Uber, Lyft airport pickups start now
Starting immediately, you can electronically call Uber or Lyft to pick you up at San Diego’s Lindbergh Field.
The launch is the culmination of more than a year of negotiations between airport officials and rideshare companies, and comes just in time for Comic-Con, which is expected to draw 130,000 attendees.
“Riders and drivers in San Diego have made clear their desire for ridesharing options like Uber at San Diego Airport, as they have done at airports across the nation. We look forward to connecting San Diegans and visitors to safe, reliable, and affordable rides to and from the airport,” said Christopher Ballard, Uber’s general manager in San Diego.
“We’re certainly excited to commit to operations this evening,” said Bakari Brock, Lyft’s director of business development,
Rideshare pickups will take place at designated areas in the short-term parking lots of Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, and not curbside as both Uber and Lyft had desired. The rideshare companies hope airport staffers will reconsider curbside pickups at the conclusion of the pilot program, which runs through June 30, 2016.
In April, the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority initially introduced the pilot program for app-based rideshare companies, called transportation network companies (TNCs). After terms of the TNC permit were rejected by Uber and Lyft, airport staff members, using the board’s guidelines, crafted an amendment to satisfy the companies’ objections.
Wednesday, airport board members passed a motion to remove the last-remaining regulatory hiccups holding up operations. Thursday, Uber and Lyft submitted permits to participate in the pilot program. The permits were, in turn, signed by airport officials.
“The Airport Authority always looks for ways to improve the customer experience for our passengers,” said Robert Gleason, the chairman of the authority board. “We’re excited to offer the latest in-demand transportation options to the traveling public, and we’re doing so while keeping safety as a top priority.”
Previously, San Diego’s airport was closed for pickups from the top rideshare companies, with the caveat that Uber’s commercially licensed drivers could do pickups. The vast majority of Uber drivers are not licensed, which means the company has missed out on thousands of airport requests per week.
