Getting from El Paso International Airport to the city

The route the airport recommends does not go there

• El Paso International's ground transportation page says the airport is reachable by two Sun Metro options, and names Route 33, describing daily service between the Five Points Transit Center and the airport via Loretto Academy and Bassett Place.
• Sun Metro's own Route 33 page says something else. It describes Route 33 as running from the Five Points Transit Center to El Paso Community College Valle Verde Campus, with Loretto Academy as a point of interest. The airport is not mentioned.
• Sun Metro's current published schedule data settles it. Under the Sun Metro Rising 2025 network, valid 14 June to 12 December 2026, Route 33's closest stop to the terminal building is about 3 km away, at Clark and Trowbridge. It does not serve the airport.

What actually calls at the airport

• The stop is the El Paso Airport RTS Station, roughly 280 metres from the terminal building. Two services use it:
• Route 208, Brio Montana, the rapid transit line along Montana Avenue. Weekdays it runs from about 05:18 to 21:11; Saturdays and Sundays roughly 08:18 to 19:37.
• Route 50, Montana, in two variants, via Downtown and via the Eastside Terminal. Weekdays about 05:18 to 21:36, Saturday about 06:18 to 20:36, Sunday about 07:18 to 19:36.
• Both of those have a Sunday and holiday schedule. Route 33 does not: Sun Metro lists it among the routes without holiday schedules, which is consistent with the airport's own warning that Route 33 does not run on city holidays. The warning is right; the route is wrong.

Paying

• Standard fare 1.50 dollars, day pass 3.50, weekly 12, monthly 48. Military 1.00 dollar, seniors 65 and over and disabled passengers 0.50, children 5 and under free with an adult.
• Transfers are free but must be requested from the driver as you board. Ask on the way in, not when you change.
• On New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day the system runs a Sunday and holiday schedule.

Taxis

• Taxis at El Paso International are licensed by the City of El Paso and metered. There is no published flat airport fare, so the meter is the fare.
• The staging area is directly outside baggage claim and operates 24 hours a day, which makes the taxi the only ground option that always works at this airport, including on the holidays when the bus drops to a Sunday schedule.
• If something goes wrong, the complaint route is unusual: the airport directs ground transportation problems, taxis, limousines and shuttles alike, to the El Paso Police Department Vehicle for Hire Division on 915-212-4097 or 915-212-4098.

Apps

• The airport's permitted pre-arranged rides are Uber, Lyft and Andale Ride, a local operator that also holds an airport taxi permit. All three are sanctioned here, which is not the case at every US airport this size.

Across the border, and to Las Cruces

• El Paso sits on the border, and several of the airport's permitted shuttle operators run into Ciudad Juarez: American Shuttle 915-630-5935, Border Crossing Shuttle 915-740-1145, Juarez / El Paso Shuttle Service 915-740-4400.
• For Las Cruces, New Mexico, permitted operators include At My Door Shuttle 575-571-2943 and J & E Mobile / Las Cruces Shuttle 575-525-1784.
• All commercial shuttles here are pre-arranged only. There is no shuttle desk to walk up to. Book before you fly, or fall back on the taxi rank.

Two free things

• The long term parking courtesy shuttle is free and runs around the clock, but it will only collect you from a marked shuttle stop, for pedestrian safety.
• A courtesy hotel phone bank sits directly in front of baggage claim, connecting to the airport hotels so you can call a hotel van rather than pay for a ride.