Red Dot Airport Shuttle

I am writing this review because it occurred to me while trying to find a limo service and reading endless negative reviews that perhaps people were more likely to rate only after a bad experience… because after all, a «great» limo service experience should be by definition quite forgettable and unremarkable.
I booked a one-​way airport shuttle from Westport, CT to JFK. At $ 69, it seemed reasonable. The scheduled stated if my pick up time were 10:45am, I’d arrive at JFK at 12:30pm. I was ready a bit in advance so I called the company to ask if the driver were running on time. She was extremely polite and responsive and informed he too was actually running ahead of schedule. I headed down to the meeting point (Westport Inn) and the driver was there waiting for me. The only other scheduled pick up was already in the car so we headed toward NY.
The driver was a very nice Turkish gentleman. He was incredibly friendly and courteous. The vehicle was more than comfortable and we arrived nearly 45 minutes early to JFK at around 11:45am. A couple of observations:
1. Based on my experience I would definitely recommend trying to use an off-​peak shuttle pick up time like I did (mid-​day in the middle of the week). My flight didn’t leave until 4pm but it was worth getting to the airport extra early with no stress about traffic. You can’t blame a limo service for the region’s increasingly terrible traffic problem.
2. As others have noted, you do stop at LGA before JFK. Again, as long as you have time and schedule your transfer it’s not a big deal.
3. I personally like the fact that the limo service only picks up in several specified locations right along I-​95 (versus private homes or businesses) as it cuts down on travel time. I think after Westport there are only 2 or 3 more cities where it stops, so quite direct for those coming from Fairfield County.
My experience was definitely positive and I would use Red Dot again.

Consistently horrendous. If you’re absolutely stranded at LaGuardia, I suggest swimming to Rikers instead.

Took this shuttle from CT to LGA. The driver was late, rude and did not help me with my bags. Despite the lateness I still arrived at my desired time for my flight due to his good driving skills. May have to splurge on a private driver or CT Limo the next time.

I had a good experience with Red Dot Shuttle service. I did read the reviews on here before I booked the service but I decided to take a chance. I got my bags, I called and they told me where to be picked up and that it would take 20 minutes. I waited about 20 minutes and the truck showed up. The driver was helpful and polite. We had to pick up a couple at a different terminal and thats when it took awhile because the couple got lost trying to find the shuttle. After we picked them up, I asked the driver how long it would take, he said our hotel was an hour away. And it did take an hour. My drivers’ name was Bill, coolest guy ever. If Bill ever reads this, you are great at your job.
The only downfall was that my grandparents flew into La Guardia and my grandma said the shuttle wouldn’t take them from La Guardia to our hotel, The Westchester Marriott. She tried to do it online and it said they didn’t run from La Guardia to Westchester.
But besides that, I had a good experience.

I’ve used red dot maybe half a dozen times or more and they’ve been prompt every single time.

I took this once and never will again. It is worth the money to just pay for a car service. They called 10 minutes before my pickup to say that my pickup was 20 minutes late because of traffic. uhhhhh — the call doesn’t help much bc I am on my way already to the pickup location. Luckily it was fine because I left plenty of time before my flight.
On my way home, it was a complete and utter nightmare. Red Dot promises that it will take 45 minutes to the time you call for your pickup to the time you are on your way home. Not true. I was picked up from JFK only to sit in massive massive traffic that was reported all over the news because we had to go to LGA to get another passanger. It took over an hour and a half to get to LGA. I called the dispatcher because you could see on WAZE all the accidents and if we didn’t have to go to LGA — we would avoid all the traffic, plus I was guaranteed to be on my way home in 45 minutes and we already had been in traffic for an hour and weren’t even close to LGA. The dispatcher said «Sorry» I can’t control for traffic. What??? You are a transportation service — you operate in traffic all the time! There is no other shuttle that can get this person? What about my 45 minute guarantee? Sorry — to bad — we don’t really honor that for traffic
NEVER AGAIN — I will just gladly pay up for the car service — taking hours to get home is not really worth 40 bucks difference that the car service costs

I have taken the shared shuttle van many times between Stamford and airport. Red Dot is very prompt and courteous. They honor their commitment to leave the airport within 45 minutes of calling and it’s often less. They even drive well in snow.

THE WORST!!! Long story short, the van never showed up and I missed my flight, and had to fly out of a different airport for an extra cost of $ 500+ to my company (change fee, fare difference). The details — arrived 10 minutes before the «pickup», called company 10 minutes after van supposed to arrive and told by the dispatcher that it would be there in minutes, and called again to find out that it had totally missed the pickup (driver error). And by the time a separate taxi came to pick me up, there was little chance I was going to make my original flight (takes at least hour to get to the airport).
Talked to a Red Dot manager, and the company could do little other than providing some vouchers for future rides. On principle, will never use these guys again. They didn’t do as they said they would do, and they did zero to rectify the situation.

We called from JFK and were given a 35 minute ETA. An hour and two calls later our shuttle arrives and tells us we have to pick up another person at LaGuardia! Never once was it mentioned that it was a shared ride.
We called to see if they could send someone else to LaGuardia. What we got was some of the worst customer experience I have seen (almost USPS level of terrible). Not only did they not try to mitigate our frustration, they behaved as though we couldn’t do a thing about it!
This is a terrible service. Take anything else.

After waiting 1hr I learned that I would be heading to LGA from JFK. The best part was it is now rush hour, so landing at 3 pm saved me nothing at all. Never again will I use this service as I value my time. Over 1.5 hours after landing and I’m almost at LGA — not even en route to my destination. This company needs to schedule better.

Liar liar pants on fire!
Arrived 1hr late, then detoured from JFK
to pick up addl passengers at Laguardia
Don’t trust these people!

Avoid this company at all costs (literally). I was trying to save money getting from Tarrytown to JFK and booked a one way Red Dot shuttle. What I didn’t know was that it stopped at La Guardia on the way (!). On top of that the driver couldn’t give me any actual information on when we might arrive. Thank goodness I had left 3 hours to get to the airport, but it was definitely not worth saving money to worry the whole time where on earth we were going and if I would ever get there.

On time! I used this shuttle service to and from Laguardia Airport, while staying in Greenwich, CT. They were punctual and nice! I waited no longer than 10 minutes when getting picked up at the airport, and this was a Friday afternoon in New York! I appreciate how courteous and helpful the operators were! Thank you so much! I will definitely book another reservation!

Ive had good experiences with red dot in the past, and the drivers are usually really nice.
However, I am currently sitting at the Hilton Garden Inn and red dot is 45 full minutes late. Worse, they haven’t called to tell me what’s up. Worst, my husband and father have been transferred/​on hold/​been hung up on twice when they tried to call to find out what was going on.
Ok, now I’m in the van– they’ve finally arrived. My dad asked him what the hold up was (kindly) and he very rudely said, ‘It only matters what time your flight is; we’ll get there on time.’ I held my tongue only because I have to be in the car with him for the next two hours.

WORST EXPERIENCE EVER! DO NOT USE RED DOT!
I ordered and pre-​paid for the shuttle service from Tarrytown to JFK. 30 minutes prior to the departure, I got a call on my cell phone that they will not be able to take me after all. They offered no alternative to get me to my flight, and no explanation. Had they called earlier, I may have been able to find alternate transportation. I would never use them again and i suggest you don’t either.

I have to agree with other posters that I would only use them to go to the airport and not from, as it takes way to long to get picked up.
In terms of going, they have never been late and I have always been at the airport exactly when they estimated.
As for the skill of the drivers… Not great

Terrible. 1 hour late. They kept saying wait outside in the cold it is coming. 1 hour later they showed up, the other guy we almost didn’t pick up at all, we went back to the airport to get waiting, 75 minutes after getting the same line as me. Crappy driving afterwards.
Take ct limo or GO next time for sure.

After reading about some others’ experiences, I had pretty low expectations for my ride from LGA to Westport, CT. But it couldn’t have been better — the van arrived within 5 minutes and we went straight there.
Granted it was off-​peak time (Tues at 12pm) and I wasn’t going into the city, but still the service was fast and the driver was very courteous. I will use them again.

Had a great experience. I called as soon as I received my bags and the driver showed up less than 5 minutes later. Luckily for me I was the last person they were picking up for the evening so we did not need to go to other terminals to pick anyone else up! My driver was a good driver and we chatted away the entire hour ride. She was a pleasure to talk to and I would definitely use Red Dot again in the future.
This was a ride from JFK to Stamford, CT.

Usually good, but unfortunately my recent experience hurt…
I use Red Dot because of the 45min time frame policy from when you call ready to go, to when you leave the airport. On my recent trip, I called at 7:17 — 7:18 and departed at 8:13 — let’s say 10 minutes later than the 45min policy. Not a huge issue, but it was what happened after that’s of concern:
When we were picked up, the other passenger had already been waiting for an hour. I asked driver what the company policy was regarding not making it in the 45 min time frame. His initial response was that the original vehicle had broken down — which was a blatant lie. He then said that he’d been caught in traffic — ok, possible, but traffic should be pretty predictable for a company that does this for a living. The driver continued to say that Red Dot isn’t his main job (a lie later clarified by the company management), that he didn’t know the company policy (again a lie clarified by the operator) and if we had an issue that we should take it up with management. To which I replied that I would call the operator.
After saying that I’d call the operator, the driver started getting heated and stated that if I didn’t like the service, I could GET OUT. Until that time, the conversation wasn’t heated and no one had raised their voices. He stepped on the breaks and started pulling over the van on a random stretch of road, yelling that he’s «not going to take sh**t» from me.“
I told him to continue driving and not start playing games with me. The other passenger can confirm that I never got mad or raised my voice to the driver.
Thereafter, I called the operator and reported the incident. The operator apologized and said that he’d make a note and that I could call back on Monday to file a complaint. I spoke in front of the driver, who then complained that he’d get a 1 week suspension. To be honest, I think that’s pretty light for arriving late and threatening to kick me out of the car. Later, while driving, the driver called a friend or family member and started complaining about and criticizing me to them — as if to taunt me.
I filed a complaint with management the following week. They were basically supportive and apologetic, but never offered any reimbursement. When I raised getting a reimbursement for incident, the attitude changed. They basically said that stuff happens, but asked what I thought was a reasonable reimbursement. I responded that I too ran a service company and if one of my employees threaten to kick a customer out, I would reimburse the entire service. He responded that that was unreasonable and offered me $ 20 off.
In the end, I don’t care about the money — it was a business expense — but rather their commitment to service. Money talks, and if $ 20 was their value, clearly such an incident wasn’t a significant service problem for them.
To Red Dot: I sincerely recommend that you have clear policies for what happens if the time frame is missed. It will make everything more straight forward for you, your drivers, and the customers. Getting into petty discussions after the fact doesn’t do any good for anyone’s blood pressure. Back your words by something concrete and it will make you the premier shuttle company.