How do you get to the airport?

Travel can be stressful and sometimes a big part of that stress is just getting to the airport. My preference is to drive my own car and park at the airport. The flexibility and control it gives me is worth the cost - usually. At $27 per day, the main parking garages are only comparable to a cab if I'm traveling for less than 3 days. Longer than that and I have to start considering other factors.

Public transportation is usually ruled out as there is no convenient way to do it with luggage. If I have to drive to a T station anyway, I may as well just go all the way to the airport.

Enter the economy parking lot. I've always seen the signs for economy parking - I mean, I've been going to the airport regularly since high school, my dad paving the way for my "on the road" lifestyle - but those signs evoked images of unpaved lots, disinterested parking attendants, and a long haul back to the airport in some kind of barely legal shuttle bus. But not anymore. 

Some time in the last couple of years the airport facilities (buses, rental cars, and economy parking) underwent a makeover. I've never taken advantage of any of these so this transformation went largely unnoticed until recently when I read that they were moving wait/pick up spots around in the terminals and touting new, electronic signage. 

On my last short haul trip in March I decided to try out the economy lot. At $18 per day, it was certainly an attractive option. When I arrived at the airport, the signs were pretty clear. You drive towards arrivals and then turn off after Terminal E. It is a straight shot from there to a big, clean, and clearly marked parking garage. You leave your car and head towards to shuttle buses that bring you back to the terminals. The buses are big and seem new, with ample stowage for luggage, and they seem to run fairly frequently.  This bus serves all terminals and then the economy lot, no other stops, making it a pretty quick trip. I would estimate about 10 minutes (maybe longer during peak airport traffic hours) to Terminal E, the last terminal.

On the bus. 

Getting back to your car is quite easy, just reverse the trip. There are plenty of signs directing you to the correct stop and one at the stop informing when the next bus should arrive. I'm heading to DC this time and decided to park here again. I would recommend it over the off airport lots. Those are decent and you can get good online weekly rates, but my experiences with them are similar to those unpaved lots, disinterested parking attendants, and long hauls back to the airport in some kind of barely legal shuttle bus.