Certified Affiliate Partners

One network, one standard, agreed in writing.

When a date fills up, or a client wants a vehicle we do not own, the trip goes to a partner we picked on purpose. These are working relationships we have built over time, not names off a list.

Our partners own their own companies. Some of them chase the same clients we do, and that is fine. They joined the Arion platform because the standard is written down, the pay is agreed before the trip, and the work is steady. On an Arion trip they represent Arion, and we back them the way we back our own chauffeurs.

Certification is something a partner earns: 17 documents on file, PUC operating authority, commercial insurance, a criminal background check, a current DOT medical card, 90% or better on a 75-question exam over our Driver Excellence Manual with 100% on the safety sections, and a second exam on Arion’s own service and brand standards. 7 companies have earned it. 8 more are working through the exams and carry Arion trips today as Vetted partners, and with ski season coming we expect most of them to finish before the snow flies.

Certification also changes how a partner gets work. Every open trip is posted to the Arion driver app at drivers.ridearion.com with the date, the route, the vehicle class and the pay before anyone claims it — no phone tag, no guessing what the trip pays. Certified partners are alerted first and hold that trip for 15 minutes; after that it opens to Vetted partners and the first to claim it gets it. Certified partners also carry the highest pay rate of the three tiers, see their full ride and payout history in the app, and can send dispatch a counter offer on a trip instead of turning it down.

How we got here

Before Revision 4 of our manual, most of our network operators did not take a test to get work from Arion. We did what the industry does: we accepted the state limited-liability filing and the PUC paperwork as proof, and we trusted the operator to run a clean trip. That works when you know every driver by name.

Then we grew. More operators, more chauffeurs, more nights where the trip was not ours to drive. State filings tell you a company exists and is insured. They tell you nothing about whether the driver knows how Arion greets a client at Denver curbside, what we do when a flight goes sideways, or which of our rules never bend.

So we built the testing platform ourselves. Every partner and chauffeur reads the Driver Excellence Manual and signs it, and we keep the record with dates. Our Certified partners go further and pass two exams — one on the manual, one on Arion itself — because the manual teaches the standard and only the second proves they know the brand they are representing. The paperwork proves they are legitimate. The exams prove they know Arion inside and out.

The Tiers

The Network

Independent operators we trust with our clients. Every company here owns its own business, holds its own operating authority and its own commercial insurance, and has signed our Driver Excellence Manual. The tier tells you which exams they have passed and what work they are eligible for.

Certified Partners

Both exams passed — the manual and Arion’s own service and brand standards. They carry any trip we have, hourly, corporate and VIP included, and they get first offer on new work. The companies below carry the Arion Certified Driver badge, which is issued to a partner only while every document, signature and exam on file is current.

Vetted Partners

Licensed, insured and verified in the state they drive in, with the manual signed and on file. The exams are the step they have not taken yet, so they carry transfers and one-off trips, and corporate account work once our Certified partners are booked. These are operators we use and trust — they are on this page for the same reason the Certified companies are.

7 Certified and 8 Vetted companies today. A partner moves up the day they pass both exams, and this page is updated when they do. Anyone still completing their documents is left off until the file is complete.

Drive With Us

You need Colorado PUC authority, your own commercial insurance and a clean record. Then the manual and the exam. Read what the training covers, then apply and we will take it from there. Once you are approved, your trips, your pay and your documents all live in the driver app.

Farming Work to Arion

If you are an operator or a DNC placing a trip in Colorado, this is what you are buying and what we commit to in writing. No portal to learn, no exclusivity, no volume minimum.

Authority and insurance

Arion, LLC holds Colorado PUC authority LL-04689 and carries $1.5 million in automobile liability and $5 million in general liability. Certificate of insurance on request, before the first trip. We are a licensed carrier operating our own vehicles and our own chauffeurs, and every trip we place with a partner goes to an operator we have vetted, credentialed and dispatched ourselves.

Rates and payment

Affiliate rates are all-in and negotiated up front — one number, agreed in writing before the trip, with no surcharge stack added afterward. Payment is due within 24 hours of trip completion. Our authority, insurance and compliance package is available on request, before the first trip. Our retail rates are never discussed with your client; that is written into our manual.

Dispatch hours

Dispatch is available 24 hours a day, every day, for any trip on our books — in progress, tomorrow morning or next month. Call (970) 703-4995 and you reach a person, not a voicemail box. Flight delays are watched on our side: a disrupted flight is never cancelled on our own initiative.

How fast we answer

Between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. Mountain we confirm or decline an affiliate request in writing within 60 minutes. A decline is a real answer and you get it fast, so you can place the trip elsewhere while there is still time. Outside those hours a new request needs a phone call to dispatch at (970) 703-4995, and an after-hours booking carries a $75 rush fee on top of the negotiated rate. Trips already on our books are handled around the clock at no extra charge.

Client protection, both directions

When we drive for an affiliate, we represent the affiliate. Your passenger hears your company name, not ours — no Arion cards, no Arion branding in the cabin, no marketing handed to a client who belongs to you, and no follow-up from us after the trip. Our manual binds every Arion chauffeur and every certified partner driver to that standard. We ask the same in return: a client you meet through an Arion trip stays an Arion client. We will sign a mutual non-solicitation agreement on request, and we expect operators who farm work to us to hold the same line.

Who drives your client

Arion chauffeurs in Arion vehicles first — 82.6% of our trips, including a substantial boost in activity during the winter months for ski resort transfers. When the date is full or the vehicle is one we do not own, the trip goes to a partner operator who has signed the same manual and whose authority and insurance we verify — a Certified partner first, and Certified partners have also passed our 75-question manual exam and a second exam on Arion itself. Ask us and we will tell you which carrier is on the reservation before the trip runs.

Questions

What is an Arion affiliate partner?

A licensed ground transportation company that drives Arion trips. They sign our Driver Excellence Manual before they carry an Arion client, and our Certified partners also pass a 75-question exam on it. Our hotel and event partners are a different thing: they send us business, they do not drive.

How do you vet them?

We check the PUC number, the insurance certificate, a criminal background check and a current DOT medical card, and we record the date on each one. We remind partners before anything expires, and trips pause until the new document is in.

Will Arion drive my trip, or a partner?

Arion first, and usually Arion. 82.6% of our trips are driven by our own chauffeurs — including a substantial boost in activity during the winter months for ski resort transfers. A partner gets the trip when the date is full or the vehicle is one we do not own. Ask us and we will tell you which carrier is on your reservation.

How do you know that?

We counted them from our own dispatch records, which show every trip assigned to a partner operator and paid out. Ask and we will send you the breakdown.

Have partners always had to pass a test?

No. Before Revision 4 of our manual we accepted state limited-liability filings and PUC authority as our source documents, the way most of the industry still does. As the network grew we wanted a way to confirm what a driver actually knows, so we built our own testing platform. Every partner and chauffeur signs the manual, and Certified partners pass a 75-question exam on it plus a second exam on Arion’s own service and brand standards. The current revision is Rev 7.

How do I become one?

You need Colorado PUC authority, your own commercial insurance and a clean record. Apply, sign the manual, pass the exam, and we will start sending you work. Rates are agreed up front, and you keep your own business.

How do affiliate rates and payment work?

Affiliate rates are all-in and negotiated up front: one number, agreed in writing before the trip, with no surcharge stack added afterward. Payment is due within 24 hours of trip completion. Our authority, insurance and compliance package is available on request, before the first trip. Our retail rates are never discussed with your client.

Who answers dispatch after midnight?

Dispatch is available 24 hours a day, every day, for any trip on our books: in progress, tomorrow morning or next month. Call (970) 703-4995 and you reach a person, not a voicemail box. A disrupted flight is never cancelled on our own initiative.

How fast will you confirm an affiliate request?

Between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. Mountain we confirm or decline an affiliate request in writing within 60 minutes. Outside those hours a new request needs a phone call to dispatch at (970) 703-4995, and an after-hours booking carries a $75 rush fee on top of the negotiated rate. Trips already on our books are handled around the clock at no extra charge.

Does Arion have a written client-protection policy for affiliates?

Yes, and it runs both directions. When Arion drives for an affiliate we represent that affiliate: the passenger hears your company name, there is no Arion branding or marketing in the cabin, and there is no follow-up from us after the trip. Every Arion chauffeur and certified partner driver is bound to that standard in our manual. We ask the same in return, and we will sign a mutual non-solicitation agreement on request.