Driver's Licenses and airport parking (Atlanta, Alpharetta: lease, hotel, home)

[cao2007]

I just moved to the Atlanta area and have two questions. First, when you apply for your Georgia driver's license, do you walk out the door with the license or do they give you a temporary license without a picture on it. I lived in one state where you lived a few weeks with a temporary licenses that had a picture on it (this WAS pre-9/11) -- and since I fly for business, this could present a problem.

And speaking of flying, can anyone make recommendations about park-and-rides options either near the airport or near a MARTA station? It would probably take me about 20 minutes to drive to a MARTA station in the northern suburbs.

Thanks!

[BobKovacs]

You'll walk out with your finished license. Be sure to look on the website for all the stuff you need to bring- I think it was your old license, your birth certificate, and something showing proof of GA residency (utility bill, lease, closing docs, etc).

You can also call ahead and make an appointment, which may speed the process along, but in general it's pretty painless- we were in and out in less that 30 minutes.

Bob

[rackensack]

Originally Posted by cao2007

And speaking of flying, can anyone make recommendations about park-and-rides options either near the airport or near a MARTA station? It would probably take me about 20 minutes to drive to a MARTA station in the northern suburbs.

Thanks!

For the park-and-rides, what's your primary concern (cost, convenience, availability of covered parking, location, etc.)? There's plenty of options near the airport. Many of the more distant MARTA stations also offer long-term parking at better rates than the airport. The main drawback there is that if you tend to have flights returning to ATL late at night (as I do) you may hit situations where you miss the last train, or where it takes you forever to get home because of the reduced service/single-tracking on the North line.

[cao2007]

Bob and rackensack -- thanks for the replies. I looked up the documents for getting a drivers license and boy, have times changed. I had the same shock when I tried to get a PO Box. We had to produce so much documentation!

In terms of parking, I don't think money is the most important factor. Convenience is more important.

Do you ever have trouble finding parking on site? I used to fly in and out of Raleigh Durham airport and sometimes finding a spot was tough.

[rackensack]

Originally Posted by cao2007

In terms of parking, I don't think money is the most important factor. Convenience is more important.

Do you ever have trouble finding parking on site? I used to fly in and out of Raleigh Durham airport and sometimes finding a spot was tough.

I fly out of ATL several dozen times a year on average (high was 50 in 2005) and I always park in the North Daily deck, even though I'm usually flying on Delta (Delta's on the opposite, South, side of the main terminal, though it's all one building once you're inside). It can mean hunting for a bit at the heaviest times, but most times I manage to find a ground-level spot within ten or twelve rows of the entrance to the North terminal baggage claim area. It got really tight this summer at times, and there were a few days when all of the on-airport lots did fill up. The Economy lots are worse for finding spots than Daily -- people would rather walk a half-mile than pay the extra few bucks a day. I've never been completely unable to find a spot, but when I took the family on a vacation the first week of August, when the lots were regularly filling up, I did make an advance reservation at the Park'N'Fly Plus, which offers baggage check-in for Delta, AirTran, and American so that we wouldn't have to worry about it and could ditch the 10 days worth of luggage for five people as early as possible. That's the only time I've done off-site, though several of my colleagues always do. For me, the last thing I want to do generally on returning late at night from a week on the road is schlep my stuff onto another shuttle bus.

It helps that I generally try to schedule my outbound flights for Sunday nights, or for an evening departure early in the week. Late Friday and early Monday tend to be the worst times.

[pinetreelover]

I am a fan of "Park and Fly" an off-site parking lot. They pick up up in a van right at your car (almost as soon as you park) and drive you to your terminal. On the return end you simply walk out through the ground transportation door and find the van. I have never had to wait more than 3 - 5 minutes for my return trip back. I have never NOT found a spot and they even give you a 10% AAA discount and have a frequent parker program. Though I use Park and Fly, they are probably all pretty similar.

[jln69]

Are there any parking lots in the burbs (preferably near Alpharetta) where you can park and a bus will take you to the airport. When we lived in MA, we had something called Logan Express. If anyone is familiar with that, is there anything like that in the area. My husband travels alot and he is not looking forward to sitting in traffic to get to the airport.

[rackensack]

Originally Posted by jln69

Are there any parking lots in the burbs (preferably near Alpharetta) where you can park and a bus will take you to the airport.

"Buses!? We ain't got no buses. We don't need no buses! I don't have to show you any stinking buses!!"

Actually, there are a few. There are several that operate door-to-door on a reservation basis, and at least one that operates a daily schedule of buses from hotel locations in the northern suburbs, as well as offering door-to-door service from businesses or residences. Haven't used any of them myself, so I can't comment on their service, pricing, etc. Google "Atlanta airport shuttle alpharetta" and you'll get a few relevant hits.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by pinetreelover

I am a fan of "Park and Fly" an off-site parking lot. They pick up up in a van right at your car (almost as soon as you park) and drive you to your terminal. On the return end you simply walk out through the ground transportation door and find the van. I have never had to wait more than 3 - 5 minutes for my return trip back. I have never NOT found a spot and they even give you a 10% AAA discount and have a frequent parker program. Though I use Park and Fly, they are probably all pretty similar.

Yeah, I've used Prestige a few times now (located at the corner of Camp Creek Pkwy and Washington Road), and it's pretty much the same (the shuttle picks you up at your car and takes you to the airport, and you have to go out to the purple shuttle bus area when you get back so the shuttle can take you back to your car). It's not a bad deal -- almost relaxing, actually. :-)

[cao2007]

According to the MARTA web site, there is long term parking at one of the northern stations (Dunwoody or Sand Springs, I think). I'm thinking that's the quickest way to go if you don't want to drive (you'll sit in traffic on a bus as well as in a car). As a tourist TO Atlanta, I have taken the MARTA from the airport to the convention-center area and it is just great. But I think one of the other responders said it isn't a good idea to take the MARTA if your flight comes in at night because the trains don't run as often. I'm thinking of trying it -- I'm not sure when I'll get used to the 285 Autobahn.