Our 24-hour, free shuttle to and from Duke Medical Center has turned out to be one of the most popular services that we offer at Duke Tower Hotel and Condominiums.
Duke Tower Shuttle Bus
One of the first questions people ask, perhaps a little hesitantly, is, “Is it really free?”
The answer is, “Yes, it’s free.” When you stay at Duke Tower Hotel as our guest, there is no charge to take you back and forth to Duke Medical Center at any hour, whenever you need it.
You can call our driver’s cell phone 24-hours a day at 919-323-1745 to request a ride, either from Duke Tower to the Medical Center or vice-versa.
The Morris Cancer Center
We go to other key medical locations in west Durham, including the Duke Diet & Fitness Center, the Morris Cancer Clinic on Trent Drive, Lenox Baker Children’s Hospital, the McGovern-Davison Children’s Health Center on Pratt Street, the Durham Veterans’ Administration Hospital (Durham VA Hospital), the MRI Center at Lenox Baker, the Duke Family Medicine Center on Erwin Road, the Duke Center for Living on Erwin Road and even occasionally out to the Rice Diet Clinic on Cole Mill Road.
McGovern-Davison Children's Health Center and Outpatient Clinic
It only takes about 7-10 minutes to go to most of the locations above. The traffic in west Durham is rarely a problem and guests are usually surprised how quickly they arrive. Along the way, we can drop you off at the grocery store so that you can cook your own meals in our complete kitchens that are in every suite at Duke Tower. We find many guests love having the full kitchen and it’s a great way to save money by fixing your own home-cooked meals.
We also provide free shuttle service from Duke Tower Hotel to Durham Regional Hospital in north Durham, which is part of Duke University Health Systems. Duke Tower is unique among Durham hotels in offering free shuttle service to Durham Regional Hospital.
Duke Tower Hotel provides free shuttle service to Durham Regional Hospital
Durham Regional mostly serves local people who do not need accommodations, but we find that patients are sometimes moved from Duke Hospital to Durham Regional during their treatments. Our guests can get the same friendly, prompt Duke Tower shuttle service to Durham Regional as they do to Duke Medical Center. We are well located to drive guests to Durham Regional, which takes only about 7-10 minutes out North Duke Street.
On the way to and from Duke Medical Center, we can pick up and drop off guests at the Brightleaf Square restaurant district, the Whole Foods Grocery/Ninth Street shopping area, Duke East Campus, Duke West Campus and other Duke-related points of interest, such as the Sarah P. Duke Gardens, Duke Chapel, Duke’s Nasher Museum of Art, Cameron Indoor Stadium (home of Duke Blue Devils basketball) and Wallace Wade Stadium (home of Duke football and other events, such as concerts–The Rolling Stones played there in 2006–and track and field).
For groups and special events, we can shuttle guests to the American Tobacco Campus and the Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which are nearby.
We use our shuttle bus (pictured above) for large groups and for persons needing handicapped-accessible transportation. The shuttle bus has two handicap ramps for use with wheelchairs or for other guests, such as those with walkers, who are not able to step up or down. The seating inside the shuttle bus is semi-circular, which means it is much easier to sit down, since you do not have to go down a row of seats. We picked this bus specifically because it it was handicap-friendly and has this seating arrangement.
Duke Tower Shuttle Car
On a day to day basis, for smaller numbers of guests, we use our security car, a 2005 Mercury Marquis. The license plates on both front and back say “SHUTTLE” to make it easy to distinguish. The Mercury Marquis is quite comfortable and can hold up to five passengers.
We ask that guests try to let us know as much in advance of their needs for the shuttle service, especially during the busy morning hours of around 7:00 AM to 9:00 AM. Advance notice allows the driver to optimally schedule his trips, picking up and dropping off people in the quickest time possible and with maximum efficiency.
We also provide shuttle service to and from Raleigh-Durham (RDU) International Airport, which is about 20 minutes from Duke Tower. We charge $35/person for the first person and $5 for each additional person. We can hold up to five guests in our car, so for five guests the cost would be $55, or $11.00 per person. We can also shuttle larger groups, up to 14 passengers, in our shuttle bus to and from RDU Airport.
We charge the airport shuttle fee to your room. You do not have to have cash with you when we pick you up at RDU Airport or returning to the airport. The drivers do not accept payment.
Our prices compares very favorably to other services, such as taxis and shuttles, to and from the airport. Furthermore, upon arrival, you do not have to worry about whether the taxi you pick up is reliable and knows where Duke Tower is. Upon departure, you have the comfort of knowing the shuttle is at the hotel and do not have wait for the taxi or bus to arrive when departing for the airport. Unfortunately, taxis are often late and group shuttle buses may loop through many hotels and other locations before and after they pick you up. With the Duke Tower RDU shuttle, you don’t have to worry about any of that.
RDU International Airport
When arriving at RDU Airport, we ask that you call our shuttle driver immediately upon arrival at 919-323-1745. Generally, that timing is perfect for picking up guests, since it takes about 15-20 minutes to get to the airport, which is about how long it takes you to pick up your luggage. Please meet the driver at the purple “Prearranged Services” area in front of baggage claim. If you are unable to come to the Prearranged Services area, please let us know and we will come pick you up outside of the baggage claim area.
Durham's New Multimodal Bus Station
If you are arriving by Amtrak or by bus, our shuttle driver will come and pick you up at no cost. The Durham Amtrak Station and Durham Multimodal Station (see the picture at right) are a short distance from Duke Tower. We have even had some guests walk to Duke Tower from the Durham Multimodal Station, which is certainly possible as long as you do not have too much luggage and the weather is nice. But please don’t pay for a taxi. Call us at 919-323-1745 if you would like a ride.
We hope you will take advantage of our friendly and efficient Duke shuttle service and RDU shuttle service. We look forward to serving you soon!
[...] Durham Bulls fans to Duke Tower Hotel. As one of our services to welcome Bulls fans, we provide a free shuttle to and from [...]
By: Duke Tower Hotel and The Durham Bulls « Duke Tower Hotel & Condominiums on June 8, 2009
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