The season decides the route
On this coast the route is a calendar question, not a distance question. The same run between the airport and Cannes is not driven the same way on a Tuesday in November and during a major congress week, when hotels are full as far as Antibes and drop-off slots have to be reserved.
Winter has its own rule, and it is written down: from 1 November to 31 March, winter equipment is compulsory in the communes each prefect lists, and only 3PMSF tyres count as an equivalent to removable anti-skid devices. That is not a selling point, it is the framework that decides which vehicle goes up to a resort.
The journal exists because of the gap between what is written about the Riviera and what is actually driven on it.
The three guides, and what they settle
The first takes Nice airport and puts the options side by side: chauffeur service, taxi, shuttle, tram, car hire. Figures, locations inside each terminal, real journey times. It also says when a chauffeur is the wrong answer, which is the only reason anyone reads a comparison to the end.
The second covers getting around without a car: the coastal train, regional coaches, the Nice tram, the boat. Its argument is simple and checkable: on the Riviera the problem is not arriving, it is getting home after 10 pm.
The third deals with the legal and pricing framework. Advance booking is compulsory for a chauffeur service, plying for hire is not allowed, fixed fare versus meter, and what recourse exists in a dispute. It concedes the cases where a taxi is better, starting with a late night out with nothing booked.
What is worth sorting before you travel
Three habits cover all three guides. Give the flight number rather than the arrival time, because actual landing is what gets tracked. Give the exact address rather than the name of a venue, because two places fifteen kilometres apart often share a name. Declare outsize luggage when you book, because a ski case or a golf bag changes which vehicle is sent.
None of that saves money. It saves the fifteen minutes that always get lost in the same place.