City urges DIA to take wheel on tracking data

The facility now relies on Uber and Lyft to report how much business they do.

Denver International Airport needs to start tracking Uber and Lyft rather than relying on the two companies to report how much business they are doing at the airport, Denver Auditor Tim O’Brien warned.

“Parking is a huge source of revenue for the airport, and it’s important to manage such a significant revenue stream with strong controls and diligent contract oversight,” O’Brien said in an audit issued Thursday.

Revenue agreements with Uber and Lyft rely on the two companies to self-report their activity at the airport. But other airports that started tracking ridesharing providers have found a pattern of underreporting.

“Lax checks on enforcement could lead to significant losses for the airport,” O’Brien said.

When San Francisco’s airport began tracking rideshares, it collected an additional $150,000 in revenues in the first eight months based on 39,000 trips that were underreported, according to the auditor’s report.

Ridesharing is rapidly taking over as the paid-transportation method of choice at DIA. In 2015, ridesharing companies accounted for $1.23 million in airport revenues, behind taxis at nearly $2.2 million and limos at $1.7 million.

In the first three quarters of 2017, ridesharing provided $4.5 million to the airport, taxis were down to $1.3 million and limos were at $838,586.

O’Brien said creating a tracking system should be a priority, something the airport agreed with.

Public parking provided $160 million in revenues at DIA in 2016, while ground transportation brought in $11 million and employee parking $6 million.

Overall, the audit report makes 26 recommendations.

Several involve weak oversight of the airport’s outside parking contractor, SP Plus, resulting in noncompliance. One example includes ticket machines that aren’t receiving the three times daily inspections required to make sure they are functioning properly.

Lax oversight is also an issue with airport employees who violate rules and take spots that would otherwise generate revenue from the public.

“While these totals might be a drop in the bucket for the airport’s overall budget, they are evidence of a bigger problem with sloppy controls and enforcement throughout the parking and transportation systems,” O’Brien said.

“We are proud to partner with DIA and excited to expand mobility options to the airport,” an Uber spokesperson said in an email. Lyft did not respond by deadline.