Los Angeles long has been plagued with horrible traffic congestion, and Los Angeles International Airport has not been spared. But in October, when LAX mandated pickups from ride-hailing services—transportation network companies and taxis—occur at a facility called LAX-it instead of in terminal roadways, congestion became even a bigger mess, according to Snapchat global travel manager Sean Parham, who is based in Los Angeles.
"To counter the traffic that's been caused by the influx of ridehailing, they basically removed Uber, Lyft and the taxis from the pickup point," said Parham. Travelers now must walk or take a free shuttle to a designated lot called LAX-it, though the shuttle picks up passengers at each terminal and uses dedicated lanes to travel directly. LAX-it is a temporary solution until LAX's train, called Automated People Mover, becomes operational in 2023. APM will provide travelers a way to access and depart from the airport.
"It didn't go over smoothly. It's been quite a mess. It has caused some friction for our travelers," Parham said. "We're seeing travelers ask to fly out of other airports rather than going out of LAX now."
But LAX isn't the only airport drawing the ire of Snapchat's travelers because of congestion. Parham's travelers are ditching San Francisco International for San Jose International and Oakland International, and ditching La Guardia Airport for John F. Kennedy International and Newark Liberty International. Parham has discussed with airlines the possibility of shifting Snapchat traveler traffic to airports other than LAX, like Hollywood Burbank, Long Beach or Ontario International, until congestion eases up.
Unfortunately, Snapchat's job candidates and recruits are stuck with LAX." They have to come into LAX because they're usually only here for 24 hours, if even that, so it's a quick turnaround," Parham said. "To stick them at a different airport and put them through traffic is an even worse experience than having to deal with what's going on at LAX." Parham and his team communicate to job candidates about the expected friction.
Clogged with Congestion
The pickup experience at several U.S. airports has worsened due in part to the increased congestion caused by ride-hailing companies like Uber, Lyft and taxis vying to pick up and drop off travelers, according to Parham. "A lot of these airports didn't do a good job of regulating the rideshares when they came on site. We are now dealing with the fallout because they are clogging the roadways, and [coming] up with solutions now becomes really painful because everyone is used to using Uber and Lyft," he said. "It's this catch-22, because we can't do without them, and it is a convenient way to get in and out of the airport. At the same time, it's caused so many problems."
"This is the biggest topic we hear as a company at airport conferences and shows: curb management and curb congestion," said Steven Junkins, a vertical sales manager for SpotHero for Business, a parking reservation platform which works with airport parking facilities. "How do you alleviate the curb congestion at your airport? LAX is kind of the one that everyone has been made aware of over the past few months, in that they have had such an issue with congestion at the curb, with passengers not being able to get to their terminal in a reasonable amount of time."
To deal with increased congestion, La Guardia and airports in San Francisco and Seattle, among others, have provided designated parking spots for ride-hailing services. "We're starting to see a lot of airports position transportation network company pickups areas at the top floor of the parking garage," said Junkins.
At some airports, the pickup spot is near baggage claim. "Our pickup spots are relatively close to our baggage claim areas, so it's not a long trek to get to a ride-hailing pickup point," said San Jose International Airport operations manager Robert Swensen. "Some are pushing it out to outer locations because of the activity that comes with it. Some airports like LAX and Atlanta that have 80 million to 100 million passengers, as opposed to our 15 million, may be seeing an impact on the curb that they feel they have to do something to eliminate some of that congestion."
Ride-hailing companies have worked on strengthening partnerships with airports to maintain convenient and quick services. "About a year and a half ago, we invested in a team that works much more closely with airports, more at an individual level, almost in a consultative way," said Uber head of airport operations Anita Natarajan.
To reduce wait times and improve convenience for travelers, ride-hailing companies have worked with airports to expand the menu of pickup options for travelers at designated spots. In May 2019, Uber piloted at Portland International Airport a program that gives riders a one-time six-digit code to access the first available driver at a pickup zone at no extra cost, then rolled it out to select airports. Dubbed PIN, the feature has cut wait time for riders by 30 percent on average, according to Uber airports business development lead Rob Mitchell. Lyft rolled out its own version at the same time at Portland International.
In the wake of LAX's new pickup policy, Uber and Lyft offered their upgraded services, which are allowed for curbside pickup. Uber, for example, offers Uber Black and Black SU. However, these services are "a bit more costly," so Snapchat restricts them to higher-level employees, Parham said. He has promoted the TNC airport-tailored features like PIN, but he is unsure of how popular these features are with his travelers.
Airports, however, will restrict the options ride-hailing companies can provide to travelers. At Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, where it takes eight to 10 minutes to get to a "faraway" designated pickup area "during a good hour," Uber is not allowed to enable its Rematch feature, which lets drivers make a pickup at the airport immediately after a drop-off without going to the designated pickup area, said Mitchell. Uber is "encouraging" Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood to "enable" the feature, he said.
Some airports have responded to the increased curbside congestion by raising the fees it charges TNCs. Beginning Feb. 1, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport will increase its TNC fees for pickups and drop-offs at its curbs. The airport said the fee structure will ensure TNCs are "treated similar" to other ground transportation suppliers and be "a green incentive" to use its 44th St. PHX Sky Train station. Before the increase was approved by the Phoenix City Council in December, Uber and Lyft threatened to end their operations at the airport.
Airports Experiment with Pricing, Tech
The growth of transportation network companies not only has increased congestion but also has spurred many airports to try creative ways to revamp the parking experience. "Parking revenue as whole has become less of a percentage of non-aeronautical revenue for airports," said SpotHero's Junkins. "Parking revenue has continued to grow as a reflection of passenger travel. However, a lot of that revenue has been replaced or supplemented by TNC fees and so on, so they are trying to figure out ways to fill the empty spaces they are seeing as a result of different transportation options being adopted."
The largest U.S. airports have brought their parking inventory online and offer discounts to encourage online reservations. "Often that will include a discount compared to driving to the airport itself and paying at the gate," said Junkins.
To deal with LAX's congestion, Parham partnered with The Parking Spot, an off-airport parking company, to offer travelers discounted parking so as to avoid taking rideshares or taxis. He's not sure if travelers are taking advantage of it.
Some airports have implemented dynamic parking space pricing based on demand and occupancy levels. Airports will adjust rates on their websites based on length of reservation to encourage longer parking periods.
Many U.S. airports are implementing upgraded parking and revenue control systems that enable online pre-purchasing, mobile phone ticket scanning, toll sensors and license plate recognition. San Jose International Airport, for example, plan to implement parking access revenue control systems, which will enable greater operational flexibility, said Swensen. With it, "we can offer dynamic pricing. We can offer special deals. It gives us more dynamic flexibility," he said. "With license plate recognition, you can enter garages without even having a gate there, because it recognizes your license plate. It starts the clock right when you enter, times you out when you are leaving, and then you just pay accordingly."
Suppliers Push for Influence
Ground transportation suppliers are lobbying U.S. congressmembers to create a stakeholder working group to address issues, including curb management, with airports and federal agencies. Several associations, including the Global Business Travel Association, are lobbying for such a working group to be created as part of the next Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill.
In February 2019, as a federal infrastructure bill was being discussed in Congress, GBTA and the American Bus Association, National Limousine Association, Near Airport Parking Industry Trade Association and the Taxicab, Limousine and Paratransit Association sent a letter to the chairman and ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, urging them to include language in the bill that would create a stakeholder working group.
At GBTA's 2019 Legislative Summit, suppliers and buyers lobbied to take action on three major legislative issues, one of which was an to support the creation of a federal ground transportation working group as part of the infrastructure bill being discussed in Congress.