UBER/Ride-Share vs TF Green - The Battle Continues

[rjsuperfly66]

Uber suspending services to T.F. Green Airport

WARWICK, R.I. (WPRI) — Ride-sharing platform Uber announced Friday it will stop picking up passengers at T.F. Green International Airport due to disputes with airport officials over fees.

According to a spokesperson for Uber, the company will suspend pickups at the airport starting next week. The company said it tried to work with the airport to come to an agreement for nearly a year, but a compromise was never met.

According to Uber, T.F. Green's ride-sharing fee is $6 per ride, while taxis only pay $1.50 to pick up passengers at the terminal.

Eyewitness News received a statement from Uber, stating the company had "no other choice" but to suspend its services:

“T.F. Green doubled an already high fee on Rhode Islanders who use ride-sharing services at the airport, making it the highest fee at any airport in the country. For nearly a year, Uber has tried to work with the airport in order to come to a reasonable agreement that ensures that Rhode Island residents and visitors can get an affordable ride, but unfortunately, the airport has been unwilling to do so.”

Uber said it has been able to work with airports around the country to reduce these fees such as Atlanta, where fees are $3.85, and Memphis, where fees are $2. The company said it has also worked with Logan Airport in Boston, which has a fee of $3.25.

T.F. Green Airport officials said the decision Uber made is "their choice alone" and they are disappointed to inconvenience their passengers.

"For the past several months, they have employed heavy-handed negotiating tactics in an attempt to pressure the Rhode Island Airport Corporation to lower fees," The Rhode Island Airport Corporation said in a statement. "This is a tactic they are employing at every major airport in the country. We will not be bullied by Uber."

RIAC said because of ride-sharing services like Uber, the airport has lost money from revenue sources like long-term parking and rental cars.

"We are mandated by federal law to be self-sustaining and must generate revenue to support the operations of the airport," RIAC said.

RIAC said it understands Uber is a popular mode of transportation with the airport's passengers and encouraged passengers to contact Uber if they are upset about the change.

Lyft, another ride-share company, will still be offering rides to and from the airport.

A spokesperson for Lyft said while the company will continue to provide rides for passengers at T.F. Green, they believe the fees are too high:

"For a long time, we've been glad to be able to offer pickups and drop-offs for travelers at PVD. While we feel that the current fees imposed at PVD are too high, we are committed to working collaboratively with the airport to find a solution. We intend to continue our conversations with the airport in hopes of identifying a solution that provides convenient transportation for passengers and earning opportunities for drivers."

http://www.wpri.com/news/local-news/wes ... 1146878737

[ATPTourFan]

Airport can’t justify being 2 or 3 times more expensive than others. I’m with Uber on this one. At least be in the same ballpark with the fee.

[RhowdyRam02]

We should be competitive with other airports, but I do have to chuckle a little at Uber. They've used their advantages to choke out taxis and now want to complain when taxis have an advantage over them.

[rjsuperfly66]

I'm still surprised it's something that can be legislated against ... For example, if I call Aunt Sally to pick me up at the airport, she comes and picks me up right at the front of the terminal. If I decide I want to take a taxi home, I walk to the taxi stand and am set up with a taxi. I don't understand why if I decide I want to Uber/Lyft, I have to walk to a special ride-sharing area. When I was in Vegas last June, the walk to the ride-sharing area was just obnoxious. I get that the airport gets a cut from the taxi business and also from parking revenue, but frankly, that's not my problem. As a paying guest to their airport, I should be able to solicit whoever I would like to pick me up in an reasonably accessible location. Maybe I'm misguided, I'm just surprised at what these airports are able to do to the ride-sharing companies.

[SGreenwell]

We should be competitive with other airports, but I do have to chuckle a little at Uber. They've used their advantages to choke out taxis and now want to complain when taxis have an advantage over them.

I think the distinction would be that taxis kind of hold an "advantage" because of a regulation that doesn't make much sense, as RJ points out. It's one thing if Uber drivers are just loitering around the airport, but for the most part, they sit in the cell phone lot or at the gas stations across the street. (The cell phone lot, comically, has almost no one in it usually, because all of native Rhode Islanders just go to passenger pick-up and sit there, and they either don't have enough airport police to write tickets or they don't want to do it.)

Disclaimer: I drive for Uber from time to time, because it has an option that let's you find rides along your daily commute, and I go from Warwick to Newport and back everyday. I would feel more sympathy for the disruption to the taxi industry, if it wasn't a horror show of reviews for most of them in Rhode Island: https://www.yelp.com/biz/orange-cab-newport - Uber certainly isn't perfect, but it's usually a better and cheaper service in RI than taxis, and unless you're at the airport, in Providence or Newport, it's almost impossible to find one anyway.