BY ROB SMENTEK
Cover Art: SRTC Limo Worldwide CEO Guri Rajput with a sampling of the company’s fleet. Photography by Dominick Olson of PNW Productions. SRTC Limo Worldwide CEO Guri Rajput isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. As the company celebrates its 10th anniversary as an award-winning operation in the Seattle, Wash., market, it’s not unusual to find him cleaning his fleet, shining rims, or even getting down and changing a tire. “One morning I pulled up and saw a new chauffeur with a jack in his hand,” says Rajput. “He couldn’t figure out how to change his tire, and he was just going to give up. I said, ‘Let me change it for you.’ I want our team to know that I’m not afraid to do the hard work.”
That small action reflects the culture at SRTC. While Rajput wants things done properly, he’s willing to lend a hand.
“If we need the help, Guri will come and chauffeur,” adds Vice President of Operations Carmen Kaur. “He’s always willing to come and show us how to do things properly. None of the team is scared to call him when they need help. They know, if they call Guri, he’s going to answer and he’s going to help them out. Guri really instills this into the whole team.”
While he may be the owner, he believes each member of the staff is just as responsible for the company as he is. He encourages everyone to take ownership, whether it’s the back-office staff or chauffeurs.
“This is their company too. If something goes wrong with a chauffeur, it’s going to trickle down like a domino effect. We can book all the rides we want, but if we’re not delivering on the front end, what’s the point? That’s why people know us in Seattle and globally. Even our affiliates choose us because they know that our chauffeurs have it together,” says Rajput.
Rajput (left) with his father Surinder Singh Rajput’s work ethic—and love of luxury transportation—have been guiding principles since he was a young man in Moga, India. For example, it wouldn’t be unusual to find him handing out tickets at Malwa Transportation, the bus company founded by his grandfather. “My family has always been embedded in transportation,” says Rajput. “When I was 5 years old, I’d try and be a boss of the employees at the bus company. I learned from my grandfather at a very young age how to run a company properly. That’s where my love of vehicles came from.”
Flash forward to 2008, when Rajput moved to the United States with his family—trading an opulent lifestyle for 18- to 22-hour workdays.
“I was working three jobs from the time I got to America. Initially, I worked as a pharmacy technician at an assisted living facility. Then I was working at a gas station while also delivering pizza at night. I did this for three and a half years,” says Rajput.
Unfortunately for the young entrepreneur, his investment in a Chevron gas station went south due to a business disagreement, causing him to scramble to make ends meet. That’s when he turned to his love of transportation.
Rajput (third from left) with members of his chauffeur team “I knew I had to do something, right? And I always loved vehicles—fast cars, pretty cars—and I was good at customer service. So, I bought a fully loaded Chrysler 300,” says Rajput. But immediately he knew there was a line he wouldn’t cross.
“The number-one thing I told everyone was that I wouldn’t become an Uber or Lyft driver. With the Chrysler, it would have been easy to go into Uber Black. But instead, my dad, Surinder Singh, and I took the car downtown. We’d sit outside hotels—sometimes at 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning at Hotel 1000 in Seattle—trying to land five or six trips a day just to cover our expenses,” says Rajput.
After purchasing the car and getting the appropriate permits, Seattle Royal Town Car was born. Soon, hotels and clients started relying on the burgeoning operator, calling him for work.
“My first booking was for a client to see the Tulip Festival in Skagit Valley. It was not even a $200 job, but it was the first official trip and very exciting. After that, though, the business really took off.”
Around the six-month mark, the business started to expand.
Rajput and his mother Baljinder Kaur “I bought a GMC Denali, and then shortly after that, a Ford Transit. Once we got that shuttle van, that’s when the business really took off, because we were able to do larger group work,” says Rajput. “Within that first year, we switched over to an Escalade because Guri just saw a better market for it,” says Kaur. “He wanted to do the luxury experience, so he invested in an Escalade, and then he invested in an S-Class, and we also got one Mercedes Sprinter. We wanted to make sure, even if we had a little fleet, that we had the most premium fleet that we could offer. That’s our reputation: We don’t have the most cars in the market, but we know we have the best chauffeurs, and we have the best vehicles.”
Eventually, the company began to make a name in the Seattle market, growing a strong client base while staying on top of technology.
“We’ve always had a mobile app for our clients—for 10 years—whether it was a basic app or what we have now on Santa Cruz. We’ve always been ahead of the curve on technology and that’s what helped us grow,” says Rajput.
Soon, Rajput began attending the industry trade shows, forming valuable partners and building an affiliate network, thanks to longtime colleagues like Andrew Tighe of RMA Worldwide and Laurie Alfonso of Vitesse Worldwide, whom he and Kaur credit for helping shape their program. As the company’s reach increased, a rebrand followed.
“We changed our name to SRTC because we began offering global services to our clients beyond Seattle,” says Rajput as his company was broadening its reach beyond its Seattle borders. “We also had affiliates that we connected with in other markets, so we just needed to shorten the name to make it easier for our clients.”
To help with a growing affiliate network, the SRTC team recently added a key staffer, industry veteran Ariadna Noches. She joins the team as head of business development and global affiliate relationships.
SRTC Limo Worldwide CEO Guri Rajput with a fleet of the company’s luxury vehicles “Bringing Ari on was a no-brainer for us,” says Kaur. “We’ve been friends for quite a while, and her joining the team is such a blessing. And not only that, her reputation in the industry is virtually unmatched. Her big role is business development and affiliate relationships—really nurturing the clients and affiliates we have. And she’s not afraid to learn or reach out to individuals. She’s really going to help us take the company to that next level.” Similarly, Maddy Arora joined the SRTC team last year as head of dispatch and has helped grow the department immensely.
“She thinks so much like us. If we’re out and about, or if we’re dealing with an event, we know we can trust her to take care of everything and take over daily operations,” says Rajput.
Today, SRTC currently runs a fleet of nearly 30 vehicles. Rajput and Kaur share that their most popular option for clients is the Cadillac Escalade.
“I know people in this industry are big to say that it doesn’t matter what the vehicle is, but it does matter. Our clients don’t want to hire a 2015 Suburban. It’s not happening. If you promise a high level of service, it does matter, because these clients could hop in an Uber Black instead. But when we’re truly offering that luxury high-end service, our clients want our Escalades. Even when they go to other markets, we promise them Escalades,” says Rajput.
Another ultra-luxe vehicle option for SRTC is the company’s Rolls-Royce Ghost sedan.
“That vehicle is very popular with weddings, but also proms and just couples doing something special. Also, a lot of our VIP clientele, the ones who book corporate for us, started booking the Rolls for one-off events when they have exclusive dinners or the like. We’ve sort of made it a habit of reaching out and saying ‘When’s your anniversary coming up? We’d love to give you and your husband or you and your wife a complimentary ride in the Rolls-Royce to dinner.’ Because we’re really big on treating our customers like family,” says Kaur.
A chauffeur from the company’s recent Spokane Black Car Service branch Recently, the company expanded their reach and opened a second branch nearly 300 miles away in Spokane. “Our new division is called Spokane Black Car Service, where we run about five cars right now,” says Rajput. “Being around for 10 years and opening the Spokane branch is such a big deal for us; 2026 is just a game-changing year. We’re excited to offer a high level of service that has been missing for so long. And it’s just thrilling to see the company grow like this.”
Rajput is particularly excited about the six FIFA World Cup matches coming to the Seattle area in 2026. These matches come hot off a stellar season for the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, who won Super Bowl LX, as well as a winning season for the Seattle Mariners MLB team.
“I’m a huge sports fan and serve on the Seattle Sports Commission. I have been a die-hard Seahawks fan since day one. It’s just a super exhilarating time for the city. It’s great to see the city doing well, and it also works well for our business. It’s just been a really good year for sports out here,” he says.
As Rajput looks to 2026 and beyond, he has found the experience of being a luxury ground transportation operator particularly fulfilling.
“The most rewarding thing is making my dad proud,” he says. “My dad passed away three years ago, but that’s like his biggest thing. I still find myself saying, ‘I wish he was here to see this.’ Because when you start from one car and you have that struggle, it’s difficult for him not to be here to finally reap the rewards.”
Fortunately, Rajput says his mom—Baljinder Kaur—has helped him since his dad’s passing by keeping him motivated.
“She’s really just a person I can bounce ideas off of. She pushes me to grow and keep the company going,” he says.
“It’s really about legacy,” adds Kaur. “Ultimately, we’re still a very new company. But to win awards and be recognized as one of the best companies in Seattle, we take a lot of pride in that.” [CD0326]
