping up to Damascus to meet my husband and getting off trail. I hiked about 100 miles of VA in '03 and another 150 in '05 after visiting with relatives. Altogether I've done about 700 miles. Lots more to go....

beauty spot is one of my favorites.

i'm assuming that the hiker hostel charges the same rate from atlanta and gainesville? gainesville is much closer to my home and soooo much more accessable. i can't reasonalbly charge the same price for a 50 mile trip to gainesville and back and a 160 mile trip to atlanta and back, but i certianly don't want anyone to feel as if they paid more than someone else for the same experience. i would also definantly pick up at the airport instead of marta. im pretty familiar with marta and still sometimes get a little confused. i think air travel is stressful enough without having to figure out how to use atlanta's mass transit system. does that make the service from the airport worth more than the service from the bus/train station?

[general]

Most shuttlers charge $1-$1.50 per mile from pick-up to delivery. It's not only the costs of fuel, wear and tear, insurance etc. but time. However, if you're taking them further from the trail, you may have to make a price adjustment.

Unless you're independantly wealthy, like L. Wolf, I wouldn't give anything away for free.

i know fred here in north georgia charges something like that. according to my math (which is entirely questionable) somewhere around 40c a mile is break even and 34c is bare bones, but i gotta keep my vehicle insured anyway so i wasn't counting that. fred told me one time that if he split one tire in a year, going up to springer, that any money that he might have made was gone. i think maybe with fuel and last minute item sales some of those losses on mileage could be made up in the long run.

i think i might like a wolf's life. got no problem with PBR

[Youngblood]

MARTA is a whole lot less confusing that the Atlanta airport. If you're based from Gainseville, you're best pickup point is the Doraville station. (Leigh and Josh are based in Dahlonega and use the Sandy Springs station, I think.) Doraville is about 30 miles from the airport (30 tough miles with the traffic) and is about 2 miles from the I-85/I-285 intersection. Only problem with Doraville station is that there is no convient coffee shop or such nearbye, they have to just wait on a bench or something at the station.

How are you going to locate folks at the airport... it is either the 1st or 2nd busiest airport in the country?

[Peaks]

The taxi from the train station in 05 was $40.00 to the ranger station - no bed, no meal, no company.

It cost me more than that in 2002

[general]

MARTA is a whole lot less confusing that the Atlanta airport. If you're based from Gainseville, you're best pickup point is the Doraville station. (Leigh and Josh are based in Dahlonega and use the Sandy Springs station, I think.) Doraville is about 30 miles from the airport (30 tough miles with the traffic) and is about 2 miles from the I-85/I-285 intersection. Only problem with Doraville station is that there is no convient coffee shop or such nearbye, they have to just wait on a bench or something at the station.

How are you going to locate folks at the airport... it is either the 1st or 2nd busiest airport in the country?

it's very easy to meet someone at baggage claim if you have flight information.

[ScottP]

I would be very interested in this service. How far are you from the nearest grehyound station? What would the fee be if you were picking up from there? Would you be running this service in the coming season? I'd be coming into Georgia March 20-25th.

[tiamalle]

I would be very interested in this service. How far are you from the nearest grehyound station? What would the fee be if you were picking up from there? Would you be running this service in the coming season? I'd be coming into Georgia March 20-25th.

hell Scottie :
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