Which is faster: Driving to the Denver airport or taking the train?

DENVER (KDVR) — Millions of people pass through Denver International Airport each year, and many of those are Denver residents catching a flight out of town.

People have to be able to get to the airport one way or another, and there are two main options available: driving and parking at the airport or using public transit.

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The Regional Transportation District has a dedicated train line that goes directly to the airport, and in some cases, the airport has expressly encouraged the use of it, especially ahead of busy holiday travel.

But which option is ultimately faster, and which one is better on your bank account?

Which is faster?

While the true answer of which option is ultimately faster for each person depends on where you live and other unique factors, there are ways to figure out which could be faster, given certain circumstances.

According to RTD, the train takes around 37 minutes to arrive at the airport from Union Station. On the flip side, driving from downtown Denver to the terminal to drop someone off can take anywhere from 26 minutes to over an hour and a half depending on traffic, according to Google.

However, if you have to park at the airport, that will add some time to your trip that taking public transit could eliminate. According to DIA, walking to the terminal from many closer lots, such as the west and east garages, takes between 5 and 10 minutes.

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Other lots have shuttles that come to pick passengers up. Those can take anywhere from 5 to 7 minutes for the west and east economy lots or from 7 to 10 minutes for the Pikes Peak or Longs Peak lots.

People who want to ride the train are not confined to commuting downtown to do so, either. Several Park-n-Ride stations along the route can be chosen. Because these are located farther along the route, the ride to the airport is shorter than the one from Union Station.

Which is cheaper?

An RTD airport day pass costs $10, and if you plan to take the train to and from the airport, that would be a total cost of $20 outright.

The first day of parking at Park-n-Ride stations is free for vehicles registered in the RTD district, which includes much of the Denver metro area and Boulder. After that, it’s $2 per day. For those outside of the district, it’s $4 per day regardless.

Parking costs vary from lot to lot, with the cheapest being $8 a day on the shuttle lots and the most expensive non-reserve lot being $30 a day for both garages.

Someone living in the metro area and utilizing a Park-N-Ride for a three-day trip will spend the same total amount, $24 for parking plus RTD tickets, as someone parking at one of the $8-a-day shuttle lots for the same number of days. However, the Park-N-Ride would be the cheaper option for trips longer than that.

If you have multiple people in the car the shuttle lots are also a generally more affordable option. A five-day trip would cost $40 for parking one car, or $20 per person if split two ways. That same trip using a Park-N-Ride would cost $20 in RTD tickets per person plus $8 per car for parking for a total of $48 for two people using the same car.

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