PLAN FOR AIRPORT RIDE HIKES:
PA slammed over plan to hit riders with $4 fee
THE PRICE OF A TRIP to the airport is going up, up and away.
Passengers in taxis and Ubers could pay an extra $4 for every trip into and out of Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark airports next year, under a Port Authority draft proposal the Daily News obtained.
For the first time, the Port Authority would charge an “access fee” for pickups and dropoffs — a cost that will ultimately be passed on to the passenger in the backseat of a for-hire car or taxicab. A Port Authority source familiar with the proposal said the money raised would be pumped back into the airports to pay for improvements like a better taxi dispatch system.
Every major airport in the country has a similar fee in place. For example, Uber and Lyft passengers have to pay a $4 fee at Los Angeles International Airport and $5 a ride at Chicago’s O’Hare. But New York taxi and livery industry honchos said the proposed fee would be devastating to their businesses and a burden on customers who already pay a hefty amount for a ride to the airport.
“The airport is maybe the most important source of income, especially for yellow cab drivers,” said Bhairavi Desai, director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance. “If you’re charging $4 per ride, there’s no doubt that will affect ridership and, at a minimum, tips will come down.”
Jose Altamirano, president of the Livery Base Owners Association, said the fee would burden low-income outer borough communities these companies serve.
“In our communities, where people live from paycheck to paycheck, even a dollar difference makes a huge impact,” said Altamirano, of El Barrios Car Service in East Harlem.
He was also worried that passengers would have to bear the brunt of costly technology upgrades to comply with detailed trip and ride records that the Port Authority wants to require.
An Uber spokeswoman agreed.
“We share the entire industry’s concerns and look forward to an extensive public review process to better understand what steps the Port Authority will be taking to improve customer experience beyond sticking New Yorkers and tourists with excessive fees,” said Uber spokeswoman Alix Anfang. But not everyone in the industry was against the proposed fee. Lyft spokesman Adrian Durbin said the app company backs the deal because it would put an agreement in place that guarantees the app can operate at New York’s airports. “We thank the staff of the Port Authority . . . for their collaborative effort on this agreement, which ensures that millions of JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark airports passengers will maintain access to Lyft’s safe, reliable and affordable rides,” Durbin said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Public Advocate Letitia James sent a letter to Gov. Cuomo and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie saying the $4 trip fee would “further burden” New Yorkers who lack convenient public access to airports. James wants the Port Authority to abandon the proposal.
“At a time when access to New York City’s airports is already limited, the Port Authority should be focused on improving public transportation options, not increasing burdens on consumers,” James said.
On Sunday, passengers at Kennedy were not surprised to hear about a proposed new fee. Dance instructor Karoun Dal, 38 said a $4 surcharge would definitely force her out of a car and onto the subway.
“At some point you have to say, that is too much money, it’s not worth it,” Dal said. “I’m not going to pay it. I just won’t pay any more.”
Janey Wilson, 38, a teacher’s assistant from Brooklyn, said the fee would pinch — but only she would feel her pain.
“For me, Uber is still less money than a taxi, but $4, especially each way, is still a lot of money,” said Wilson. “More money, more money, more money, that’s all everyone wants. I keep getting squeezed for every dollar I got! But whoever is running it knows they can do it, raise the prices however much they want.”
A Port Authority spokesman cautioned no decision had been made following a meeting earlier this month with industry representatives.