Airport launches new ride-share pickup zones

Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport officials are considering adding more signs and lighting to help Uber and Lyft passengers find their way to new pickup zones, after the new arrangement took effect on Wednesday.

The airport moved rideshare pickup areas to a designated section of the economy lots at Terminal North and Terminal South to relieve congestion at the curbside during the next 18 months, as work progresses on giant canopies that will cover the curbside areas.

“We’re going to keep fine tuning it as we go through this process, with additional signage possible, additional lighting if needed,” Hartsfield-Jackson spokesman Reese McCranie said. He said operations managers will make adjustments based on feedback.

Passengers gave varying reviews, with some saying the walk was only about 5 minutes long, while others said it took longer and there was confusion in meeting their driver.

“There’s a learning curve and we want to make sure that people have as easy a time as possible to meet their Uber or Lyft pickup,” McCranie said.

The new pickup zones require a walk from the terminal down to the lower arrivals level, across the roadway and through the parking garage to the economy lot.

Officials say riders should wait to hail a ride until they get to the pickup zone so that drivers can get them within the 15-minute grace period before they would have to pay to leave the economy lot.

While Uber had said earlier that its customers using UberBLACK or UberSUV could still get picked up at the curb at lower-level arrivals, McCranie said Wednesday that all Uber and Lyft passengers can be picked up only at the designated economy lot zones.

Non-commercial pickups are not affected.