I haven't been able to reach a Gencon in close to a decade so have no idea how busy the whole region is going to be. I'm looking at getting a hotel 4 or 5 miles out and then Ubering /taxiing back and forth. Is that viable? I can easily imagine it getting crazy crowded or expensive based on memories, but would love if somebody has any ideas of how much I'd be looking at spending or how much time I'd have to wait. Or have a direction they can point me in.
I used to stay by the airport and a typical one-way Lyft ride was around $14-17. I think the most expensive surge pricing ever got was $24 for a ride. Granted, this was a few years ago, so prices may have inflated; however, the airport is also more like 7-8 miles away from the ICC. The last year I stayed by the airport the hotel got wise and was offering shuttle rides every 20-30minutes for $8 pre-tip one way, so maybe other hotels are doing that.
I would budget at least $35/day for one round-trip a day.
I'm local and for a few years I Uber-ed from home to downtown.
In normal times it was about $14-$17 one way, not bad. The only time I got shafted was on a Saturday where I stayed out drinking until about 1:00 AM. The surge pricing jumped to $55* with a 40 minute wait.
Now some pandemic insight. ALL of the ride shares are having issues with staffing. Prices haven't really skyrocketed just wait times
* I ended up couch crashing in my buddy's hotel and just bought new underwear at TJ Maxx the next morning it was a LOT CHEAPER :)
Awesome. So a 5 mile trip in exchange for $500 less per night is probably a good deal. Thanks!
In 2019 GenCon had an official rideshare partner - I don’t recall if it was Uber or Lyft. I didn’t use it but I think there was a dedicated drop off/pick up point outside the ICC. There may have also been GenCon discounts - but I can’t say for sure.
I don’t know if they had a rideshare parter for 2021 as will the smaller attendance there were sufficient downtown hotel rooms, but if they do it again for 2022, that may be helpful for you.
If surge pricing or waits for rideshare services get too much, there are always (well, were always, don't know about now) traditional cabs hanging around the ICC at night. They tended to be around $25 for a one-way ride. No wait and definitely better than $50.
It was Lyft, in both 2018 and 2019. I haven't heard about any agreement this year.