Zone 2 town
Durham to RDU airport transfer, reserved ahead of your flight
A Durham to RDU airport transfer covers 14.3 miles and about 22 minutes of open road between City Hall and the Terminal 2 curb. You send a request with your address and flight, the desk checks a Triangle car company for that time, and you get back the fixed rate, the vehicle class and a pickup time before anything is reserved.
- Road miles
- 14.3from the Terminal 2 curb
- Minutes
- 22free-flow, no traffic
- Rate zone
- Zone 2: 16 to 25 minutes
- Sedan from
- $79per car, one way
Route from downtown Durham to the terminals
From the center of town the driver usually heads southeast on the Durham Freeway, NC 147, which carries on as I-885, and joins I-40 going east toward the airport. The last stretch runs along John Brantley Boulevard into the terminal roads. The fastest route has no toll.
Weekday mornings and late afternoons are when the freeway and I-40 fill up, and a single crash on either one can stretch the drive. For that reason a departure pickup adds a 15 minute traffic allowance to the 22 measured minutes, then the curb margin you pick before your flight.
Door times for Durham departures
| Departure time | Car at your door |
|---|---|
| 6:00 am | 3:20 am |
| 7:30 am | 4:50 am |
| 9:00 am | 6:20 am |
| 12:00 pm | 9:20 am |
| 3:30 pm | 12:50 pm |
| 6:45 pm | 4:05 pm |
| 9:30 pm | 6:50 pm |
Pickups at Durham homes, apartments and offices
Requests from Durham come from houses on residential streets, apartment blocks with a gated lot or a front loop, office parks toward the south of the county, and hotels near downtown or along the highways. The driver pulls up at the door you name and waits there, with 15 minutes included.
- The full street address, with unit or building number
- Where the car should stop: front entrance, side lot or loading loop
- A gate or door code if the driver will need one
- How many riders and checked bags, plus the age and weight of each child and whether you bring a seat
Putting these in the request spares a phone call on the morning of the ride.
Starting rates per car from Durham
| Vehicle | Rate from |
|---|---|
| Sedan, 3 riders, 3 bags | $79 |
| SUV, 5 riders, 5 bags | $109 |
| Van, 10 riders, 10 bags | $185 |
Coming home to Durham after landing
Give your flight number in the request. The car company follows the real landing time, and the included 45 minutes of waiting start from it. While you are still in the air, the car waits in the commercial vehicle lot a few minutes from the terminals.
Once your bags are off the carousel, text or call the driver. You meet at the car in the pickup zone outside baggage claim: Zone 1 at Terminal 1, Zone 8 at Terminal 2. The driver stays with the vehicle and does not come inside. From there it is I-40 west and the Durham Freeway back into town, and you pay the fixed rate in the car at the end, by card or cash.
Nearby towns: Research Triangle Park, Chapel Hill, Morrisville
Zone 2 rates
Sedan, SUV or van from Durham
Rates from Durham start at $79 for a sedan, $109 for an SUV and $185 for a van, per car, one way, at any hour. The exact fixed rate for your ride is confirmed with you before you reserve.
+1 (919) 859-4718Our telephone keeps the airport's clock: it is staffed every day from 4:00 am Eastern Time, ahead of the first departures, until the last scheduled arrival of the night is on the ground. For a pickup before 4:00 am, the car company's number in your confirmation reaches the driver's dispatcher. Requests sent through the website form are received 24/7.