Uber bill may boost airport ride options

It could mean cheaper fares and more drivers

When Aengus MacKenzie of Boston visits Orlando’s theme parks, he almost always takes an Uber car back to the airport.

“It’s just more reasonably priced,” said MacKenzie, 47.

But when he flies in, he must choose from other options such as taxicabs or theme-park shuttle services. Uber’s basic low-cost service has not been allowed to pick up at the airport, only drop off.

That could soon change. A bill headed to Gov. Rick Scott’s desk is expected to clear the way for appbased ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft to expand operations at airports, including Orlando International.

The bill, HB 221, would nullify Orlando’s local regulations and others in favor of one statewide standard. It would also direct airports to negotiate agreements with Uber to provide its general UberX service at airports. Right now Uber is only allowed to operate its more expensive luxury-car service, now

called Uber Select, at OIA. A trip from OIA to downtown Orlando using the service costs more than $50.

“Not only the residents of the Orlando area, but the visitors to the Orlando area, have expressed that they would like the UberX product at the airport, and in the coming weeks we’ll have conversations to hopefully come to an agreement with the airport,” Uber spokesman Javi Correoso said.

“The Orlando airport is one of the very, very few airports across the world that do not have the UberX product.”

Airport spokeswoman Carolyn Fennell did not respond to a request for an interview but sent a statement from Greater Orlando Aviation Authority Director Phil Brown saying the agency is “evaluating ground-transportation rules and regulations to accommodate the proposed new legislation. It is important that we (remain) flexible and adaptable to the potential changes in the ground transportation industry to provide opportunities to the traveling public.”

Allowing Uber’s lower-cost service is “more competition,” said Roger Chapin, vice president of Orlandobased Mears Transportation, which operates taxis at the airport. “It is what it is.”

Ride-hailing services’ fares fluctuate by demand, while Mears taxis’ rates are set by the city.

“I think that’s one of the tough things for a lot of companies in many jurisdictions — they’re actually legally not allowed to alter the rate,” said Harry Campbell, founder of The Rideshare Guy blog. “It’s tough for them to compete in a lot of places.”

Still, he said, taxis do have some advantages. For example, they can be easier to reach than Uber drivers who often have to wait in a nearby lot. “If you’re walking out of the airport, sometimes it’s more convenient just to take a taxi,” he said.

Often busy airports such as Miami International have used a first-in-first out system, corralling drivers in a certain area and distributing requests based on which of them entered the zone first. Disney World began using such a system at Magic Kingdom last year.

Uber and Lyft have become more popular options, but some drivers prefer the more conventional modes of traffic.

Rich Osprey of Chicago, who flies into Orlando for cruises, said he’d probably still continue with taking a Mears town car.

“I just feel a little more secure knowing there’s an actual company, and the drivers have been hopefully checked out at least somewhat versus someone signing up on a website and driving people around in their own cars,” said Osprey, 54.

Uber and Lyft would have to conduct background checks for drivers under the bill — which the companies say they already do.

The legislation would eliminate the $250 registration fee for ride-hailing vehicles that Orlando passed in 2015. According to city data, 290 permits have been issued and 305 tickets for noncompliance have been issued since it was passed.

With those requirements gone, “there’s going to be more drivers that are probably signing up” to provide rides, Campbell said.

The bill sets minimum insurance levels of $50,000 for death and bodily injury per person, $100,000 for death and bodily injury per accident and $25,000 for property damage.