Finally, Sky Harbor's Sky Train stops at the Rental Car Center. Here's how to ride

"No more waiting in line for shuttle buses!"

That remark from U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton, who was the mayor of Phoenix when the city approved the PHX Sky Train Stage 2 extension to the Rental Car Center at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in 2016, drew the loudest applause at a ribbon cutting for the extension on Dec. 19, 2022.

Seven years after its approval, the Sky Train will begin ferrying airport passengers from Terminals 3 and 4 to the Rental Car Center on Dec. 20, just in time for Christmas and the Super Bowl.

The first trains to travel to and from the Rental Car Center are expected to depart around 4 a.m. Dec. 20, according to airport spokesman Eric Everts.

"At full capacity, the PHX Sky Train will meet the demands for five times as many travelers as it previously served (with the shuttle buses)," Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said during a ribbon cutting for the Sky Train extension on Dec. 19.

Why it matters:Phoenix airport Sky Train to the Rental Car Center opens Tuesday. Here's what we know

Where can passengers travel to the Rental Car Center from?

People can travel to and from the Rental Car Center using the Sky Train via five other stations on the airport grounds, including the new 24th Street Station located along Buckeye Road and Copperhead Drive near Exit 149 of Interstate 10, also opening Dec. 20.

Most passengers are expected to travel from the terminals to get to the Rental Car Center. Here's how to get there and the estimated travel time:

• Terminal 3: Accessible from the platform on Level 5. Travel time is about six minutes.

• Terminal 4: Accessible from the platform on Level 4. Travel time is about eight minutes.

How often do the trains run?

Trains arrive and depart every three to five minutes and will operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

It's free for passengers to use.

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Where in the Rental Car Center does it drop people off?

When the Sky Train arrives at the Rental Car Center station, passengers will depart from a platform across from the center itself. This area is adjacent to the curbside where passengers previously waited for shuttle buses to take them from the center to the terminals.

It's a short walk from the station to the center entrance.

How many people can ride the train at one time?

Each train uses a three-car configuration, and each car can hold 53 passengers. More than 150 passengers can use the train at a given time, according to airport staff.

The airport expects daily ridership of about 35,000 passengers with the extension to the Rental Car Center, compared to about 15,000 passengers per day riding now, Gallego said. But it was developed with future growth in mind and will support a ridership of about 79,000 daily passengers.

She thinks that capacity will prove helpful when the Super Bowl comes to metro Phoenix in February.

"I'm going to go ahead and make a prediction: The day after the Super Bowl will be the busiest day ever for the Sky Train," Gallego said.

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Reach the reporter at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @salerno_phx.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Sky Harbor Airport travelers can take Sky Train to Rental Car Center