<snip> I've booked at the downtown Hilton location of Enterprise thinking that we can easily take public airport transportation downtown to pick up the car. <snip> Other locations though that have better prices are Glendale, Scottsdale, Tempe and the Thrifty at the Walmart on Bell RD. They look too far out on the map but maybe there's a way of getting there and saving quite a bit of $$$.
Can anyone advise me?
You don't say when you are coming to PHX, but before Dec 29, 2008 (when the initial legs of the light rail system come online), there is one bus route (the "Red Line") that will get you from the airport to downtown PHX - see
http://www.valleymetro.org/bus/system_map/sky_harbor_airport/ . The problem is, this route takes you to the true downtown area, which is several miles away from what business and financial types like to fool themselves into thinking is "downtown." There are no Hiltons downtown - a brand-new Sheraton, yes, a Wyndham, yes, a Hyatt Regency, yes, but the closest Hilton is about 2 1/2 miles north. Taking the Red Line from the airport, you'd need to take a transfer at the Central Station to one of several different routes that would take you north on Central to Thomas, where the Hilton is.
After Dec 29, there will be a free shuttle from the airport to the light rail station on Washington, and you can take the light rail from there through downtown, north to Thomas Rd. See
http://www.valleymetro.org/metro_light_rail/how_to_ride/ and
http://www.valleymetro.org/metro_light_rail/downloads/maps/ (sections 2, 3, and 4). Alternatively, you could take the light rail into Tempe (sections 4 & 5). I don't know the car rental location to which you refer in Tempe, but if they are not on the light rail route, they MIGHT be willing to pick you up at a station, and give you a ride back to the station at the end of your stay.
Note to the sensitive/squeamish: personally, I ride buses 5 days/week by choice, but some people would be, uh, uncomfortable with the clientele they might find on the Red Line from time to time. It is a central city, local bus route. The same goes for the people one might encounter when transferring at the Central Station, and for the various local routes that run north on Central to Thomas. As for my wife (and me), we would not have a problem with it unless perhaps our flight came in at 11:00 pm or something, but you and your traveling companion(s) may feel differently.
I think the expectation for light rail ridership is somewhat different, as it will cost a bit more. Many times, I ride either an Express route bus or a "Rapid" (commuter) bus, and there is unquestionably a difference in the range of social strata represented on local route buses.
Tom
heh heh heh
??) is that since fewer people can afford to fly revenues are dropping off and the City of Phoenix is going to raise those fees in the near future. I guess that'll teach you, huh??? 
