Sky Harbor to Downtown Phoenix, Tempe and Scottsdale: What Each Option Costs

A taxi from Sky Harbor to downtown Phoenix cannot legally cost more than 20 dollars. That is a regulated cap written into the city code, not an estimate. The train costs 2 dollars, or 4 for the whole day, and it does not come to the terminal. This page sets out what every option costs, checked against Phoenix Sky Harbor, the Phoenix City Code and Valley Metro in September 2026.

What each option costs

The Sky Train, which does most of the work

The PHX Sky Train is free and runs 24 hours a day. It is how you reach almost everything, because no bus enters Terminal 3 or Terminal 4 and the light rail does not come to the airport.

Six stations, in order: 44th Street and Washington, East Economy Parking, Terminal 3, Terminal 4, 24th Street, Rental Car Center.

Between 5am and 10pm the average wait is about three and a half to seven minutes. Between 10pm and 5am it can exceed 15 minutes because of nightly maintenance, seven nights a week, and the airport runs a staged bus from 44th Street Station direct to Terminals 3 and 4 as backup.

Terminal 4 to the Rental Car Center takes under 8 minutes. The whole 5 mile line, 44th Street to the Rental Car Center, takes about 13 minutes.

One inconsistency in the airport’s own pages. The rental car page says trains arrive every 3 to 5 minutes while the Sky Train page gives an average wait of three and a half to seven. Both are official.

The light rail split, which most guides have not caught up with

Valley Metro Rail stopped being one line on 7 June 2025. It is now two.

The A Line runs east to west, from the Downtown Phoenix Hub out to Gilbert Road and Main Street in Mesa, via 44th Street and Washington, Tempe and Mesa. This is the airport line.

The B Line runs north to south, from Metro Parkway to Baseline and Central Avenue, entirely inside Phoenix. It does not serve the airport, does not serve 44th Street and does not serve Tempe.

So the airport station is A Line only. If you are heading north up Central Avenue you change at the Downtown Phoenix Hub.

Trains come every 12 minutes on weekday daytimes, every 15 on Saturdays, every 20 on Sundays and every 20 in the evening. Note that the frequency worsens after the evening peak rather than during it.

We could not establish the first and last train from 44th Street and Washington. Four sources give three different answers and none is Valley Metro’s own timetable, which would not load. Check the app before an early or late flight.

Fares

Express and RAPID routes cost 3.25 a ride and 6.50 all day, with no reduced fare. The streetcar is 1 dollar. Children 5 and under travel free with a paying adult.

Two practical points. Paper passes were abolished on 28 October 2024, so you need the Valley Metro app or a Copper Card, and the card itself costs 4 dollars. And fare capping is automatic. A single ride is 2 dollars and the daily cap is 4, so a return trip costs exactly the same as an all day pass. There is no reason to buy two singles.

Reduced fares cover youth aged 6 to 18, seniors 65 and over, people with disabilities and Medicare cardholders.

Buses at the airport

No bus route enters a terminal. Two connect at Sky Train stations.

• Route 13, Buckeye, stops at the 24th Street Sky Train Station on the north west curb near Passenger Pick-Up 9.
• Route 44, 44th Street and Tatum, connects at the 44th Street Sky Train Station.

Routes 1, 32 and 44 all serve 44th Street and Washington, as do Greyhound and FlixBus. FlixBus uses the north curb near ground transportation. Dial-A-Ride picks up at Terminal 4 Level 1 west of Door 2 and Terminal 3 Level 1 east of Door 8.

Scottsdale has no light rail

This surprises people every week. Valley Metro Rail serves Phoenix, Tempe and Mesa. Neither line enters Scottsdale, and there is no plan for one.

Your actual options are bus Route 72 along Scottsdale Road and Rural Road, which crosses the A Line in Tempe, plus Route 50 on Camelback and Route 80 on Northern and Shea. Once you are there, the free Scottsdale Trolley runs four routes.

The trolley has two limits worth planning around. It runs Monday to Friday only, and it stops at 7:45pm. It also closes on New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, 4 July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

So there is no one seat ride and no rail ride from the airport to Scottsdale. A transit trip means Sky Train, then A Line, then a bus, and the trolley is no help at the weekend.

Taxis, and the two caps

Phoenix regulates airport taxi fares by ordinance. These are maximums, from City Code section 4-83.

The downtown cap applies within the area bounded by Roosevelt Street, Lincoln Street, 7th Avenue and 7th Street. Inside that box the fare cannot lawfully exceed 20 dollars.

There is no separate flag drop beyond that 7 dollar first mile. Anyone quoting a flag drop for Sky Harbor taxis is citing something other than the ordinance. The airport is explicit that rates are the same whichever company you use, however many passengers and however many bags.

Taxis wait at the Terminal 3 north curb outside door 7, and at Terminal 4 Level 1 on the north curb at door 7 and the south curb at door 4.

We are not going to give a total to Scottsdale, Tempe or Mesa. There is no flat rate and no published mileage, so any figure would be arithmetic dressed up as a fare.

Uber and Lyft

One correction to something repeated a lot. Rideshare pickup at Sky Harbor is not Sky Train only. Curbside pickup exists at both terminals.

• Terminal 3, the entire south outer curb except the far east end, plus the far east end of the north outer curb.
• Terminal 4, Level 1 north outer curb at the far west end outside door 1, and the south outer curb at the east end by doors 6 and 8 and the west end by door 2.
• Also the 24th Street Sky Train Station south curb, the 44th Street Sky Train Station north curb, and the Rental Car Center visitor parking lot.

The airport fee is set by formula rather than published as a number. City Code section 4-78 set it at 5 dollars per pickup and per drop off from 1 January 2024, rising each year by the greater of inflation or 3 percent. That puts the 2026 floor around 5.31, but no source states the current amount, so we will not print one.

The code does give a 30 percent discount for trips starting or ending at the 44th Street or 24th Street Sky Train stations. That discount applies to the operator’s monthly invoice, not obviously to your fare, and we could not confirm it is passed through.

Waymo also operates at the airport, picking up at Terminals 3 and 4 on the Level 1 outer curb near South Door 8, and at the two Sky Train stations. Its own advice is to request the ride after you board the Sky Train.

Rental cars

The Rental Car Center is at 1805 East Sky Harbor Circle South, between 16th and 24th Streets. The Sky Train is the only way to reach it. It is free and runs all night, and the ride from Terminal 4 is under 8 minutes.

Two charges appear on the bill. A Customer Facility Charge of 6 dollars per transaction day per vehicle, set in City Code section 4-79. And an airport concession fee of 7 percent of gross receipts under section 4-78. How each company itemises the 7 percent varies and we could not confirm it from an official source.

The centre also offers early bag check, so you can drop your bags after returning the car.

The heat

This is the planning factor most visitors underestimate, and it is the reason every option above is designed so you barely go outside.

At Sky Harbor the normal July average high is 106.5 degrees Fahrenheit. In July 2026 the average high was 108.3 and the peak was 117 degrees on the 24th, making it the eighth warmest July on record since 1896.

The city’s own guidance says precautions apply above 100 degrees. During Extreme Heat Warnings it closes the Echo and Cholla trails on Camelback Mountain and the Piestewa Peak trailhead routes between 8am and 5pm. Its advice is to drink more water than you think you need, avoid alcohol and caffeine, wear light colours and a wide brimmed hat, and plan outdoor time for the cool part of the day. Free cooling centres and hydration stations operate through the Heat Relief Network.

The practical point for arrivals. The Sky Train is enclosed and connects by skyway. The 44th Street and Washington light rail platform is an open island platform in the median of Washington Street, which means a wait of up to 12 to 20 minutes in whatever the ambient temperature is.

What we could not confirm

First and last A Line trains from the airport station. Four sources, three answers, none from Valley Metro’s own timetable.

Journey times from 44th Street and Washington to downtown Phoenix or to Tempe. Valley Metro publishes no per segment timing we could retrieve.

Frequency and hours for bus routes 13, 44 and 72.

The current dollar amount of the rideshare airport fee, and whether the Sky Train discount reaches the passenger.

Typical Uber and Lyft fares to anywhere. These are dynamic and no authoritative figure exists.

Road journey times, normal or at rush hour, to any of the four destinations.

Whether the 44th Street platform has shade or misting.

Sources

• Phoenix Sky Harbor, PHX Sky Train
• Phoenix Sky Harbor, taxis and shuttles
• Phoenix Sky Harbor, ride share
• Phoenix Sky Harbor, rental cars
• Phoenix City Code 4-83, taxicab fare rates
• Phoenix City Code 4-79, rental car customer facility charge
• City of Scottsdale, transit system and trolley
• National Weather Service, Phoenix July 2026 climate summary