Renting a car at Sky Harbor is about to get easier

A long wait in line for a shuttle bus followed by a ride on city streets has defined the experience of getting to the Rental Car Center at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

That will soon change: The longawaited 2.5-mile extension of Sky Harbor’s PHX Sky Train connecting Terminals 3 and 4 to the Rental Car Center will begin service on Dec. 20, in time to handle the high volumes of travelers expected for the December holidays and the

Super Bowl and the WM Phoenix Open in early 2023.

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego announced the Sky Train extension’s launch in a tweet on Dec. 8.

In addition to the Rental Car Center, the Sky Train extension will also connect the terminals to the 24th Street Express Pay Parking Station starting Dec. 20, airport spokesman Greg Roybal said.

Here’s how to ride the PHX Sky Train to the Rental Car Center

Starting Dec. 20, the PHX Sky Train can be accessed from platforms on Level 5 in Terminal 3 and Level 4 in Terminal 4. Take the escalator or elevator there after getting off the plane and collecting your luggage.

Trains depart every three to five minutes. They’ll arrive at the Rental Car Center from Terminal 3 in about six minutes and from Terminal 4 in about eight minutes, Roybal said.

In contrast, the shuttle buses to the Rental Car Center require passengers to leave the terminal and wait outdoors in curbside lines that could last 30 minutes to more than an hour. Shuttles arrive every seven to 12 minutes depending on traffic, Roybal said. Google Maps estimates the drive between the terminals and the center takes seven to eight minutes with no traffic.

Jay DeWitt, Sky Harbor’s chief development officer of aviation, described the Sky Train-Rental Car Center connection as “the equivalent of three rental car buses every three minutes” in an October interview with The Arizona Republic.

Here’s how much the Phoenix Sky Train Stage 2 cost

Stage 2 of the PHX Sky Train cost $745 million, according to airport staff. The work is among $1.7 billion worth of upgrades the airport planned over a five-year period in a comprehensive asset management plan approved in 2019.

The current shuttle system for the Rental Car Center has been a source of frustration for many travelers.

In November, a traveler named Kevin Smith sent an email to Sky Harbor and several local media outlets, including The Arizona Republic. Smith complained of long waits for buses from the terminals to the Rental Car Center. He said the wait for a shuttle was 30 minutes to an hour and more than 100 people were in line. After about 20 minutes, he decided to hail a taxi to the Rental Car Center instead.

Smith said the return trip from the Rental Car Center to the terminal also had a long wait for shuttles and a line that “wrapped completely through the entire frontage of the center.”

Another traveler, Justin Nicholas, tweeted a photo of the line on his early December visit.

In response, Sky Harbor’s customer service staff apologized for the long wait times and said the Sky Train extension was coming soon.