Columbia and Waterloo, IL to St. Louis Airport Car Service

Black Car Service drives Columbia and Waterloo, Illinois travelers to Lambert airport for a flat $140 to $175 in a Cadillac XT6 or Lyriq, or $200 to $250 in a Cadillac Escalade ESV or Chevrolet Suburban Premier. From Monroe County, Lambert is about 29 to 37 miles and MidAmerica St. Louis Airport about 25 to 31 miles, so the airport you choose usually comes down to your airline, not the drive.

Distances and fares to Lambert

We measured each route from the center of town with OpenStreetMap routing. The fares come from our published distance table, and the booking page shows the exact fare for your address before you pay.

The usual route crosses the Mississippi on I-255 at the Jefferson Barracks Bridge and runs north through St. Louis County. The chauffeur may go through downtown instead if the interstate is slow that day.

Distances and fares to MidAmerica

MidAmerica is a little shorter by miles, but by our route estimates the drive times are close to even.

Which airport should you pick?

• ●MidAmerica, at 9656 Air Terminal Drive in Mascoutah, is served by Allegiant with flights mostly to Florida plus Las Vegas, Myrtle Beach and Savannah, according to flymidamerica.com.
• ●Lambert has American, Delta, United, Alaska, Frontier, Air Canada and Southwest, plus British Airways and Lufthansa international flights, according to flystl.com.
• ●Southwest flies to 49 nonstop destinations from Lambert's Terminal 2.
• ●If the flight is not on Allegiant, it is from Lambert, and our airport car service handles both.

Rides into downtown St. Louis

Columbia and Waterloo are closer to downtown St. Louis than to either airport, which makes a flat-rate ride an easy choice for a Blues game, a concert or dinner without anyone driving home.

For a night with several stops, hourly service keeps one chauffeur with you all evening: $100 an hour in the XT6, $105 in the Lyriq, $125 in the Suburban Premier and $150 in the Escalade ESV, each with a 3-hour minimum.

Waterloo nights out work the same way. At about 24 miles, a one-way ride downtown is $125 in the XT6 or Lyriq, so two one-way rides for a couple cost $250 in total. If the evening has dinner, a game and a stop after, the 3-hour minimum in the XT6 at $300 keeps the same chauffeur with you and the car waiting outside each stop.

Early flights from Monroe County

Lambert's security checkpoints open at 3:30 a.m., and the TSA advises arriving 2 hours before boarding, according to flystl.com. From Waterloo, a 6 a.m. boarding time means a pickup around 3:00. Pickups between midnight and 5:59 a.m. carry a flat $40 after-hours fee, shown in your total before you pay.

What is included

• ●A flat fare set before you book, with no surge pricing.
• ●Flight status monitoring on arrivals.
• ●30 minutes of waiting on airport pickups in the XT6, Lyriq and Suburban, and 45 minutes in the Escalade ESV.
• ●Luggage help and a vehicle sized to your group, up to 14 in the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter.

Monroe County travelers flying with family often need more room than they expect. Four people with four large suitcases fit in the Cadillac XT6 or Lyriq, but add golf clubs or a car seat and the Chevrolet Suburban Premier or Escalade ESV, each with room for up to 6 bags, is the safer choice.