Oil and Water: Ride-Hailing and Airport Traffic

It's not your imagination. Surface traffic at airports is worse than ever, according to this article, because of ride-hailing companies.

1 minute read

August 20, 2019, 8:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


SFO Departures

Must have been a Saturday. | Kenishirotie / Shutterstock

"Traffic at the airports — even before you get inside — has gotten worse," according to an article by Julie Weed that confirms everyone's suspicions. "The cause is not just the record number of travelers. It’s also the shift to ride sharing."

Airports are starting to make changes to accommodate all the new cars, according to Weed, like creating "separate areas for ride-share companies and larger off-site lots for waiting."

Ride-hailing companies have also responded by "adding new capabilities to their apps, matching, for example, drivers who have just dropped off passengers with people waiting to be picked up, cutting down the time vehicles are circulating and waiting." Another new feature, currently being tested at La Guardia in New York Cty, offers a code that mimics the traditional taxi line.

The article includes more specifics from the example provided by San Francisco International, which is space constrained with a freeway on one side and the San Francisco Bay on the other.

Monday, August 19, 2019 in The New York Times

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