You’ve been in a seat for five hours, or fifteen. The bags finally come round, you walk out of arrivals, and now you need a ride home. That should be the easy part. Too often it isn’t: a long taxi queue, a car that’s too small for your suitcases, or a rideshare price that’s doubled because three flights landed at once.
We do Perth Airport taxi runs every day, and most of the problems we hear about come down to the same few things. Here’s how to avoid them.
First, know which terminal you’re landing at
This catches people out all the time. Perth Airport isn’t one building. It’s two separate terminal areas on opposite sides of the airfield:
- T1 handles international flights and some domestic airlines.
- T2 sits right next to T1 and handles regional and domestic flights, including a lot of FIFO services.
- T3 and T4 are on the other side of the airport and are used by Qantas and QantasLink, including some Qantas international flights.
Every terminal has its own signposted taxi rank outside arrivals, separate from the rideshare pick-up area. But if you tell a driver to meet you at T1 and you’re actually on a Qantas flight into T3, you’ve both got a problem. Check your booking, not your memory.
The taxi rank: fine for some trips, a gamble for others
Walking up to the rank needs no planning. You join the queue and take the next car. On a quiet weekday afternoon, travelling on your own with a carry-on bag, that’s often all you need.
It starts to go wrong when:
- A few big flights land together and the queue backs up.
- There are five of you, and the next car in line is a sedan.
- You’ve got the suitcases, the pram and the car seat, and they won’t all fit in one boot.
- It’s 1am and you just want to know someone’s waiting.
That’s when booking ahead earns its keep.
What it costs
Rank taxis run on a meter, so the price depends on distance, traffic and the time of day. Higher tariffs generally apply at night, on weekends and on public holidays, and paying by card can add a surcharge. The Department of Transport WA sets the current metered rates, if you want the official figures.
When you book with us, you get a fixed fare upfront instead. Sitting in traffic on the freeway doesn’t change what you pay. Our approximate one-way fares from Perth Airport:
| Destination | Approx. fare |
|---|---|
| Perth CBD | $80 |
| Fremantle | $100 |
| Scarborough | $120 |
| Joondalup | $165 |
| Rockingham | $210 |
| Mandurah | $230 |
That’s per vehicle, not per person, which matters a lot once there’s a group. For anywhere else, ask us for a quote from your exact address. There’s also a suburb-by-suburb breakdown in our guide to how much a taxi from Perth Airport costs.
When you need a maxi cab, not a normal taxi
A standard taxi takes four people and a modest amount of luggage. That’s fine for a work trip. It’s not fine for a family of five coming home from six weeks overseas.
Rule of thumb: if there are five or more of you, or more bags than a car boot will take, book a maxi cab. Otherwise you’ll likely end up splitting into two taxis at the rank. That means two fares, and half the family waiting at the house for the other half.
Our fleet covers 1 to 13 passengers:
- Standard Maxi Cab: 1 to 7 people
- Large Maxi Cab: 8 to 12 people
- 13-seater: for the bigger groups
Surfboards, golf clubs, prams, the lot. Just tell us what’s coming when you book so we send the right vehicle. Child seats and wheelchair-accessible vans are available too.
How to book with us
It takes a couple of minutes:
- Fill in our online booking form with your name, contact details, pickup and drop-off, number of passengers, vehicle type, date and time, and whether it’s one-way or return.
- Put your flight number and terminal in the message box. This is the important bit.
- We’ll confirm the booking with you directly.
Rather talk to a person? Call or WhatsApp +61 433 530 152. We answer 24/7.
Why the flight number matters: we track your flight. If it lands 40 minutes early or two hours late, the pickup moves with it, and you don’t need to ring us from the plane.
A few habits that make every pickup smoother
- Save our number before you fly, not when you’re standing in arrivals with patchy data.
- Get one phone working on landing. If you’ve been overseas, make sure at least one person in your group has roaming or a local SIM sorted, so you can call the driver.
- Tell us about big delays or a change of flight. We track flights, but if you’ve been rebooked onto a different flight, we won’t know unless you tell us.
- Going out on an early flight? Book the night before at the latest. Finding a taxi at 4am is not something you want to leave to chance with a flight to catch.
The short version
Travelling alone with light bags at a quiet time? The rank is fine. Group, family, lots of luggage, a late arrival or an early departure? Book ahead, give us your flight number, and we’ll be there when you walk out. It’s one less thing to think about at the end of a long trip.
Book your Perth Airport transfer or call +61 433 530 152. See our airport transfer page for more routes.
Quick answers
Where is the taxi rank at Perth Airport?
Each terminal has its own signposted rank outside arrivals. T1 and T2 are next to each other; T3 and T4, used by Qantas, are on the other side of the airport.
How much is a taxi from Perth Airport to the CBD?
With us, a fixed fare to the Perth CBD is around $80 one way, for the whole vehicle. Metered rank taxis vary with traffic and time of day, and they cost more at night, on weekends and on public holidays.
Should I pre-book or just use the taxi rank?
The rank works for solo travellers with light luggage at quiet times. Pre-book for groups, families, lots of luggage, late-night arrivals and early-morning departures.
How many people fit in a maxi cab?
Our maxi cabs take up to 13 passengers in one vehicle, with room for their luggage.