Airport ride reservations from a downtown Salt Lake City, UT office

A shift in Suite 621, start to finish

The site takes airport ride requests online 24/7 in Salt Lake City, UT, and each one waits in the order it came in. Whatever arrived after hours gets a written answer within the first hour after the phone opens, by 4 p.m. on a weekday or by 9 a.m. on a weekend day. A request sent while the phone is answered, at least 90 minutes before closing, gets its answer within 90 minutes.

Reading a request means checking the street address against the grid, the riders and checked bags against the car size, and noting the flight number, which goes to the company so its written fare can say how it handles an early or late landing. A sedan seats three at most, an SUV six. Then we write to one local car company for that corner and ask for its written fare. When the fare comes back, it goes straight to you. Your yes goes on to the company, and the company sends its confirmation in writing. Rides are arranged from the day after the reply is due.

Which company hears about which corner

A company gets asked about a corner because it serves that part of the valley and answers in writing. One company per request means one written fare to read, with the car, the price and the pickup time stated on the page rather than promised over the phone.

The valley splits by road more than by name. A request for a private car to SLC from West Jordan, UT goes to one local company that serves that part of the valley, and the drive follows 7800 South to Bangerter Highway and never touches an interstate. A request from Holladay or Sandy goes to one that serves the center and southeast, where the route runs on I-15 and I-80.

Four jobs that stay with the car company

The office arranges, and the company carries out. We take no card, and the site has no payment page. The written fare becomes a fixed rate for that ride once you say yes and the company confirms it, and nothing is held for you before that point. The quote is free, and asking for one puts you under no obligation.

That split puts every promise about the ride in the hands of the company that drives it. A booking exists only when the company's written confirmation says so, and anything the company adds, such as garage parking when its driver will meet at terminal baggage claim with a name sign, shows on its fare first. The four jobs that belong to the company are these:

• Driving: a sedan for up to three riders or an SUV for up to six.
• Price: the final figure, set in writing, per car, each way.
• Confirmation: a written note from the company that your ride is reserved.
• Payment: you pay the company directly, and riders pay the office nothing.

Reading each address as a grid point

Nearly every address in Salt Lake County is a coordinate on one countywide grid, counted north or south and east or west of the corner of Main Street and South Temple Street. The office sits at 100 South and 10 West, one block from that starting corner. So 1300 E 2100 S means house 1300 East on the 2100 South street, and every city and township in the county counts the same way.

The grid tells us where you are. It does not set the fare: grid numbers are not miles, and the price follows road miles from your corner to the terminal, in six bands that run from up to 8 to up to 25. Rose Park shows why. It sits closest to the airport in a straight line, yet its road bends around the rail yards by I-15, so the drive to the terminal comes to 7.5 miles. The airport front itself sits near 710 North and 3910 West.