ATLAirport Guide

Atlanta Airport to Downtown: MARTA Fare, Ride Time and Last Train

MARTA takes about 16 minutes to Five Points and costs $2.50. The last train leaves at 1:20 a.m. Taxis are a flat $37.50 and UberX averages $35.

Downtown Atlanta's tall towers, a cream tower with two stepped crowns, a slim dark glass cylinder and a dark blue tower with a pyramid-shaped crown, rising above the mature trees of Oakland Cemetery under a hazy sky, with one small stone mausoleum soft at the bottom.
Downtown Atlanta's towers rising above the old trees of Oakland Cemetery

A $2.50 MARTA ride reaches Five Points downtown in about 16 minutes, MARTA’s average for the station. The Gold line timetable gives 17. You board inside the Domestic Terminal, at Airport Station. A taxi or rideshare costs more and beats the train in only a few situations.

Boarding MARTA at the Airport Station

The Airport Station sits between the North and South baggage claims, at the south end of the Red and Gold lines. Either color runs to downtown. You’ll pay with a Breeze card or ticket, or tap a bank card or mobile wallet at the faregate. The station has a full-service RideStore with trained staff. MARTA’s On the Go app shows real-time train schedules.

After Five Points the next stop is Peachtree Center, one or two minutes later. A skywalk joins it to the Hilton Atlanta. The late-night change at Lindbergh Center is on the MARTA rail page.

When the trains run

MARTA’s Red Line and Gold Line timetables give these departures from the Airport Station toward downtown.

Day First train Last train Wait between Gold trains
Weekdays 4:36 a.m. (Gold) 1:20 a.m. (Gold) 10 to 12 minutes from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., 15 until 8 p.m., then 20
Saturday and Sunday 5:52 a.m. (Red) 1:20 a.m. (Gold) 15 minutes until 8 p.m., then 20

The Red Line stops at the same stations and adds trains, with its last departure at 8:50 p.m. on weekdays and 1:10 a.m. on weekends.

What you’ll pay on MARTA

The standard fare includes up to four free transfers within three hours, and a direct ride downtown doesn’t need one. Children 46 inches and under ride free, up to two per paying adult. Riders over 65, on Medicare or with disabilities pay $1 with a Reduced Fare Breeze Card, which MARTA issues to eligible riders.

A one-day pass costs $9 and lasts 24 hours, so it beats single fares from the fourth ride.

Taxi, rideshare and shared vans compared

Option One rider Three riders Loads at
MARTA $2.50 $7.50 Airport Station, between the North and South baggage claims
Shared-ride van Up to $16.50 Up to $49.50 Aisle B, stalls B3 to B8
Taxi $37.50 flat $41.50 Aisle A, stalls A3 to A10 on ATL’s ground transportation page and A3 to A12 on the airport’s terminal map
UberX $35 average $35 average North Economy lot
Uber Wait & Save $27 average $27 average North Economy lot
UberXL $55 average $55 average North Economy lot

Uber’s figures are its own averages for the past month, and Uber says they aren’t fixed prices. Its downtown route averages 11 miles and 22 minutes. UberX and Wait & Save seat four, and UberXL seats six.

On the airport’s terminal map, A1 and A2 are for pre-arranged pickup. ATL’s flat fare includes a $1.50 airport surcharge, and each extra rider adds $2. A fuel surcharge of $2 or $3 a trip applies when gas prices pass set levels. ATL’s posted rates carry no effective date, so ask the driver to confirm the fare before your bags go in. ATL publishes no taxi ride time.

For rideshare, go through North baggage claim to the lower-level escalators between doors N2 and N3. ATL’s ground transportation page words that spot as door LN1. Follow the orange signs to the pickup lot, and request the ride only after you reach the pickup spot. ATL authorizes Uber, Lyft, HeRide and Boogidy.

ATL posts a maximum trip fee per person and tells riders to reserve directly with the company.

When a car beats the train

  • You land after the last Gold train. Uber says its app takes requests at ATL at any hour, and ATL’s taxi page lists no hours, so a rideshare is the sure thing.
  • Three of you would otherwise take a shared van. A taxi for three costs less than three seats at the posted maximum.
  • Your hotel is in Buckhead and it’s after 8:30 p.m. MARTA says you may need to take the Gold train and change to the Red at Lindbergh Center, and a taxi to Buckhead is a flat $49.50.

Landing at the International Terminal

MARTA’s station isn’t in this building, so you ride a free shuttle first. It leaves from the arrivals level and reaches the Domestic Terminal’s baggage claim in about 15 minutes, and MARTA says it runs 24/7. MARTA also names the Plane Train to the Domestic Terminal Baggage Claim stop as another way across.

That shuttle ride comes before the train ride, which is the strongest reason to take a car from this terminal. Taxis load on the arrivals level outside door A1. For rideshare, ATL’s ground transportation page gives two spots: the arrivals-level outer curb, across the crosswalk from door A1 or A2, and the inner curb outside doors A1, A2 and A3. You’ll need the company’s app on your phone either way.

For a hotel near the airport instead of downtown, hotel shuttles load from Aisle C and the free SkyTrain runs around the clock to the Gateway hotels.

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