Between PHL and Lower Bucks County

I'm just going to start off and say that outside of Philadelphia and Bloomington, there would be a lot of advantages to having a car. There will be more about that as we get further outside of Philadelphia.

Our first transport need was from Philadelphia Airport to Langhorne, Pennsylvania. The airport site has a fairly extensive list of ground transportation options:

http://www.phl.org/passengerinfo/transportationservices/Pages/shuttlesLimousines.aspx
 
Langhorne is in Lower Bucks County. We called a few of the shuttles in advance. One number was never answered, one had never heard of Langhorne, and one sounded fine but they had really bad reviews. Also, shuttles are usually per person, so it adds up. The hotel page estimated that a taxi from the airport would be $40. That seemed excessively low, but it had room to be higher and still be the best deal. We decided to try that.

One concern was that we were getting in pretty late. Our flight was scheduled to land around 9:30 PM local time. We didn't think a taxi would be thrilled to head out thirty-six miles into the night with low chances of a return fare, but not having to worry about scheduling in advance, in case we were late or needed to eat, seemed wiser. We have taken taxis from airports before, and it's usually a pretty simple process. You walk out to ground transportation, find the taxi rank, and wait your turn. Not here.

Shuttles, buses, and all other forms of ground transportation were on one side, and taxis were on the other, except the taxi side was remarkably dark and empty. I was a little worried about that, but then a driver behind us called and asked if we needed a ride.

He had a town car service and the group he was supposed to take to Atlantic City was a no-show. We agreed without asking how much it would cost, which was foolish, but it felt safer than heading into that darkness.

I don't regret that. He was a good driver and we had good conversation. Actually, it was mainly about football. People in Philadelphia are very aware of the Ducks now that they have Chip Kelly. Explaining about the Ducks and the Beavers, but how we really hate the Huskies most, led to a nice discussion of how everyone hates Bill Belichick. Also Tom Brady. Unless you are from New England.

I believe we also discussed sport with the taxi driver who took us from Langhorne to our hotel in Philadelphia. Both drivers were friendly, answering questions and pointing out interesting things as we drove past. We appreciated that.

I don't remember which driver answered the airport question, but this is important to know.

Apparently regulations do not allow the taxi rank to be outside the doors. You have to tell the person at the desk that you want a taxi, and they will phone for one. The taxis are nearby, and it's not a long wait, but that is not on the web site, it is not posted anywhere, and the person who pointed us to the exit for the taxis, and who may actually have been the person who makes the call, did not mention that. That seems like an oversight, and one that made us wonder about Philadelphia being named the third least friendly city in the United States:

http://www.phillyvoice.com/philadelphia-ranked-unfriendly-cities/

We found friendlier people later, but that night it seemed true.

We did not get a chance to test what the driver said about the taxis, but some basic searching seems to show a preference for PHL Taxis and calling them yourself. It is easier to find tips for taking the train and then getting a taxi at the train station: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g60795-s301/Philadelphia:Pennsylvania:Arriving.And.Departing.html.