Options from Minneapolis to Rochester MN

1. Fly to Rochester (RST) from Minneapolis (MSP)
2. Rent a car
3. Take a bus
4. Take a train
5. Call a Limo Service
6. Call a private ride service
   1. A group shuttle serving:
      1. Group shuttle service such as Groome or Rochester Shuttle
   1. A Private Ride Car Service
      1. Citywide is an example of this type of service.
7. See if there is an available Uber or Lyft driver willing to make that drive.
8. Call a friend or relative.

When renting a car here are a few things to consider.

Driving in our Minnesota weather conditions.  Be aware of current weather conditions during your stay.  Winter weather and icy road conditions can be a very difficult hazard to some drivers not familiar with snow and ice driving.  There are some very flat areas on the drive between Minneapolis and Rochester.  On windy days this can be quite challenging, especially in the winter months but also during some of the road construction areas where the lane widths are narrow and traffic that is only separated by small plastic cone dividers.

Road construction: On the route from Minneapolis to Rochester MN, road construction between the months of April and October is almost always a gaurantee.  There are generally 8 – 20 miles selected each year that will be completely torn up and replaced.  Detours are possible as well as taking a 2 lane each way highway and turning it into a one lane each way.

Navigating these roads can sometimes be tricky but if you take it slow, it is actually a very beautiful ride.

Think about where you will have to park: How much that will it cost and the distances you will have to walk to retrieve your car.

The liability of driving in this state:  Minnesota is a no-fault state when it comes to car insurance.  If you are driving a rental car, will your insurance be used at all or just the rental insurance?

There are also some very picturesque areas driving from Minneapolis to Rochester MN.  Having your own car would allow you to stop and enjoy some of the sights and stops along the way.  The drive is less than 1:30 minutes or around 85 miles.

Having the freedom to move at your own pace and do the things you want to do when you want to do them have their advantages but understand the costs involved as well.

When flying from Minneapolis to Rochester MN, most people automatically assume that it is faster than driving to Rochester.  This is un-true most of the time.

The flight from Minneapolis to Rochester MN (RST) is about 20 minutes.  The time to load onto the plane and taxi to the runway is about 40 minutes.  Time to taxi to the gate in Rochester and de-plane is about 10 minutes.  The time to get your bags and exit the airport is about the same as it would be to exit MSP so this time is mostly a wash.  Now you need to secure your ride or meet your car at the exit and drive to your finale destination.  This is going to be no less than 20 minutes.  So the total time to fly to RST and get to your hotel is going to be right around 90 minutes. (Layover NOT included here)

The time to drive to your finale destination from MSP to Rochester is 75 – 85 minutes or about 80 miles.  Now think how often you would land at MSP and get to transfer right away on your flight to RST?  You are almost always going to have a layover.  That layover can be up to a few hours or maybe more.  You can exit the plane in Minneapolis, collect your bags at the baggage carrousel and turn and walk 20 feet or so to the closest exit door right into your waiting car with Citywide and about an hour and change later, you will be relaxing at your hotel.

Cancellations

The last thing to think about is the flights in and out of the smaller regional airports have a cancellation rate that may not be acceptable to you.  These flights can be cancelled for a variety of reasons like ridership, maintenance or flight hours of the crew.  If canceled, very few of them will have an alternative for you.  You are left to fend for yourself or wait till the following day.  If this happens with a later flight, finding a ride after 8pm out of MSP is very difficult.

There are benefits to flying.  Statistically you are safer on a commercial flight than a car.  You can drink (adult beverages) on a plane and this is usually not allowed on Minnesota roads.

It looks like there are only a couple of options by bus between MSP and Rochester, Jefferson Lines and Greyhound.

Jefferson Lines currently shows the ride is about 4 hours and 26 minutes in length.  Obviously with a lot of stops and wait times in-between or taking a very circuitous route as this ride is generally less than 1:30 direct.

Greyhound is currently listing this ride as starting at $28.00 per person but only has 1 ride a day available and they both pick up in the late morning either at the bus station in Minneapolis or the University of Minnesota location the to Rochester.  You would have to secure a ride from MSP to the bus station.  You can do this with the public transit system either with a city bus or the Metro transit train at the MSP airport. 

Amtrak can also be an option.  There are up to 3 rides a day, morning, afternoon and late afternoon and they also start at around $30.00 per person.  The ride is about an hour and 50 minutes long and they do pick-up at the MSP Terminal 1.  Once you get to Rochester, you would have to secure a ride to your hotel or home.

Limo services and private ride car services are by far in a way the most convenient and comfortable way to travel from Minneapolis to Rochester MN.  They are also more expensive than most of the other ways to travel between MSP and Rochester.

Why is it better?

1. Choose the people you sit next to
2. Seating is much more spacious and comfortable than on a plane or shared ride service
3. When traveling to Rochester, you may be more worried about viruses and other things that can make you sick.  When you put yourself into a shared van with 14 other people, whatever is floating around you would be more susceptible to.
4. Have you ever sat in a confined area with screaming children or adults for that matter?  This is not a problem with a private ride.
5. Door-to-door service means picking you up at the luggage doors at MSP and taking you to any address in Rochester.
6. When traveling and you need to stop for a bathroom break.  Asking your driver is generally not a problem.  When traveling with a van full of people, you may feel more uncomfortable asking for a stop.
7. What happens when your flight into MSP has been delayed?  Your group ride, train or bus will not wait for you.  A private ride service is there to be flexible when you need them to be.
8. If you have an appointment at the Mayo Clinic (or anywhere for that matter) and your flight is on time but you need to get there asap, a private ride will usually be able to accommodate this.
9. Trying to get work done on your ride with peace and quiet instead of trying to carry on a phone conversation with someone while a van full of people are talking around you.
10. Traveling with a pet?  Most private ride service allow for pets, most group ride services do not.  Citywide does not require you to cage your pet like most Limo services do.

These are App driven services so accessing them by phone is very difficult if not impossible.  You need to install the App on your phone, link it to a credit card and you are set to go.

Uber and Lyft are credited for changing the “Taxi Industry” for ever.  For the better in my opinion.  But keep in mind what makes a Taxi service or Uber / Lyft more cost-effective.

They have drivers floating all around the city waiting for a call to come in.  If they are close to the pick-up location, they are selected to make the ride by dispatch.  The drivers of these services are ONLY paid while you are in the car.  The logic behind this is that once they drop you off they will wait for a ride that is close to them which eventually will bring them back to wherever they want to be when they end their day.  So for a Taxi or Uber/Lyft to make money from very cheap rides they need drivers willing to only be paid while they are driving you somewhere.  They are making nothing while waiting for the next ride.

Now

When a Taxi or Uber / Lyft driver is asked to go from Minneapolis to Rochester MN, about 85 miles South of the cities, they know if they take this ride they are most likely going to have to drive all the way back on their own dime.  That is to day an hour and 20 minutes and $20 in gas is on them to get back where all the riders are.  So making a deal with the driver if you are able to pay them for their un-compensated ride back puts them at a very close if not higher rate than a private ride service.  That’s if you get the chance to talk to them before they decide to dump your ride and decline it.