Uber and Lyft pickup at Seattle airport
Uber and Lyft meet you on Level 3 of the SEA parking garage, stalls 1 to 34. Uber Black meets at a baggage claim door. Route, fares and a scam check.
At SEA, Uber and Lyft pick up on Level 3 of the parking garage, in stalls 1 to 34. Uber Black meets you at a baggage claim door you choose instead.
From baggage claim to your stall
- Get your bags first. Our baggage claim guide has the carousels by airline. Gates on the N and S concourses need the SEA Underground train to reach the main terminal before any of this.
- Request the ride. Uber says the first Directions to pickup screen gives only general instructions. Tap it again once a driver has matched with you.
- Cross a skybridge, which sits one level below ticketing and one level above baggage claim. The airport’s directory names Skybridge 4 as a crossing to the garage.
- Go down one level to Level 3, the Ground Transportation Plaza, and walk to the middle of the garage.
- Wait until the car has parked before you open a door.
Which ride meets where
| Ride | Where it meets you (Port of Seattle) |
|---|---|
| All Lyft rides | Garage Level 3 |
| UberX and UberPool | Garage Level 3 |
| Uber Black | The baggage claim door you pick, outside |
Wingz pre-scheduled rides use the same garage pick-up area, per the airport’s directory. The Port doesn’t name Uber Comfort, UberXL, Uber Green or Wait & Save. Uber’s own SEA page says the pickup depends on the ride type you request. For those, the app’s Directions to pickup screen decides, so trust it over any list.
What Uber says it costs
Uber’s SEA page lists average prices from the airport to the Central Business District over the past month. They aren’t fixed or guaranteed, and this site has no Lyft fare to quote, so compare the Lyft quote in its app against these before you request.
| Uber ride | Uber’s average to downtown |
|---|---|
| UberX | $72 |
| Comfort | $81 |
| Black | $100 |
| UberXL | $94 |
| UberXXL | $113 |
| Black SUV | $124 |
A taxi is metered with a $20 minimum from SEA. Link light rail is $3 for an adult, and weekday trains toward downtown run until 12:05 a.m.
Link wins whenever your hotel is near a station. After the last train, rideshare is one way in, and Uber says it runs 24 hours a day.
Uber Black and other premium rides
Uber Black riders can request luggage assistance, though drivers may not always be able to give it.
If you want a chauffeur, look at a pre-arranged limousine. It must be booked in advance and can’t be metered. Pickup is on the lower Arrival Drive.
If you’d rather have the car waiting
Uber Reserve lets you book a pickup up to 90 days ahead, and Uber says it locks the price and avoids surge pricing. It tracks your flight and tells the driver about schedule changes. You can cancel a reservation free until one hour before pickup.
Uber also says how long a reserved driver waits after your flight lands before late fees apply:
| Ride | Wait after landing |
|---|---|
| UberX, Comfort, UberXL | 45 minutes |
| Black, Black SUV, Premier | 60 minutes |
Bags, groups and assistance
The maximum checked bag size is 62 linear inches, which is length plus width plus depth. If your bags don’t fit, cancel and request a larger ride, then ask for a refund of any cancellation fee.
The Port’s pickup page doesn’t say whether the skybridge route has an elevator. If you need help, have your driver call the Ground Transportation Information Booth at (206) 787-5906. The booth also helps with app-based rideshare. The airport’s directory adds that riders who need assistance can be picked up on the airport drives. For a wheelchair, Prospect Airport Services, (206) 246-1550, brings one free from baggage claim or the garage to your airline’s ticket counter, and the airport’s map marks a wheelchair assistance point at Skybridge 5.
A rider’s report of a pickup gone wrong
FOX 13 Seattle reported on a rider’s Reddit post about a 6 a.m. ride home from the airport. The poster said the app showed a black Tesla, and a car with its trunk open over the license plate waved them over. The poster called that a red flag. The poster said the driver then headed the wrong way on I-5 and asked for money by Venmo.
The report didn’t confirm the poster’s account. Port Commissioner Sam Cho promised police would look into it, and the report recommends calling 911 right away. Uber told FOX 13 to check the driver’s photo against the app, then the car’s plate, make and model. One commenter under the video wrote that confirming the plate “takes 2 seconds.”
The Port also tells riders to refuse offers of transportation from “helpful strangers,” because they may be illegal operators.
Dropping off at departures
App rides drop you on the airport drives. The Port says departures is busiest from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m., and arrivals from 8 p.m. to midnight, so a driver may use the other level. From the arrivals drive, take the elevator or escalator up to ticketing.
If you’re not using an app
A friend collecting you in a private car waits at the free cell phone lot, which has a 20-minute limit and requires drivers to stay with the vehicle. Premier’s door-to-door vans board at a kiosk on garage Level 3.
Sources
Pages on this site:
- App-based rideshare, taxis, Link light rail, pre-arranged limousines, Premier door-to-door
- Baggage claim at Seattle airport
- The Link light rail from SEA airport into Seattle
- SEA airport cell phone lot
Official pages:
- Uber’s SEA pickup page
- Uber’s SEA drop-off page
- Uber’s SEA driver information page
- Sound Transit, 1 Line
- Sound Transit, fares
Traveler video:
- FOX 13 Seattle, “Passenger says fake Uber driver tried to extort money after Sea-Tac pickup”