Перед поездкой лучше проверить, к какому входу должно подъехать такси.

Because перед takes the instrumental case when it means before in time or in front of in space.

So:

• поездка = trip, ride, journey
• instrumental singular = поездкой

So перед поездкой literally means before the trip / before the ride.

This is a very common pattern:

• перед уроком = before the lesson
• перед встречей = before the meeting
• перед отъездом = before departure

Лучше проверить means it is better to check or you’d better check.

Russian often leaves the person unstated when it is clear from context. So this sentence does not need вам.

You could say:

• Перед поездкой вам лучше проверить... = Before the trip, you had better check...

But without вам, the sentence still sounds completely natural and slightly more general.

This is a common impersonal pattern:

• лучше подождать = it’s better to wait
• лучше спросить = it’s better to ask
• лучше проверить = it’s better to check

Because к какому входу должно подъехать такси is a subordinate clause.

It works like an indirect question:

• Проверить, к какому входу... = Check which entrance...

Russian normally uses a comma before this kind of clause.

Compare:

• Я не знаю, где он живёт. = I don’t know where he lives.
• Нужно уточнить, когда начнётся встреча. = It’s necessary to clarify when the meeting will start.

So here the comma separates:

• main part: Перед поездкой лучше проверить
• subordinate clause: к какому входу должно подъехать такси

It is the dative case, because the preposition к requires the dative.

• к = to, toward
• какой in dative masculine/neuter singular = какому
• вход in dative singular = входу

So:

• к какому входу = to which entrance

This is the normal pattern with к:

• к дому = toward the house
• к врачу = to the doctor
• к остановке = to the bus stop

In this sentence, the taxi is understood as moving toward a particular entrance.

Вход means entrance.

In this sentence, it usually means the correct building entrance or access point where the taxi should pull up. In English, depending on context, that could be:

• entrance
• entryway
• building entrance
• door

But вход is broader than just the physical door itself. It refers to the entrance point.

This is especially common when a building has multiple entrances, and someone needs to know where the taxi should arrive.

Because the subject is такси, and такси is treated as neuter singular in standard Russian.

So the verb and related words agree with it in neuter singular:

• такси подъехало
• такси должно подъехать

That may feel surprising because такси refers to a car or a driver in real life, but grammatically the noun behaves as an indeclinable neuter noun.

Other similar indeclinable nouns can behave the same way.

Here должно usually means something closer to:

• is supposed to
• is meant to
• should
• is expected to

So the sentence is not necessarily saying that the taxi has a strict duty in a moral sense. It is more about the correct arrangement or planned pickup point.

In context, к какому входу должно подъехать такси means something like:

• which entrance the taxi is supposed to come to
• which entrance the taxi should pull up to

So должно here is practical and situational, not dramatic or forceful.

Подъехать specifically means to drive up to or pull up to a place.

That makes it a very natural choice with к какому входу.

Compare:

• приехать = to arrive, to come by vehicle
• подъехать = to drive up to, pull up near
• подойти = to walk up to, come up to on foot

So:

• такси приехало = the taxi arrived
• такси подъехало к входу = the taxi pulled up to the entrance

Since the sentence is about the exact entrance where the taxi should go, подъехать is more precise than приехать.

Because both actions are viewed as single completed actions.

• проверить = to check, to verify once and get the result
• подъехать = to pull up, to arrive at that point

If you used imperfective forms, the meaning would shift.

Compare:

• проверить = check it and finish checking
• проверять = be checking, check repeatedly, check as a process

And:

• подъехать = pull up once
• подъезжать = be pulling up, pull up repeatedly, used as a process or habit

In this sentence, the speaker means:

1. before the trip, do one practical check
2. determine the entrance where the taxi is supposed to pull up

So perfective aspect fits very well.

It can mean either, depending on context.

Поездка is a general noun meaning:

• trip
• ride
• journey

In this sentence, because we are talking about a taxi, many learners will naturally understand перед поездкой as before the ride. But it could also be understood more generally as before the trip, especially if the taxi is only one part of a larger journey.

So the exact English wording depends on the broader situation.

Yes. Russian word order is flexible, although different orders can sound more or less natural depending on focus.

The given version is very natural:

• Перед поездкой лучше проверить, к какому входу должно подъехать такси.

But you could also hear variations such as:

• Лучше перед поездкой проверить, к какому входу должно подъехать такси.
• Перед поездкой лучше проверить, к какому входу такси должно подъехать.

The original order places такси at the end of the clause, which sounds smooth and neutral. Russian often puts new or important information later in the sentence.

Sometimes yes, but it changes the meaning slightly.

• вход = entrance
• подъезд can mean building entrance section in apartment buildings, not just the doorway itself

In many real-life Russian contexts, especially with apartment blocks, подъезд may actually be more specific and more common than вход, depending on what exactly you mean.

So:

• к какому входу = to which entrance
• к какому подъезду = to which building entrance section / stairwell entrance

If the building has several official entrances, вход is fine. If it is an apartment building and people identify entrances by numbered подъезды, then подъезду may be the more practical word.

It is mostly neutral standard Russian.

Nothing in it is especially slangy or highly formal. It would sound natural in many everyday situations, such as travel instructions, hotel communication, or practical advice.

A few parts make it sound slightly organized or instructional:

• лучше проверить = practical advice
• должно подъехать такси = planned arrangement

So overall, it is a normal, clear, neutral sentence.