transportation costs and timeline????? help!

arrabelle

i just got a quote from coach usa for $1900 for 2 trolleys, one for 4 hours and the other for 3 hours.  is that reasonable or crazy?

also do you think this timeline would work in the city??

1:30ish: a trolley picks up the girls and drives us around the city for fun photo opp's.

3pmish: that trolley drops us off at the church and meets the other trolley at the hotel. both trolleys bring guests to church

4pmish: ceremony - lasts about 45 minutes

5pmish: both trolleys take guests to reception while WP takes photos at church (reception is a 5 min. drive from church).

5:30ish - the second trolley that started later will come back to pick us up and drop us off at the party.

?????  thanks for your help!  this part seems really hard to figure out for some reason.

Golfer09

I don't know if $1900 for trolleys is high but I paid for two large coach buses (accommodates up to 40 ppl) similar to your timeline for a total of $1200.  The first bus showed up at our hotel at 2:30 pm and took the wedding party for pictures around Chicago.  We went to Navy Pier, Union Station, and the Chicago Theater.

Around 6pm, a second bus showed up.  After the first bus dropped us off at the venue at 6pm, both buses shuttled guests from the hotel to the venue.  At 9pm, one bus was retired and the other bus contined to run the route from the venue to the hotel continuously until 2am. 

I went with Chicago Minibus - it's not a trolley but the buses had air conditioning and was pretty nice (not a yellow school bus).  We had a party cooler on the bus during the day and I provided a CD with music to play.  I received no complaints from guests about the shuttle. 

Good luck!

hz80408

I haven't rented a trolley for a wedding, but I have rented one the past couple years for a holiday party we host and compared to that, your estimate seems high.

For 3 hours on a Saturday night we paid $530 (which included everything-tax, fees, and tip) from Chicago Trolley Company.  Maybe try them?

ETA: It's BYOB and they have an ipod hookup.  I don't remember if it has AC or not

arrabelle

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_illinois-chicago_transportation-costs-timeline?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:72Discussion:2a0d7b6c-9d52-4d20-b0e5-e4802115a4b0Post:3de2c87e-320a-45e5-a523-ccf94b441ce1">Re: transportation costs and timeline????? help!</a>:
[QUOTE]I haven't rented a trolley for a wedding, but I have rented one the past couple years for a holiday party we host and compared to that, your estimate seems high. For 3 hours on a Saturday night we paid $530 (which included everything-tax, fees, and tip) from Chicago Trolley Company.  Maybe try them? ETA: It's BYOB and they have an ipod hookup.  I don't remember if it has AC or not
Posted by hz80408[/QUOTE]<div>
</div><div>hi!  is this the company you use?</div><div><a href="http://www.chicagotrolleyrentals.com/">http://www.chicagotrolleyrentals.com/</a></div><div>
</div><div><a href="http://www.chicagotrolleyrentals.com/"></a>i went on their website.....their evening rentals are super reasonable but their daytime rentals are 2x the quote i got from coach.  so not fair, i HATE how prices are inflated for anything wedding-related!
</div><div>
</div><div>let me know if it's a different company!</div><div>
</div><div>btw your photo is super cute!</div>

MrsPaps

we're using Coach USA (Chicago Trolley CO) for a 4 hour trolley and it's about $900 so I think they are over charging you.

arrabelle

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_illinois-chicago_transportation-costs-timeline?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:72Discussion:2a0d7b6c-9d52-4d20-b0e5-e4802115a4b0Post:c3eb8ecf-fe3e-43ab-813d-f667e5f5e573">Re: transportation costs and timeline????? help!</a>:
[QUOTE]we're using Coach USA (Chicago Trolley CO) for a 4 hour trolley and it's about $900 so I think they are over charging you.
Posted by MrsPaps[/QUOTE]

<div>paps, that's the same company!  are you working with lori?  and when did you book?  this morning she quoted me $990 for 4 hours then added on a bunch of taxes/fees/gratuity, so 1 trolley for 4 hours came to $1187.</div><div>
</div><div>after some email negotiations the price is down to $1600 for 2 trolleys - 1 for 4 hours, and the other for 3 hours.  funny how prices change when you say no!  i hate haggling though.  it makes me all nervous and sweaty.  anyway $1600 still sounds ridiculous to me.....right?!</div><div>
</div><div>she's the first quote i received, i'll keep looking....</div>

hz80408

Ha, it's all the same thing?  I booked my trolley with Lori Krull.

Ugh, seriously, wedding mark-ups are ridiculous! GL!

I really think it must depend on location/time of day/ time of year/ weekday/etc.