Almost 33 million individuals walked to their jet transportation through Seattle-Tacoma International Airport last year. Going to and being at the airport has improved considerably over the last decade. Since 2009, our city has added an exhilarating way beyond the passenger car to get to the airport.
Light rail
On a recent plane trip, our family decided it was time to chuck the car-taxi route and hit the bus, coupled with light rail, to the airport. More than 24,000 people ride the light rail each day, and a good percentage are going to the airport.
We left our house in North Seattle at 6:30 a.m. for a 9 a.m. flight, took Metro to Westlake Center and found ourselves at the airport with plenty of time with few frazzled nerves.
The Central Link light rail, beginning at Westlake Station, is the new major artery to the airport’s heart. The cars are well-illuminated, with comfortable seats and plenty of low glass for sightseeing. The light rail is easily accessible for wheeled people and wheeled luggage.
After arriving at Sea-Tac Station, exit and walk along the fourth floor of the parking garage, then across covered bridge No. 6 to get to the front ticket counters. This takes five minutes.
Sound Transit’s light rail runs about every 7.5 minutes in high peak times and every 15 minutes in low peak times, traveling a total of 15.7 miles from Westlake to Sea-Tac. It makes 11 stops in 37 minutes.
The first train headed for the city leaves Sea-Tac at 5:05 a.m., and the last one at 12:10 a.m. (for the best information: www.soundtransit.org). The light rail to the airport is $2.75 one-way.
Each traveler should have his or her own Orca card to ride the buses and light rail to the airport; children under age 7 ride free. You can tap the card to transfer from bus to train.
Remember to have money on your card 24 hours before you go. Be sure to tap your card or have a purchased ticket when you ride the light rail; fares are checked on-board by Sound Transit officials. For more information about Orca cards can be found at orca.bpn.gov.
Private transportation
If you’ve got more than carry-on, the most pleasant way to go is by cab or limo. Seattle’s flat-rate taxi fare or the established city rate for trips from Sea-Tac to the downtown hotel district is exactly $32. That’s with no waiting, no extra stops and does not include the tip.
The airport only lists the Yellow Cab Company and directs travelers to www.yellowtaxi.net. There are also other cab companies going to the airport, as well as private limos. Typical fares to Capitol Hill or Queen Anne Hill run about $40 to $45.
You have many choices for private hire or livery, and most can be contacted through ground transportation or Sea-Tac’s website, www.portseattle.org (look under the parking and transportation tab).
Know the flat rate before you drive off. It’s about $10 to $20 extra to have someone waiting and holding up your name for pick-up.
Also, Sea-Tac just opened a $2.1 million, green-built, five-story rental-car facility with capacity for 5,400 vehicles. The facility consolidates almost all the airport rental companies in one building. Since you live here, you’re likely not renting a car, and if you do, renting in town is less than at the airport.
With the new facility, it frees up two floors of parking at the main terminal and consolidates all the rental-car shuttles in one larger shuttle going to one place. Passengers will access the new building on 29 new natural-gas buses, which will leave from the north and south end of the arrival drive.
If you’re driving and leaving your vehicle at the airport’s parking garage, the “Terminal Direct” area is $35 per day. General parking is $28 per day and $130 for seven days. The garage has free electric from plug-in pay stalls (you pay parking), and you can fill-up natural gas in the area.
Longer-term and more economical parking places are all around Sea-Tac. Check out off-site parking at www.seattletravel.com and follow the Sea-Tac parking link. There’s a map of all the areas, with a matrix of provider, prices per day or week and reviews.
Parking runs from $8 to $16 per day, and shuttle buses run to almost all lots.
In addition, Sea-Tac has a cell-phone waiting area for drivers who are waiting for their passengers to arrive, and there is new short-term parking if you want to walk to meet someone and help them to the car with their bags, like the old days.
Ride sharing
The Downtown Airporter bus run by Shuttle Express leaves every 30 minutes from 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and picks up at all the major hotels. The pick-up and drop-off at the airport location is the inner curb of the third-floor airport garage.
The first rider in your group pays $19, each additional person is $8 and each child under age 17 is free with a paying adult. You will save $5 buying a round-trip. It takes about 1 hour, 25 minutes to go to the eight hotels and then the airport. You can buy tickets on-line at www.downtownairporter.com.
The Shuttle Express van is the more personal service because it leaves when you want, picks you up at your front door and drops you at your airline. This shared-ride, door-to-door service serves a wider region beyond Seattle and is available 24 hours a day.
If you book on-line, you save $10. On-line, you’ll need to request a fare for service to find out a single person with two bags pays $32 each way, or $72 round-trip. After you enter your departure and arrival, you will see many other options offered, including a van service for up to 10 people, at $103 each way.
The other ride services include large passenger vans, luxury limos for six and even buses for dozens; you need to call for those prices and arrangements. It services many traveling cruisers coming through Seattle, and as a result, many choices abound.
The company is converting its fleet to greener, propane-fuel vans. Depending on how many stops you make or how long it takes to fill seats at the airport, typically the Shuttle Express takes from 45 minutes to an hour to the city. To book or look, go to the www.shuttleexpress.com website.
Buses
Buses are the backbone of any system and the backup when other systems break. King County Metro runs Metro Route 124 to the airport from Third Avenue and Union Street.
It begins running at 5 a.m., leaving about every 15 to 20 minutes until 3:30 a.m., with five stops along the way before you get to Sea-Tac’s South 154th Street and Tukwila/ International Boulevard stop.
Coming into Seattle from Sea-Tac on the same route, buses run until 2:39 a.m. and then resume at 5:05 a.m. The bus takes about 39 minutes going each direction. The cost is $2.25 for off-peak and $2.50 peak.
Before you go, check out the transportation options for where you land. Some cities have excellent transportation choices from the airport; others, not so much. Riding the buses, trains and shared spaces is a great way to discover new places.
JEAN SWENSON and ASHLY KNAPP have studied and covered transportation machines and issues in print, on radio and television, locally and nationally. Send questions, ideas, comments or other communication to jeanandashly@gmail.com.