Rave: Accessible-Vehicle Rental Service

I can’t say enough good things about Bill Phinney, who rents wheelchair-accessible minivans in the Salt Lake City, UT, area.

He is:

  • quick to respond via email
  • timely when meeting you at the airport to drop off the van or pick it up
  • responsive to alternatives, such as driving the van to you (for a price) if you choose to fly to someplace like Jackson or Boise where you cannot rent an accessible van
  • the vans are clean and in very good condition

Check out his website for more information.

Going to see Grampa in Boise, ID

Wheelchair-accessible rental parked at Ruth's Diner, Emigration Canyon, UT

Wheelchair-accessible rental parked at Ruth’s Diner, Emigration Canyon, UT

It seems to be impossible to rent a wheelchair-accessible minivan in either Jackson, WY or Boise, ID.  I’ve done internet searches and made many phone calls, and so did the concierge at our hotel in Teton Village, The Hotel Terra.  You can pay Bill Phinney (see Raves) about $1000 to drive a van to your destination in either Boise, ID, or Jackson, WY,  or you can pick it up from him at the very-manageable airport in Salt Lake City and drive it where you want to go.   Check out the rental site: www.wheelchairgetaways.com/franchise/utah_saltlakecity/.  We rented a side-entry (electric  in-floor ramp) Dodge Caravan;  it was clean and in good shape.

Idaho Potato Museum

Pat, Marianne and Dee at the (wheelchair-accessible) Idaho Potato Museum, Blackfoot, ID

We opted to stay overnight in Salt Lake City and drive:   first to Teton Village in Wyoming (about 5.5 hours) for 9 nights, then from Teton Village to Boise, ID (6 hours if you take the 40-minute detour, as we did, to the Idaho Potato Museum in Blackfoot, ID) for 4 nights, and then from Boise back to Salt Lake City (another 5.5 hours).  Bill makes the exchange easy:  the Salt Lake City airport is relatively small, and he meets you at baggage claim on your way in and curbside at a handicapped-parking space on the way out.

 

 

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A very big collection of potato mashers at the Idaho Potato Museum

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An equally large collection of Mr. (and Mrs.) Potato Heads