Hartsfield-Jackson is ten miles from downtown Atlanta and is the airport a lot of Alabama travellers actually fly from, because the fares beat Birmingham and Huntsville often enough to justify the drive. Two things changed recently and most older advice has not caught up: the ground transportation stalls moved in June 2025, and MARTA replaced its entire fare system in March 2026.
MARTA: the only reliable time estimate at this airport
The Red and Gold lines both serve Airport Station, which sits inside the Domestic Terminal between the north and south baggage claim halls. You do not go outside to reach it.
- Fare: $2.50 one way, with up to four free transfers within three hours.
- Airport to Five Points takes roughly 18 to 19 minutes on the published timetable.
- Trains run 4.45am to 1am on weekdays and 6am to 1am at weekends.
Check the card before you travel. MARTA launched Better Breeze on 28 March 2026 and old Breeze cards no longer work. You can now tap a bank card, phone or watch. MARTA has not published the new card fee on the pages we could reach, so do not rely on the $2 figure that still appears in older guides.
MARTA serves the Domestic Terminal only. Arriving internationally, you take the free terminal shuttle across first.
Taxis: flat rates still exist, and they are published
Unusually for a large US airport, ATL publishes fixed fares. These are for one passenger and include the $1.50 surcharge. Add $2 for each additional person; waiting time is $24 an hour.
| Destination | Flat fare |
|---|---|
| Downtown, zone 1 | $37.50 |
| Midtown, zone 3 | $39.50 |
| Buckhead, zone 2 | $49.50 |
Ranks are at the Ground Transportation Centre, Aisle A, stalls A3 to A10 for the Domestic Terminal, and outside the A-1 door at International. City ordinance still lists older, lower figures; the airport numbers are the ones drivers work to.
Uber and Lyft: not at the terminal kerb
At the Domestic Terminal, rideshare collects from the North Economy Lot, roughly a five minute walk following the orange signage. It is not a kerbside pickup and people miss this regularly. At the International Terminal you stay closer to home: the arrivals-level outer kerb, out of door A1, A2 or A3.
Drop-offs are unaffected and still use the normal terminal roadways. Two pages on the airport site give different escalator directions for the domestic walk, because one predates the 2025 reorganisation, so follow the signs rather than a door number you read somewhere.
Shared-ride shuttles, and getting to Alabama
Shared vans work from Aisle B of the Ground Transportation Centre. Local operators use stalls B3 to B8, regional operators B9 to B10. The airport caps local shared-ride fares at $16.50 a head to downtown, $18.50 to Midtown and $30 to Buckhead.
For Alabama, the documented operator is Groome Transportation, running daily to Birmingham, Auburn, Montgomery, Opelika, Tuskegee, Pike Road and Maxwell AFB from those same regional stalls. Groome publishes indicative one-way fares of around $55 to Birmingham, $65 to Auburn and $89 to Montgomery. Those are the operator’s numbers, not the airport’s, and they move, so price it on the day. Greyhound picks up separately at the north lower level near door LN1.
Rental cars
Twelve brands sit in one Rental Car Centre, open 24 hours, reached by the free ATL SkyTrain. Walk out of the west end of the Domestic Terminal under the covered walkway, take the escalator up, and the ride is about five minutes. From the International Terminal, take the terminal shuttle to Domestic first, then the SkyTrain.
Moving between the two terminals
Domestic and International sit on opposite sides of the airfield with separate road systems. Landside, the free ConnectATL shuttle runs from arrivals every 15 minutes or so, 24 hours, and takes about 15 minutes. Airside, ticketed passengers use the Plane Train, which comes every couple of minutes. Budget for the landside crossing if you are meeting someone at the wrong terminal.
Parking
Rates took effect on 1 May 2025.
| Facility | Rate |
|---|---|
| Domestic hourly | $10 an hour, $50 max day one, $75 each additional day |
| Domestic daily deck | $30 a day |
| Economy | $20 a day |
| Domestic park-and-ride | $15 a day |
| ATL West | $10 an hour or $30 a day |
| International park-and-ride, covered | $30 a day, free 24-hour shuttle |
So which one
- Anywhere on the MARTA rail line: take the train. It is $2.50 against $37.50 in a cab, and it is the only leg of this journey with a time you can trust at rush hour.
- Two or more people going to Buckhead: the flat $49.50 cab starts to beat four separate rail-plus-transfer trips on convenience.
- Heading to Birmingham, Auburn or Montgomery: book the regional shuttle before you fly. Turning up and hoping is how people end up renting a one-way car at short notice.
- Using Uber: allow the extra five minutes to the North Economy Lot.
For the general case, see how to choose between a taxi, a train, a shuttle and a private car.
Sources
Checked 19 August 2026: ATL ground transportation, ATL parking, MARTA airport page and MARTA Better Breeze. Shuttle fares are the operator’s own published figures. Tell us through the contact page if anything here has moved.