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STUDY OBJECTIVES The Commission of the Port of Seattle (the Port) requested that the staff of SeattleTacoma International Airport (the Airport) prepare a comprehensive review of commercial ground transportation (GT) operations at the Airport. To assist in preparing this review, the Port retained LeighFisher to research commercial ground transportation operations at peer airports and to document the relevant best practices. This review describes how other airports manage and operate the ground transportation system at their airport. This review also addresses how other airports are accommodating the rapid change in the ground transportation industry resulting from the introduction of transportation network (TNC) services (e.g., Lyft, Sidecar, and Uber) and peertopeer rental car services (e.g., Flightcar and RelayRides). The information presented in this report is intended to assist Airport staff develop and evaluate options to manage and operate groun d transportation considering the Port's key objectives for ground transportation operations and services at the Airport including: Provide the travelling public with superior service and a menu of transportation options Assure the 24 hours/7 daysa week availability of adequate ground transportation capacity to meet expected passenger demands Provide service in a manner that allows it to be efficiently and effectively managed by Port staff Establish business arrangements with the providers of ground transportation services that, at a minimum, allow the Port to recover its costs and potentially increase revenue Promote opportunities for small businesses Expand economic opportunity for the region Support regional environmental and sustainability goals In addition to these key objectives of the Port, Airport staff wish to implement programs that: Are consistent with best industry practices including those used at peer airports Conform to the legal and operational constraints within which the Port must operate Consider a 5 to 10 year time horizon (which is prior to any major renovations to SeaTac's roadway system associated with the Sustainable Airport Master Plan (SAMP), currently in development) The initial sections of this report define the terminology used in this report and list the peer airports (and how they were selected). Subsequent sections compare these peer airports with SeattleTacoma International Airport in terms of the: 1. Commercial ground transportation services offered to the travelling public 2. Business structures (or operational models) employed and the fees charged 3. Responsibilities of and resources available to the landside/parking departments 4. Operating budgets of these departments and the revenues they collect or manage 5. Facilities used by commercial vehicles dropping off and picking up airline passengers 6. Regulation of TNCs and peertopeer rental car businesses The final sections of this report, prepared by Port staff, describe (1) the current commercial ground transportation providers at the Airport and their specific business models, and (2) the key constraints on commercial ground transportation operations at the Airport. Comprehensive Review of Commercial Ground Transportation Operations SeattleTacoma International Airport 1 DEFINITIONS The following paragraphs define technical terms used in subsequent sections of this report: Commercial ground transportation Rubbertired publicly and privately operated transportation service transporting customers to/from airports including taxicabs, limousines, transportation network companies (TNCs), sharedride vans, courtesy vehicles, chartered buses and vans, but excluding rail service and parking shuttles, rental car shuttles, or other buses operated by or on behalf of the Airport. Costrecovery fee A fee charged to commercial vehicle operators doing business on an airport (i.e., picking up passengers) which allows the airport owner to recover the costs of providing, operating, and maintaining the roadways, curbsides, hold areas, and other facilities used directly by the commercial ground transportation operators. Courtesy vehicle or courtesy shuttle Doortodoor, sharedride transportation provided by the operators of hotels/motels, rental car companies, parking lots, and other businesses solely for their customers, and with the cost of such service considered to be incidental to the primary service offered the customer. Deadhead trip A nonrevenue trip which occurs prior to picking up a customer or after dropping off a passenger. Dwell time The total time a vehicle spends at the terminal curbside while waiting for a passenger to arrive or to actively load or unload. Exclusive Provider A contract (frequently referred to as a concession contract) between an airport operator and a commercial ground transportation business under which the airport provides the company certain rights or privileges (e.g., the exclusive right to offer a specific transportation service or use designated areas of the airport) and in turn the exclusive provider or concessionaire agrees to pay the airport a fee which frequently involves a minimum annual guarantee (MAG) amount and/or an amount that reflects the volume of airportrelated business conducted by the company (e.g., a percent of gross revenues). . Hold area An area designated for use by commercial vehicles such as taxicabs, limousines, shared ride vans, and buses/vans to wait in (or stage) until they are called to the curbside. Also referred to as staging area, hold lot, or holding area. Improper solicitation Improperly or illegally offering transportation services to airline passengers such as licensed and unlicensed limousine drivers (or their representatives) soliciting business from passengers who have not made prior arrangements for such service from the driver or company. Licensed enforcement officer (LEO) A police officer monitoring Airport curbside facilities who is capable of issuing tickets for moving violations and arresting offenders. Limousine Transportation service offered in town cars or luxury vehicles, most frequently on a prearranged basis, where the provider is compensated based upon the length of time the vehicle is hired regardless of the number of passengers transported or distance travelled. At some airports ondemand limousine service is available. Comprehensive Review of Commercial Ground Transportation Operations SeattleTacoma International Airport 2 Minimum annual guarantee (MAG) The minimum fee or amount that a business, concessionaire, or exclusive provider agrees to pay on an annual basis regardless of the revenues collected or business volume conducted. A similar fee may instead be assessed on a monthly basis as a minimum monthly guarantee (MMG). Ondemand service Transportation service (e.g., taxicab service) that is provided in direct response to a customer's request via telephone, street hail, or other form of communication as opposed to prearranged transportation service. At an airport, ondemand services are available on a walkup basis at the curbside without prior arrangement or interaction between the customer and the provider. Owner/operator An individual who both owns and operates a vehicle (e.g., a taxicab driver who owns a taxicab and drives the vehicle). Frequently owner/operators may operate a vehicle as a franchisee or as part of a fleet owned/controlled by others. Peertopeer Services that are shared among users rather than owned by a company Prearranged service Transportation service (e.g., limousine, transportation network company, or bus/van service) that is provided in response to a prior request from a customer via telephone, company provided smartphone application, or other method as opposed to ondemand service that is available on a walkup basis. Often the transportation service is required to have an electronic receipt or waybill showing the customer's name, pickup point, party size, destination, and arrival time, or other details depending on the type of transportation service. The precise definition of prearranged varies from community to community. Privilege fee As used in this report, a fee charged commercial vehicle operators that reflects the overall business benefits the commercial ground transportation operators receive and privileges they enjoy as a result of the presence of the entire airport and from the operators' access to the traveling public. Typically such fees are calculated based on the volume of airportrelated business conducted by the operator. Scheduled service Fixed route transportation operated at set headways or departure times Sharedride service A service providing doortodoor transportation for multiple customers or parties to or from an airport whereby each passenger pays a predetermined fare regardless of the number of passengers transported or distance travelled. The service, most commonly provided in 8 to 12 passenger vans, may make multiple enroute stops and may be available on a walkup or pre reserved basis. Taxicab A vehicle typically a sedan or van providing nonstop, doortodoor transportation for a single party (one or more passengers) between locations of the passenger's choice with the fare established based upon a taximeter or zone system regardless of the number of passengers transported. The precise definitions for taxicabs, taxicab companies, and taxicab drivers vary from community to community. Taxicab service at airports can be classified as ondemand taxicabs available to walkup customers, or prearranged/belledin taxicabs that are serving customers who have made prior reservations. Prearranged (e.g., personals) or belledin taxicabs may be licensed by a jurisdiction or regulatory authority other than one regulating ondemand taxicabs at the airport. Comprehensive Review of Commercial Ground Transportation Operations SeattleTacoma International Airport 3 Thirdparty management contractorA qualified business, retained by an airport operator to provide and oversee, at the airport's direction, specific services (e.g., management of parking facilities) and which is reimbursed for labor hours they furnish and other authorized expenses they incur. Traffic control officer (TCO) An enforcement officer capable of issuing tickets for nonmoving violations but not arresting an offender Transportation network company (TNC) A business that connects its affiliated drivers who, using their personal vehicles, transport customers desiring doortodoor transportation and who have requested this service using the businesses' proprietary smartphone application. The fare is typically established based upon time and distance traveled. Service may be nonstop or shared with another party depending on the type of service selected. SELECTED PEER AIRPORTS In cooperation with Airport staff, fifteen airports were selected for comparison with SeattleTacoma International Airport. These airports, which are listed in Table 1, were selected to include airports which: Serve a similar volume of originating and terminating airline passengers. The volume of originating and terminating passengers, which excludes passengers connecting between flights, reflects the potential users of commercial ground transportation services. As shown below, SeattleTacoma International served about 25.9 million originating and terminating passengers in 2013, the most recent year for which originatingterminating airline passenger data are available from the Federal Aviation Administration Serve a passenger mix similar to that served by SeattleTacoma in terms of trip purpose (business vs. leisure passengers) and place of residence (local resident versus nonresident passengers) Are operated by either a port or airport authority, as is SeattleTacoma International, or by a city or county Employ a range of commercial ground transportation business structures or operating models including those considered to have best of industry practices. Comprehensive Review of Commercial Ground Transportation Operations SeattleTacoma International Airport 4 Table 1 Selected Peer Airports 2013 O&D 2013 O&D IATA Governance Airport Name passengers passenger rank Code structure (millions) 3 SFO San Francisco International 33.6 City 8 DEN InternationalDenver 28.0 City 9 BOS Edward Lawrence Logan InternationalGeneral 27.8 Authority 10 SEA SeattleTacoma International 25.9 Authority 14 MIA Miami International 21.9 County 15 PHX Phoenix Sky Harbor International 21.2 City 16 FLL Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International 20.9 County 17 MSP MinneapolisSt Paul International/WoldChamberlain 18.1 Authority 19 DTW Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County 16.6 Authority 20 IAH George Bush Intercontinental/Houston 16.0 City 21 BWI Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall 15.9 State 22 TPA Tampa International 15.7 Authority 24 PHL Philadelphia International 15.2 City 26 PDX Portland International 12.6 Authority 28 IAD Washington Dulles International 12.0 Authority NA YVR Vancouver International 19.2 (a) Authority Source: LeighFisher, July 2015 based upon airline passenger volumes obtained from FAA data base (a) Passenger volume is total enplaned plus deplaned passengers. The airport staff responsible for the daytoday management of ground transportation at each of the above airports were contacted and invited to participate in a detailed telephone survey. Surveys were completed with fourteen airports; representatives from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) did not respond to requests to participate in the survey. The resulting survey data were supplemented with data LeighFisher gathered during the conduct of the forthcoming Airport Cooperative Research Program Report 146 (Commercial Ground Transportation at Airports: Best Practices) and other data contained in LeighFisher's files. COMPARISON OF OVERARCHING GROUND TRANSPORTATION STRATEGIES Airports have a variety of overarching strategies that guide their decisionmaking processes. As shown in Figure 1, the primary strategies the peer airports consider when making decisions regarding ground transportation operations were customer service (11 of 15 peer airports) and revenue generation or cost recovery (8 of 15 peer airports). Other important considerations cited include maintaining efficient operations by minimizing traffic congestion, ensuring safety and security for customers, and maintaining high levels of accessibility to the airport. Comprehensive Review of Commercial Ground Transportation Operations SeattleTacoma International Airport 5 Figure 1 Overarching Strategies Influencing Ground Transportation Decisions Customer Revenue/Cost Efficient Safety/ Accessibility Other Service Recovery Operations security SEA BOS Encourage HOV modes BWI Be a lowcost airport DEN DTW FLL IAD IAH Provide variety of service MIA Enhance technology MSP PDX PHL PHX SFO TPA YVR Sustainability Source: LeighFisher, based on data from Airport staff, July 2015 Figure 2 summarizes the extent to which environmental and customer service initiatives are incorporated into ground transportation agreements or rules and regulations. Three of the peer airports (PHX, SFO, and YVR) place a high importance on environmental initiatives or sustainability. PHX and SFO both require 100% alternative fuel vehicles for at least two modes of commercial ground transportation. YVR previously provided discounted permit fees for alternative fuel vehicles, but ended this incentive program in 2014 with a taxi fleet that is more than 75% alternative fuel. YVR also places a strong focus on sustainability overall. PDX considered encouraging alternative fuel vehicles; however, without any incentive program the fleet mix is already more than 80% green. BOS, DEN, and IAD offer a discounted permit fee to vehicles using alternative fuels, with IAD's applying only to hotel/motel courtesy vehicles. Customer service is an important component of ground transportation agreements, rules, and regulations at seven of the airports. Common customer service initiatives include requiring all drivers to complete a customer service training program, implementing higher vehicle and driver standards than required by the local regulator, requiring that ground transportation operators accept credit cards and process them in a secure manner, and limiting the age or mileage of vehicles that can be used to provide service at the airport. MSP and PDX each have a specific customer service program outside of these common customer service initiatives. At MSP, the airport overall sets Widely Important Goals (WIGS). Specifically, the MSP ground transportation staff have a goal to create a memorable moment every day (e.g., by approaching a lost passenger and asking if he or she needs help finding their ground transportation). Comprehensive Review of Commercial Ground Transportation Operations SeattleTacoma International Airport 6 Figure 2 Environmental and Customer Service Initiatives Environmental Initiatives Customer Service regulator ground ground local limits impact on required than processing program line privileges reduction impact on card Extent of transportation Alternative fuel Discounted fees Front of Deadhead trip Other Extent of transportation Training required Higher standards Secure credit Customer service Vehicle age/mileage SEA High (a) High 7 years BOS Moderate (b) Moderate No BWI None High 6 years DEN Moderate (c) Moderate No DTW Unknown FLL None High 7 years IAD Low (d) Moderate 5 years IAH None Low No MIA None Moderate 5 years MSP None High 6 years PDX Moderate (e) High 10 years 7 years or PHL Low Low 250,000 miles New at start of PHX High (f) High contract SFO High (g) (h) Moderate 5 years at start TPA None High of contract YVR High (i) High 6 model years (a) 100% green fleets for major ondemand services (b) 50% discount on access fees (c) 10% discount on access fees (d) 50% discount for hotel/motel courtesy vehicles only (e) No policies needed: 80% alternative fuel already (f) 100% for taxi and sharedride fleets (g) 100% for sharedride and courtesy vehicles (h) Only alternative fuel limo companies listed on airport website (i) Ended in 2014 at over 70% alternative fuel taxi fleet Airport initiative Local regulator initiative Source: LeighFisher, based on data from Airport staff, July 2015 Comprehensive Review of Commercial Ground Transportation Operations SeattleTacoma International Airport 7 At PDX, the ground transportation operators participate in the airport's "PDXpectations" initiative and are educated on the five guiding principles (be knowledgeable, be friendly, speak with body language, be respectful, be proactive). Prizes are given out in the hold lot several times per year to encourage drivers to approach a booth where customer service handouts outlining the PDXpectations are distributed at that time. Airport staff meet with all managers/owners of companies to discuss the PDXpectations. There is also a reward program that allows a driver recognized by a customer for good service to be eligible to receive a plaque, be recognized by airport management, earn a free lunch, and be entered into a drawing to attend an annual dinner. COMPARISON OF AVAILABLE COMMERCIAL GROUND TRANSPORTATION SERVICES The types of ground transportation services offered at each of the peer airports are summarized in Figure 3. All airports provide ondemand taxicab service and prearranged limousine services, and all but YVR offer sharedride service. Most airports allow nonlocal or noncontracted taxicabs (i.e., belledin taxicabs) to pick up prearranged customers at the airport if the driver obtains a permit and pays the required fees, whether an annual permit or occasional use/day pass. At most airports these taxicabs are considered to be pre arranged services like limousines and regulated as such, rather than being allowed to use the same boarding areas or pay the same fees as taxicabs. Some airports such as FLL, MIA, and MSP do not allow outside taxicabs to pick up at the airport on either an ondemand or prearranged basis. Four of the peer airports have established permits for transportation network companies. At IAH there is only one operator (Uber), at DEN and PDX there are two operators (Lyft and Uber), and at SFO there are four TNCs (Lyft, Sidecar, Uber, and Wingz). Five airports have agreements in place with peertopeer rental car companies such as FlightCar or RelayRides. All five airports classify these operators as offairport rental car companies. Four other airports do not yet have agreements in place with any peertopeer rental car companies, but have either had discussions with company representatives about operations beginning or are aware that the companies are currently operating without an agreement in place. Comprehensive Review of Commercial Ground Transportation Operations SeattleTacoma International Airport 8 Figure 3 Ground Transportation Services Permitted to Pick Up Passengers On Pre On On Pre Transportation Peertopeer demand arranged demand demand arranged network rental car taxicabs taxicabs sharedride limousines limousines companies companies SEA 1 BOS BWI 1 DEN 2 1 DTW FLL IAD IAH 1 MIA MSP PDX 2 1 PHL PHX 1 SFO 4 2 TPA YVR Source: LeighFisher, based on data received from Airport staff, July 2015 COMPARISON OF BUSINESS STRUCTURES AND BASIS OF FEES General pros and cons of business structures There are three basic types of business arrangements (or models) that airports use with commercial ground transportation companies. These are: open access, restricted or exclusive access, or a hybrid blend of these two. Airports typically use an open access model for their business relationships with all courtesy vehicles, prearranged limousines, scheduled vans/buses, and charter vans/buses. Airports may use either an open or an exclusive (or semiexclusive) model for their business relationships with taxicabs, sharedride vans, and ondemand limousines. Each model has its advantages and disadvantages. The key differences are (a) the airport's ability to control the customer experience and operations, including vehicle and driver standards, (b) the amount of staff effort required to implement and oversee operations, and (c) the amount of competition among companies. Open Access. With an open access system any vehicle having a valid permit issued by the local regulatory agency may serve the airport. This allows for greater competition among operators. This competition is the key benefit of an open systemall licensed companies have the opportunity to serve the airport. However, an open system frequently leads to an oversupply of taxicabs or sharedride vans. An oversupply of taxicabs frequently leads to reduced taxicab driver income, reduced motivation for the drivers to properly maintain their vehicles, and reduced customer service. As a result, an open system requires increased effort by airport staff to ensure that drivers and their vehicles comply with the airport's minimum standards and its rules and regulations. Enforcement requires greater staff effort because (a) penalties are limited to Comprehensive Review of Commercial Ground Transportation Operations SeattleTacoma International Airport 9 monetary fines or service suspensions, and (b) staff, particularly those at large airports, must oversee the operation and compliance of hundreds of drivers and their vehicles. Airport staff may also need to implement measures to balance the supply of taxicabs with customer demand for service. These measures include rotation systems or closing the hold lot at times. Exclusive Access. With an exclusive (or semiexclusive system) an airport awards a contract to one or several companies and only this company may pick up customers at the airport. These contracts are awarded through a competitive bid or proposal process. The selected concessionaire(s) is typically responsible for daytoday operations including vehicle dispatching from the hold area, curbside operations, and staging area management; furnishing the communication and other equipment needed to dispatch vehicles and oversee vehicle queues; ensuring the appropriate balance between customer demands and the number of waiting vehicles; providing an adequate number of waiting vehicles at all times including during inclement weather or irregular operations; and, ensuring that service is provided using vehicles and drivers that meet or exceed the standards set forth in their proposal. Compared to an open access contract, enforcement requires significantly less effort from airport staff because (a) the airport has a contractual business relationship with the ground transportation provider, rather than a regulatory one, and (b) the airport is interacting with a single ground transportation provider(or typically fewer than three ground transportation providers) rather than hundreds of individual drivers. Customer service is enhanced because companies competing for the concession contract are incentivized to propose levels of service that exceed the airport's minimum standards. The major disadvantage of an exclusive or semiexclusive access model is that some properly licensed companies will not be selected and these companies will be precluded from conducting ondemand business at the airport, and thus denied a business opportunity. A second disadvantage is that if one company is awarded the contract, when there is a recompete for the contract the incumbent will have a perceived advantage over its competitors, assuming the incumbent has been performing satisfactorily. Typically companies that are awarded semiexclusive concession contracts allocate the customers using a predetermined method (e.g., based upon the number of authorized taxicabs). However, at some airports individual taxicab contracts are awarded by terminal building or terminal curbside (e.g. TPA), and individual sharedride van services may be awarded by geographic area. Another practice to allow greater opportunities for small or disadvantaged businesses is to award contracts to a driver collective or consortium (such as the contract previously awarded to SITA at SEA and now in place at Sacramento International Airport), where multiple smaller independent owner/operators agree to work collaboratively together as one group, creating a fleet large enough to serve the airport. Ondemand taxicabs Best practice is typically to have a closed ondemand taxicab system. This is due to the benefits described previously including a better experience for customers, higher incomes for the drivers, and a system that is easier to manage for airport staff. Figure 4 summarizes the taxicab systems at the peer airports. Of the peer airports, eight have an open taxicab system. This includes PDX where all taxicabs are allowed to operate at the airport but only every other day (a rotation system). Of the six peer airports with a closed system, BWI has a single concessionaire, TPA has two concessionaires, and both IAD and PHX have three concessionaires. YVR is unique in that the airport decides on the number of taxicab permits needed, then releases a miniRFP for the number of new permits needed to reach that limit. In total there are currently sixteen companies who have contracted with YVR in this way. DEN is also unique, as there are only five taxicab companies licensed by the local authority, thus each company is allocated a percent of the available permits based on the proportion of their business in the city as a whole. It is then up to the companies to decide which drivers may use those permits and pick up passengers at the airport on a given day. Comprehensive Review of Commercial Ground Transportation Operations SeattleTacoma International Airport 10 When asked what they would change about ground transportation operations at their airports if anything were possible, two of the eight peer airports with open taxicab systems said they would prefer to operate a closed ondemand taxicab system with only one or a few companies if there was support from management. Implementing a closed taxicab system can be a difficult task for airports that must seek approval from a City Council or local commission, as airport management will likely face political opposition from some taxicab drivers and companies. Figure 4 OnDemand Taxicab Operating Agreements Permits per Number of thousand Open Restricted Limit on number of permits permits O&D passengers Airport asks for set number and SEA One operator 231 permits 8.9 taxis can petition to increase BOS Open Unknown Unknown BWI One operator 324 permits 20.4 Allotment to Yes, increased for special events DEN each company (e.g., 10 extra cabs per 281 permits 10.0 in city company) DTW Unknown Unknown FLL Open County has cap but not airport Unknown Unknown IAD Three operators Limit 240 vehicles/company 720 vehicles 59.9 IAH Open 2,200 drivers 137.6 Hold lot closed MIA Unknown Unknown when full 32 companies; MSP Open 42.3 767 vehicles Twoday PDX Unknown Unknown rotation system 900 permits; PHL Open 59.1 1,100 drivers PHX Three operators Based on seasonal demand 186 to 254 8.8 SFO Open 2,199 permits 65.4 15 companies; TPA Two operators 4.8 75 permits 16 companies; YVR Limited permits Mini RFPs for new licenses 27.3 525 vehicles Source: LeighFisher, based on data received from Airport staff, July 2015 Comprehensive Review of Commercial Ground Transportation Operations SeattleTacoma International Airport 11 Figure 5 summarizes the fees paid by, annual revenues received from, and length of the agreements with ondemand taxicabs at the peer airports. The chart also describes how the fees were originally determined, when known by airport staff. At some airports, trip or permit fees have been in place without being updated for many years, particularly at the open access airports. The majority (nine) of the peer airports determine their fees using a cost recovery analysis determining the fees that would be necessary to fully recover the costs associated with managing the taxicab service, including providing and maintaining the curbsides, dispatching and other equipment, staging areas, and the roadways and other facilities used by the taxicab operators. At airports with a closed system, the companies awarded the concession contract are typically required to pay a MAG, a pertrip fee, or a percent of gross revenues when they submit their bid for the concession contract. Other airports negotiate with the contracted taxicab concessionaire(s) to determine a fee amount that is acceptable to both the provider(s) and the airport. Many airports will at times have insufficient taxicabs waiting at the airport to pick up ondemand passengers, particularly when there are irregular flight operations, severe weather that impacts the condition of the roadways such as ice or heavy storms, or when there are unusually high demands for taxicabs elsewhere in the community. Figure 6 shows the methods used by the peer airports to manage customer wait times and ensure the availability of taxicabs during these times. At airports with a closed system and a formal agreement with the taxicab operator(s), the taxicab companies (the concessionaires) have a contractual obligation to pick up waiting passengers within a prescribed amount of time, ranging from three minutes at TPA to twenty minutes during offpeak times at BWI. PHX has a customer wait time limit of 5 minutes. If a customer must wait longer and the company does not have at least 85% of its taxicab fleet in operation, then it is assessed a fine of $295 per occurrence. At DEN there is no prescribed time limit for customers waiting to be picked up, but if there are long lines and any of the five companies are consistently found to not be providing sufficient taxicabs, then the airport may reallocate some of their permits to another company. The airports reporting that a lack of taxicabs is not an issue (e.g., IAD and IAH) also report having excessive numbers of waiting taxicabs during most hours. At most of the other airports not previously mentioned, if there are insufficient taxicabs then the airport taxicab dispatcher will contact the companies and alert them that additional taxicabs are needed. BOS uses a unique system where the airport taxicab dispatcher updates a Twitter account to alert licensed taxicab drivers to how many taxicabs are currently in the airport taxi pool, whether additional taxicabs are needed, and what time the last flight is scheduled to arrive if there have been delays. This provides the drivers with uptodate information that they can check from any location, allowing them to make an informed decision about whether to serve the airport at that time. Comprehensive Review of Commercial Ground Transportation Operations SeattleTacoma International Airport 12 year 5 year year + 1 five option N/A + amendment N/A agreement 5 years N/A 5 years N/A N/A + 2 one options N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 5 years 5 years extension + Length/term of 3 years $3.5M Unknown $365,158 Unknown Recent annual amount received $3.6M $5.1M $2,423,892 Unknown Unknown Unknown $4.9M Unknown $2,990,278 $2,487,101 $954,900 $1,685,499 + $1.00/trip set Cost recovery Negotiation Negotiation Bid amount How fee determined Bid. Airport 10% minimum Cost recovery Unknown Cost recovery Unknown Cost recovery, workshops, peer airports Bid Cost recovery Originally cost recovery Cost recovery Cost recovery Cost recovery trips 5 < 90 Figure Other Taxicab Fees Min. 10 trips/mo. if MAG $3.6M $166,000 $3,120 trips; Concession $2,423,892 Fee 13% $0.043/pax. if > 90 2015 $4,104 July Trip fee Yes staff, for drop off? trips: airport Trip Fee $2.25 $2.50 $4.57 $3.00 $2.55 $2.75 $2.00 $2.50 $1.50 $1.00 $5.00 average monthly data from Permit on vehicle driver $350/vehicle deposit + on per (a) based based Yes + $1,800/$3,000/ $3,500 per 5 years $15,500 + $250 $3,300/ vehicle $200/company for $100/veh/year $16,300/ vehicle $55/vehicle for inspection fees BOS BWI DEN DTW FLL IAD IAH MIA MSP PDX PHL PHX SFO TPA YVR permit (a) YVR SEA Source: LeighFisher, Comprehensive Review of Commercial Ground Transportation Operations SeattleTacoma International Airport 13 Figure 6 Methods to Enforce OnDemand Taxicab Customer Service Wait Times Contact taxi Contract requirement Penalty Other Nonissue companies SEA 5 minutes $50/person or $500/day BOS Twitter BWI 10/20 minutes peak/offpeak $250/occurrence DEN Reduce company permits DTW FLL IAD IAH MIA MSP PDX Open to all cabs PHL PHX 5 minutes $295/occurrence SFO TPA 3 minutes YVR Source: LeighFisher, based on data received from Airport staff, July 2015 Ondemand limousines Only four of the peer airports (BWI, FLL, PDX, and YVR) have ondemand limousine contracts. PDX is contracted with three companies; however, they are currently reviewing their contract and are unsure whether it will be renewed. Those three companies currently pay the airport a trip fee of $3.00 per pickup. The single contracts at BWI and FLL are operated by the same companies that hold the sharedride contracts at the airports. At BWI the operator pays the greater of 9% of gross revenues or a minimum annual guarantee (MAG) of $100,000. At FLL the contract is combined with the sharedride agreement, with a fee of $0.461 per deplaned passenger with a MAG of $500,000 from both the ondemand limousine and shared ride operations. YVR was unable to share the details of their ondemand limousine contract. Until recently PHX had an ondemand limousine contract; however, when the contract expired airport staff determined that it was not viable to renew the contract because (1) the contracted company was struggling to make their required payments, (2) the amount of curb space allocated to the service did not seem to be warranted, (3) conflicts between the ondemand limousine drivers and taxicab drivers, and (4) the service no longer seemed to be needed due to the recent improvements in the quality of taxicab service. The previous concessionaire is now operating on a prearranged basis instead, and the airport provided the company with advertising on the airport website and in the terminal to assist them during the transition period. Comprehensive Review of Commercial Ground Transportation Operations SeattleTacoma International Airport 14 With the advent of TNCs and their related services such as UberBlack (provided in both personal cars and licensed limousines), there is less need for an airport to offer ondemand limousine service to passengers. This is because (1) customers can now select from traditional ondemand taxicabs, prearranged limousines including UberBlack, and TNCs, (2) it is questionable as to what advantages airports can offer a prospective ondemand limousine provider other than the ability to have a waiting vehicle parked at the curb, and (3) the value of the concession contract appears to have been diminished, and in the view of some, is no longer financially attractive. Ondemand sharedride service Best practice for sharedride service is to have a closed system where the airport has a contractual (concession) agreement with one or a few companies (an exclusive or semiexclusive concession). Of the peer airports, seven have an exclusive agreement with one sharedride provider and one has an agreement with two providers. YVR does not have sharedride service. The other five airports that responded to the survey have an open access system. A summary of the type of agreements and customer service standards for sharedride operators at each airport is provided in Figure 7. With a closed system, it is easier to implement and enforce customer service standards such as maximum customer wait times, secure credit card processing, vehicle age limits, and driver training. Eight of the airports have maximum customer wait times, typically between 20 and 30 minutes. Many of the airports require that the sharedride providers accept credits card, but only IAD, MSP, and PHX specify the method of credit card processing in their contracts to ensure transactions are conducted securely. At other airports such as MIA, the company requires drivers to use secure credit card processing without any requirement from the airport. Six of the airports have an age requirement for sharedride vehicles. IAD and SFO have a maximum age of four model years, and MIA and MSP have a maximum age of five years. BWI and PHX both limit the vehicle age at the start of the contract, but do not have a maximum age limit. At PHX 75% of the fleet must be new at the start of the contract, with the other vehicles no more than 2 years. The PHX contract is for five years, with one fiveyear option. BWI requires that all vehicles be no more than 5 years at the start of the fouryear contract. Only three of the peer airports have measures in place to encourage or require sharedride operators to use alternative fuel vehicles. PHX and SFO both require that 100% of the sharedride fleet use alternative fuels, with PHX using propane and SFO using CNG. DEN offers a reduced trip fee incentive for operators choosing to use alternative fuel vehicles. Other customer service initiatives referenced by the airports interviewed include training programs (BWI and MIA), providing a way for customers to give feedback through comment cards or another method (MIA, MSP, PHX), driver and vehicle appearance standards (IAD, PHL), and the ability for the customer to make reservations and payments for the sharedride service online (PHX). Figure 8 summarizes the basis and amounts of the sharedride fees and, when available, a recent annual amount received. Six of the peer airports (BOS, DEN, MSP, PDX, PHL, and SFO) determine their fees based on a costrecovery analysis, and four of the airports' sharedride fees are based on bids received by the operators (BWI, MIA, PHX, and TPA). At the four airports with bids, both MIA and TPA originally set a minimum bid amount. When asked what they would improve about the ground transportation systems at their airports, two airports indicated that the sharedride system would be an area for improvement. Both were airports with open sharedride systems who would prefer to have a closed system with fewer operators, and in one case, Comprehensive Review of Commercial Ground Transportation Operations SeattleTacoma International Airport 15 have a company with better brand recognition for customers. In both instances local regulations and politics were the limiting factor on those airports being able to do so. Figure 7 Sharedride Operating Agreements Other Customer wait Secure Vehicle Alternative customer time/ number of credit card age/mileage fuel/hybrid service Open Restricted destinations processing limits vehicles provisions Two area 100% SEA operators propane BOS Open 5 years at One Driver training BWI 30 minutes start of operator program contract Trip fee DEN Open reduction DTW One FLL 30 minutes operator Two Dress, vehicle IAD Yes Yes 4 years operators standards One IAH Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown operator Training for all One employees; MIA 20 minutes 5 years operator complaints sent to Airport Customer One 3 stops. Max. MSP Yes 5 years feedback operator wait time ability PDX Open Cleanliness/ PHL Open maintenance 15/20 minutes 75% new at Comment One 100% PHX load/leave time. Yes start of cards, ability to operator propane Max. 3 stops contract pay online 4 years; SFO Open 20 minutes 400,000 100% CNG miles One TPA 25 minutes operator Source: LeighFisher, based on data from airport staff, July 2015 Comprehensive Review of Commercial Ground Transportation Operations SeattleTacoma International Airport 16 Length/term of agreement month 2 one 1 three 2 two 1 five Month to N/A 4 years N/A Unknown + + + N/A N/A + N/A 5 years 3 year year options Unknown 5 years year option 3 years year extensions 5 year year option Recent annual amount received $253,000 Unknown $926,600 Unknown Unknown $360,000 + $263,000 Unknown $792,535 $96,381 Unknown Unknown ~$1.2M Unknown $531,288 set set How fee determined fee Cost recovery Cost recovery Bid Cost recovery Per deplaned passenger 3X taxi Unknown Bid. Airport minimum bid $0.50/trip over cost recovery Cost recovery Cost recovery Bid Cost recovery Bid. Airport passengers, respectively $0.0121/$0.0055/$0.0412 minimum bid of 31 $22.00/trip Figure 8 Fees Other Min. 10 25+ over Shared ride trips/mo. Dwell passenger fee and to 31, 24 $8.00; deplaned MAG $405,000 $500,000 $330,000; $265,000 $8,333/ month $792,535 16 (c) to 15, 13 per 0 fee Concession for 12 $3.00; 17.5% $0.461/pax 10% 6.4% 6 (c) $7.10 2015 and $1.50; service area), July fee on $4.68, staff, 5 passengers based airport Trip fee for drop off? $3.03 $2.50 $2.37, 1 (b) $3.00 $3.00 Trip Fee $3.42 $3.75 (a) $7.00 $200/company data from years + vehicle size, vehicle size: on on on based for 5 $100/veh/year $575,000 based based Permit fees fees ($100,000/$43,648/$380,000 MIA MSP PDX PHL PHX SFO TPA trip trip MAG (a) DEN (b) PHL (c) After Source: LeighFisher, SEA BOS BWI DEN DTW FLL IAD IAH Comprehensive Review of Commercial Ground Transportation Operations SeattleTacoma International Airport 17 NEW INDUSTRY PROVIDERS Recent changes in the industry due to the rise of the sharing economy have resulted in two new types of companies entering the ground transportation/rental car business at airports. These new services include transportation network companies (TNCs) where a passenger uses a smartphone application to connect to a driver using their personal vehicle, and peertopeer rental car companies, where a customer rents an owner's personal vehicle while it is not in use. The most wellknown of these companies are UberX and Lyft for TNCs and FlightCar and RelayRides for peertopeer rental car companies. Transportation Network Companies Airport staff at all of the peer airports except YVR reported that TNCs are operating in their area, although most are doing so without the airports' approval. Only four of the airports (DEN, IAH, PDX, and SFO) have a permit in place for TNCs. PHX is currently in discussions with the TNCs to develop a TNC permit, but some TNC drivers have obtained a prearranged operator permit to operate at the airport. IAD has developed a draft permit which is being reviewed by their board. The process for a TNC to begin operations at each of the four airports with permits is similar. The company must first obtain an operating permit from the local regulatory authority, then complete an application for an airport permit, agreeing to pay fees and comply with the airport's rules and regulations, including displaying the company's trade dress. At SFO there was a onetime activation fee to cover the unpaid fees the companies incurred prior to agreeing to sign the airport's permit. IAH is unique in that in addition to the company signing an airport permit, each driver must also be licensed by the City of Houston and receive an airport permit by showing proof of their City registration. Table 2 summarizes the fees charged to TNCs at the four airports with TNC permits. At all four airports, the trip fee was originally determined based on the existing trip fee for other operators. At DEN and PDX, however, a trip fee is charged for both drop off and pick up, even though other operators are only charged for pick up. At PDX this is because taxicabs and limousines must pay an annual vehicle permit fee in addition to the company permit, which TNCs are not required to pay. At SFO limousines also pay for trips on a pick up and drop off basis. At all four airports, TNC drivers are required to stage outside of the main terminal area. Table 3 shows the location where TNC drivers must wait for, pick up, and drop off customers. At all of the airports, the TNCs wait in a location separate from the taxicab holding area. The drivers at DEN wait in one of two remote parking facilities infrequently used by customers except during peak travel weeks. At IAH, PDX, and SFO there are designated holding areas for commercial vehicles or TNCs only with minimal amenities. The TNCs at each of the four airports currently selfreport their trips and associated fees. SFO is able to verify the trips using software airport IT staff developed. The software also enables airport enforcement staff to see the TNC vehicles currently at the airport in realtime, the company they are operating for (as some drivers work for more than one TNC), and information about the vehicle's trip history including how long they have been on airport property and whether the driver dropped off a passenger. PDX is currently developing their own version of this enforcement software. In the meantime, PDX has audited the companies and found them to have complied with their reporting requirements. Comprehensive Review of Commercial Ground Transportation Operations SeattleTacoma International Airport 18 Table 2 Transportation Network Company Fees Trip Trip fee for Other Fee Estimated Fees drop off? Fees Determination annual revenue Same fee all operators were DEN $2.15 Yes None charged when permit Unable to share developed IAH $2.75 No None Keep similar to taxis Unknown Same trip fee as other $200 company PDX $2.00 Yes operators but drop off too ~$600,000 permit since no vehicle permit Same as limos when permit SFO $3.85 Yes Activation fee (a) ~$7M developed (a) Total of unpaid trip fees since April 2015 or $100,000 Source: LeighFisher, based on data provided by airport staff, July 2015 Both DEN, IAH, and SFO reported that the main challenge in managing the TNCs has been in educating the drivers on how to operate properly while on the airport (i.e., how the airport "works") and ensuring they comply with the rules and regulations, particularly given the high driver turnover rate and use of non professional drivers. SFO also cited concerns about the large number of TNC vehicles operating at the airport and congestion on the roadways. PDX did not have any complaints about their TNC operations. The other peer airports where the TNCs are operating without a permit in place were also asked what challenges they have faced with regard to the TNCs and how this new service has impacted other commercial ground transportation operations. At these airports the main challenge is in enforcing the airport's current regulations against the companies who are operating there illegally. In Miami, the airport and city combined have issued over $2 million in fines. PHX has also been issuing citations to unpermitted drivers and had Uber implement a geofence to limit the areas where vehicles can wait for a customer. IAD also had issues with TNC drivers dwelling in prohibited areas. Comprehensive Review of Commercial Ground Transportation Operations SeattleTacoma International Airport 19 Table 3 Transportation Network Company Operations Other pick Dropoff Other dropoff Pickup up location location location users location users Staging area Size Amenities Remote Private DEN Level 6 Private vehicles Level 4 airport parking N/A None vehicles lots Private and Designated Garbage Departures Commercial Separate ~75100 IAH commercial commercial cans, porta curbsides vehicles holding area vehicles vehicles curb space pottys Upper Ground ~120 Garbage Commercial Commercial Separate PDX outer transportation parking cans, porta vehicles vehicles holding area roadway curbside stalls pottys Private and Designated Garbage Departures Departures Private SFO commercial spaces in Unknown cans, porta curbside curbside vehicles vehicles commercial lot pottys Source: LeighFisher, based on data provided by airport staff, July 2015 The peer airports found mixed impacts of the TNCs on airport taxicab operations. PDX found that taxicab trips increased yearoveryear but at a slower rate than in previous years (23% compared with 11% in 2014). DEN and IAH did not report any impacts to the taxicab providers, and at PHX taxi trips were up 10% over the previous years. At IAD there was a decrease in both the inbound (6%) and outbound (3%) taxicab trips, however. SFO also found that inbound taxi trips were affected more than outbound trips, which increased yearoveryear. There were also mixed results for the impact on other commercial ground transportation operators. At DEN there has been an impact on both sharedride providers and limousine operators, many of whom are now using application based software similar to the TNCs. At FLL the sharedride/ondemand limousine operator has reported a decrease in passengers, although the company is not required to report trip data to the airport. Similarly, the sharedride operator at MIA has also reported a decrease in business, but the airport has not seen much of an impact on either the sharedride or limousine operators. At PDX the number of limousine and sharedride trips have remained about the same as in previous years despite passenger growth at the airport. Similarly, sharedride passenger numbers were flat yearoveryear at PHX. Comprehensive Review of Commercial Ground Transportation Operations SeattleTacoma International Airport 20 PeertoPeer Rental Car Companies The two main peertopeer rental car companies (FlightCar and RelayRides) typically have very different business models at airports. FlightCar typically operates off of the airport property, often at a nearby off airport parking or hotel/motel site. Customers can use the parking or hotel operator's courtesy shuttle to travel to and from the airport terminal or consolidated rental car facility. Owners leave their vehicles at FlightCar's lot and receive free parking while their vehicle is available to be rented by customers. Their competitor, RelayRides, more often leaves the vehicle owner to arrange for pick up or drop off of the vehicle with the customer directly. Many of the vehicles advertised as available at an airport on their website are in fact located at the owner's home or other location in the area surrounding the airport. In these instances, the airport does not have an agreement with RelayRides. Some drivers will meet or drop off passengers at the airport or arrange to have their vehicle dropped off in an airport parking facility however. At SFO both FlightCar and RelayRides operate using the typical FlightCar business model. The airport considers these companies offairport rental car providers and has an agreement in place accordingly. Similarly, the other four airports that have agreements in place with a peertopeer rental car company (all currently with FlightCar) also consider the company to operate as an offairport rental car company. At all four of these airports (BWI, DEN, PDX, and PHX) the airport's business relationships with these peertopeer rental car companies are managed by the same airport staff responsible for management of the traditional rental car companies rather than the ground transportation staff responsible for oversight of commercial ground transportation services. OVERVIEW OF AIRPORTS' GROUND TRANSPORTATION ORGANIZATION AND RESOURCES Table 4 summarizes the staff resources available to the airport sections or departments responsible for oversight and management of commercial ground transportation operations. As shown, the number of full time equivalent (FTE) staff varies from two or fewer (BWI, FLL, IAD, and YVR) to over 100 (IAH and MIA). Several of the airports, particularly those with open taxicab systems and limited staff resources, employ thirdparty management contractors to assist with the oversight and management of commercial vehicles and curbside operations. Airports employing thirdparty contractors to assist with commercial vehicle and curbside operations include DEN, FLL, IAD, PDX, PHL, PHX, and SFO. Figure 9 shows the responsibilities of the airport staff responsible for oversight and management of commercial vehicle operations. The key differences are which group is responsible for taxicab dispatching,vehicle inspections, driver permitting, control of the staging areas, and management of the roadways used by private vehicles. Comprehensive Review of Commercial Ground Transportation Operations SeattleTacoma International Airport 21 Table 4 Airport Ground Transportation Staff Organization and Resources # peak shift TCOs/curb # police # FTE Staff enforcement assigned to # thirdparty Group overseeing CGT overseeing employed by curbsides management reports to: CGT airport during peak contractors # concessionaires Director of Airport SEA 1416 N/A 5 (e) 0 1 taxi + 1 limo Operations BOS General Manager 5060 0 3 0 0 1 taxi + BWI Chief Operating Officer 1.5 2 0 0 1 sharedride/ limo DEN Chief Revenue Officer 45 0 0 1 dispatch 0 DTW Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown 1 curb 1 sharedride/ FLL Director of Operations 2 0 1 contract management limo 3 taxi + IAD Airport Manager 2 Unknown 0 1 dispatch 1 sharedride IAH General Manager 150 14 (a) 0 0 1 sharedride Assistant Director of MIA 112 0 (b) 0 0 1 sharedride Operations Director of MSP MSP 28.5 3 0 0 1 sharedride Operations Airport's Operations 1 dispatch/curb PDX 2.5 0 0 1 PSA Manager management Deputy Director PHL 30 0 30 15 None Operations & Facilities 1 dispatch + PHX Director of Operations 72 0 4 1 secret shopper Deputy Director of 1 curb SFO 12 16 9 0 Operations management 2 taxi + TPA Director of Operations 4.5 15 (d) 0 0 1 sharedride 1 curb YVR Senior VP Finance/CFO 2 Unknown Unknown 16 taxi + 1 limo management (a) TCOs are included in the total 150 count of staff overseeing CGT (b) All MIA landside staff are crosstrained as TCOs (c) 80 PSAs for whole airport. Usually 1 per curb, 2 during peak shifts (d) 60 employed. 15 during peak shifts (e) For entire airport. Curbsides are low priority Source: LeighFisher, based on data from airport staff, July 2015 Comprehensive Review of Commercial Ground Transportation Operations SeattleTacoma International Airport 22 GT Roadway management/ PD T GT T PD T enforcement for all vehicles PD GT + PD PD + PD + PD + AP AP GT GT AP GT PD GT + PD + Business development N/A Commercial management Properties N/A Oversight of peertopeer N/A GT T rental cars GT N/A N/A N/A GT Concessions Properties N/A RAC manager + GT CS N/A CS N/A CS Sharedride van dispatching N/A T CS CS CS CS N/A T CS PD T CS GT CS T GT T + GT Taxicab dispatching T T T GT GT GT T T T GT GT CS GT GT Enforcement/ control of T PD + T staging areas T GT T GT GT GT T + PD + T GT + TGT + L GT T + PD GT GT + PD T GT + PD GT GT Enforcement of illegal GT GT AP solicitation T + PD + AP GT GT GT + PD + PD + + T + GT + T + GT Responsibilities PD GT PD PD T Enforcement of CGT passenger Staff GT GT + GT GT PD + GT GT GT GT PD GT T T + T + T + pickoff areas GT Figure 9 GT Enforcement of CGT passenger GT GT + PD PD dropoff areas GT GT GT T GT GT GT PD AP T + PD + T + PD + Transportation GT GT N/A GT GT Control of AVI system GT N/A GT GT N/A T GT GT N/A N/A contractor 2015 Fee collection Airport Ground GT GT GT GT GT GT F + GT T + GT GT GT T GT GT F police July N/A GT Airport Concessionaire T + GT L GT L T GT GT N/A T = AP Third partyT = CS = airport staff, Driver licensing/ permitting L N/A N/A N/A T MWAA GT L L T T by L L GT + inspectors L and GT GT N/A Vehicle inspections GT GT T GT GT GT GT GT T L GT GT T staff data provided Permitting of CGT GT GT GT GT companies/vehicles GT GT + Revenue GT GT GT GT GT GT GT GT transportation on F Establishing CGT fees GT GT GT based GT + GT staff GT + Legal GT GT GT GT GT GT GT GT GT ground GT GT GT Developing CGT rules/ GT regulations DEN DTW FLL IAD IAH MIA MSP PDX PHL PHX SFO TPA YVR Airport = Local police GT Airport financeF = Local regulator/regulations SEA L = PD = Source: LeighFisher, BOS BWI Comprehensive Review of Commercial Ground Transportation Operations SeattleTacoma International Airport 23 FACILITIES USED BY COMMERCIAL VEHICLES TO DROP OFF AND PICK UP PASSENGERS This section summarizes the curbside and other facilities used by commercial vehicles when dropping off and picking up airline passengers. Key features considered when contrasting the dropoff and pickup facilities of the peer airports are: 1. Is access to the boarding areas gate controlled? 2. Does the airport have more than one terminal? 3. Are forhire vehicles, particularly, ondemand taxicabs and sharedride vans, visible from the baggage claim exit doors? 4. How is the available curb space allocated among users? 5. What amenities are available to customers waiting for commercial vehicles? This section also addresses holding lots or staging areas and the amenities provided to commercial vehicle drivers in these lots. Gatecontrolled access to commercial vehicle boarding areas Airports place control gates (often AVIactivated gates) at the entry to the commercial vehicle boarding areas in order to prevent unauthorized vehicles from entering. Gates can also be placed at the exits to monitor vehicle dwell times and support the implementation of fines or dwell time fees to discourage excessive dwell times. Thus the use of gates simplifies vehicle management and enforcement. However, the ability to have gate controlled roadways depends on the terminal area roadway layout (e.g., having a dedicated commercial vehicle roadway and space for vehicle queues which may form at the entry gate). The peer airports with gate controlled access to the commercial vehicle boarding area include DEN, MSP, and TPA. Access for some but not all commercial vehicles is gate controlled at PHL (forhire vehicles only) and PDX (taxicabs only). Number of terminals Airports with multiple terminals typically have a greater amount of curb length. However, oversight and management of multiple curbs requires more enforcement personnel, more taxicab or sharedride dispatchers, and allocation of space for each vehicle class at each terminal. Of the peer airports, those with multiple terminals (and the number of physically separated terminals) are: BOS (4), DTW (2), FLL (4), IAH (5), MSP (2), and PHX (3). Visibility of forhire vehicles from baggage claim exits Passengers exiting baggage claim expect to be able to easily find waiting taxicabs and the boarding areas assigned to forhire and other commercial vehicles. These expectations are a result of airline passengers, including those travelling in commercial vehicles, traditionally being dropped off adjacent to the checkin area and being picked up adjacent to the baggage claim area. Since most large airports have multilevel terminal buildings with checkin lobbies on the upper level and baggage claim areas on the lower level airline passengers are typically dropped off on the upper level and picked up on the lower level. This Comprehensive Review of Commercial Ground Transportation Operations SeattleTacoma International Airport 24 layoutan upper level dropoff curbside and a lower level pickup curbside for all vehiclesrepresents the most common or conventional airport curbside layout. Examples of airports having conventional twolevel curbside layouts Ten of the selected peer airports have twolevel curbside including BWI, BOS, DTW, FLL, IAH, MIA, PDX, SFO, and YVR. At these airports, with the exception of BOS and SFO, passengers exiting baggage claim areas can easily see waiting taxicabs, sharedride vans, courtesy vehicles, and scheduled buses. At BOS, three of the four unit terminals (Terminals A, B, and C) have two level curbsides, but the fourth (Terminal E) has a single level curbside. At Terminals A and C passengers exiting the baggage claim area can see the boarding areas for all commercial vehicles. However at Terminal B, due to a lack of curbside capacity, the taxicab and limousine boarding areas were recently moved from the lower level curbside to the Terminal B garage located on the opposite side of the curbside roadway. Passengers seeking taxicabs must exit the baggage area and walk across the curbside roadway to the Terminal B garage. Taxicab and limousine boarding positions, which occupy an entire level of the garage, are configured in two rows of angled, pullthrough spaces. This space layout (1) improves customer throughput/reduces customer wait times as multiple taxicabs or limousines can be boarded simultaneously, (2) provides for covered/weather protected boarding positions, (3) allows for efficient oversight and control by Airport staff, and (4) minimizes conflicts between vehicles and pedestrians. At SFO sharedride vans, transportation network company vehicles, and courtesy vehicles (except those serving offairport rental cars which are required to use the consolidated rental car center) are required to both drop off and pick up passengers on the upper level due to a lack of curb space capacity. At IAH passenger dropoff and pickup areas are located on two levels at Terminals A, B, C, and E. Terminal D only has a dropoff curbside as it only serves departing international passengers. At Terminals A, B, and C the pickup curbsides are adjacent to the baggage claim area, but at each terminal there are three separate pickup curbsides one each on the south, north, and west facades of the terminal building. Each curbside serves a different ground transportation service (e.g., private vehicles on the north curb, rental cars and taxicabs on the west, and courtesy vehicles on the south). However, because of the roadway design, some vehicles stop with the driver's side adjacent to the curb (considered "wrong way" loading as passengers must board the vehicle while standing in an active traffic lane). Because IAH has 15 individual curbside areas, each physically separated, more staff are required to control traffic and enforce these curbsides than a conventional curbside. Airports having curbside layouts with three or more levelsDEN, IAD, and MCO. A few U.S. airports have more than two curbside levels include DEN, IAD, and Orlando International (MCO). At these airports all vehicles are required to dropoff passengers on the upper level (adjacent to ticketing). Commercial vehicles are required to pickup passengers on one of the two remaining levels the middle level at DEN, and the ground levels at IAD and MCO. At MCOwhich was not one of the selected peer airports because of the large proportion of nonresident airline passengersthe threelevel curbside configuration is replicated on Comprehensive Review of Commercial Ground Transportation Operations SeattleTacoma International Airport 25 both sides of the terminal building, and supplemented by a fourth boarding area beneath the terminal building restricted for use by prearranged limousines that have been inspected by security staff. TPA has curbsides on two sides of the terminal building (the red and blue sides) each having separate passenger dropoff and pickup areas. At TPA the dropoff curbside used by all vehicles and the pickup curbside used by private vehicles and limousines are traditional linear curbsides. These linear curbsides are supplemented by four surface parking lots which are reserved for use by taxicabs, sharedride vans, and courtesy vehicles. The surface parking lotsreferred to as Quad Lots as they are located in each quadrant of the buildingare immediately adjacent to each end of the baggage claim areas. Airports having nontraditional curbsidesPHL, PHX, MSP, and DTW. PHL and PHX have non traditional curbsides, but their layout permits passengers exiting the baggage claim areas to easily see waiting taxicabs, sharedride vans, courtesy vehicles, and scheduled buses. At PHL the checkin lobby and baggage claim areas are located in two separate buildings for each of the five terminals. These buildings are separated by a railroad track with elevated walkways connecting the aircraft gates/departure terminals and the baggage claim building. All vehicles dropoff passengers on the departures road adjacent to the checkin lobbies. There are two arrivals curbsides, one on either side of the baggage claim building, with the south side used by private vehicles and courtesy vehicles, and the north side used by forhire vehicles. At PHX there are curbside roadways on both sides of Terminals 3 and 4. Terminal 3 has a single level curbside. Boarding areas for taxicab and rental car shuttles are provided on both the north and south curbs while the boarding areas for all other commercial vehicles are located only on the south curb. Terminal 4 has a twolevel curbside with upper levels on both sides used for dropoff by all vehicles, and a lower level on both sides used for pickup by all vehicles. At the lower level there is an inner and outer curbside with private vehicles using the inner curbside and taxicabs, rental car shuttles, and courtesy vehicles using the outer curbside. As described below the commercial vehicle boarding area is not adjacent to or visible from the exits from the baggage claim areas at MSP and at DTW's McNamara Terminal. At MSP passengers board taxicabs, limousines, sharedride vans, scheduled vans, and courtesy vehicles from a Ground Transportation Atrium located within a parking structure opposite the terminal. Access between the terminal and the Ground Transportation Atrium is provided via an underground walkway that passes airline checkin desks located in the ground transportation center. At DTW both terminals have Ground Transportation Centers, where passengers board taxicabs, for hire vehicles, and courtesy vehicles. The Ground Transportation Center is located in a parking structure at the McNamara Terminal. Comprehensive Review of Commercial Ground Transportation Operations SeattleTacoma International Airport 26 Allocation of available curbside space The peer airports consider multiple factors when allocating the available curb space on the inner or outer roadways or along the length of the curbsides among the commercial vehicles. The factors include: Passenger and vehicular safety. Provide adequate curb space for maneuvering vehicles (especially large buses and coaches), minimize the volume of passengers crossing roadways, separate private and commercial vehicles, and enforce dwell times Customer expectations. Locate services that customers expect to find at the curbside (e.g., ondemand taxicabs) in visible locations Use of public transportation. Provide convenient boarding areas for scheduled buses/vans and public transit services. Some airport operators (e.g., BOS and SFO) assign these services to the curbside areas immediately adjacent to the terminal unless prevented from doing so by vertical clearance, structural loads, or roadway widths. At MIA, shuttles must use the outer roadway due the lack of bypass lanes on the inner roadways. Conversely, at PHX these vehicles use the outer curbsides, in part to enhance traffic operations. Nonairline revenues. Allocate the more visible and convenient curbside spaces to services that generate significant revenues (e.g., onairport parking and rental car shuttles) Competition among ground transportation operators. Separate competing operators (e.g., ondemand taxicabs, sharedride vans, and limousines) while attempting to provide them with equivalent access to deplaning airline passengers. Airports also attempt to distinguish between on and offairport parking courtesy vehicles. Separation of private and commercial vehicles. Improve ability to control and enforce pickup areas by separating private and commercial vehicles, and if space is available, providing separate boarding areas for each type of commercial ground transportation service Examples of curbside space allocations: Due to the City of San Francisco's "Transit First" policy, priority is given to curb space for HOVs at SFO Due to curbside capacity constraints the upper level curbside is used for both dropoff and pickup by most hotel/motel courtesy vehicles at MIA and by all courtesy vehicles, TNCS, and sharedride vans at SFO At MIA and SFO's International Terminal, courtyards are reserved for the use of charter buses (e.g., cruise ship buses) Amenities provided waiting passengers Most of the peer airports provide bus shelters and benches for passengers waiting for commercial vehicle. However several airports provide additional amenities: At MSP the Ground Transportation Atrium contains a heated/air conditioned seating area, having padded chairs, floortoceiling windows to allow waiting passengers to see arriving vehicles, and counter space for the regional shuttles At TPA there are enclosed, air conditioned waiting areas adjacent to the Quad Lots Comprehensive Review of Commercial Ground Transportation Operations SeattleTacoma International Airport 27 There are counter areas for the commercial ground transportation providers available for lease at DEN, PHL and PHX. Several of the airports with exclusive shared ride van concession contracts (e.g., BWI, FLL, IAD, and IAH) provide or lease counter space to the concessionaire. At PDX a glass canopy covers all the curbside areas SUPPORTING TECHNOLOGIES Ten of the peer airports have AVI systems. Those that do not are BWI, IAH (which formerly had one and is evaluating reinstalling a system), TPA, and YVR. PDX recently acquired an AVI system which is scheduled to be operative by September 1, 2015. Airports having handheld devices used by curbside staff for enforcement or dispatching purposes and to supplement their AVI systems include FLL, IAD, MSP, PHX, and SFO, although IAD report that they never use the devices. PHX and IAH IT staff developed their own device while the other airports acquired the device through their AVI system vendor. Most of the airports rely upon radios or mobile phones to dispatch taxicabs and other vehicles from the staging lot to the curbside boarding positions. MSP staff developed a unique software program which among other features monitors the position of each waiting taxicab and automatically dispatches the vehicle to the boarding area. SFO is in the midst of acquiring a system to monitor both taxicabs and sharedride vans. IAD has an automated taxicab dispatching system developed by an outside vendor. At those airports having a contracted taxicab or sharedride system the contractor is responsible for acquiring and maintaining the dispatch system. None of the airports surveyed have airport provided mobile phone applications (apps) for arranging forhire vehicle trips. COMMERCIAL VEHICLE STAGING AREAS/HOLDING LOTS Table 5 summarizes the capacity and use of the commercial vehicle staging areas. Most of the peer airports have one staging lot, but FLL, MIA, MSP, PHL, PHX, and SFO have multiple areas. At IAD and PHL there is a remote main holding area and a small stack or lot closer to the terminal. At MIA and SFO there is one area for taxicabs and one for all other commercial vehicles. At PHX one area is used primarily by black cars and the other area by all other operators. Comprehensive Review of Commercial Ground Transportation Operations SeattleTacoma International Airport 28 Table 5 Summary of Commercial Vehicle Staging (Holding) Areas at Peer Airports Approximate Peak period travel Capacity (a) Vehicle time to terminal Do CGT vehicles Is this a concern to local Airport (spaces) orientation (a) (a) (minutes) stage off airport? community? Limos at nearby gas City expressed concern SEA 200 Nosetotail 8 to 10 station and church but not those businesses BOS Unknown Nosetotail Unknown No N/A BWI 300 Nosetotail 1 No N/A DEN 300 Nosetotail 5 to 7 No N/A DTW Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown FLL 150 Nosetotail 10 No N/A IAD >1000 Parking spaces 5 to 10 No N/A Limos at nearby gas IAH >500 Nosetotail 2 No, they like the business stations Taxis when staging MIA 450 Nosetotail 1 Police respond area closes MSP 570 Parking spaces 4 Limos No PDX Unknown Nosetotail Unknown No N/A PHL 200300 Nosetotail 5 Rarely No PHX 150 Parking spaces 2 to 7 (b) No N/A Sometimes limos SFO Unknown Nosetotail 3 No on edge of roadway TPA 100 Nosetotail 8 No N/A YVR 250 Nosetotail 3 No N/A (a) If airport has multiple holding areas, information is for area(s) where taxicabs stage (b) Around 7 minutes from west hold lot to south curb and 2 minutes from east hold lot to Terminal 4 Source: LeighFisher, based on information from airport staff, July 2015 The reported sizes include all the available staging lots as well as supplemental stacking areas located near the terminal. The lot sizes vary from about 150 spaces (PHX) to over 1000 spaces (IAD). The number of spaces provided reflect the volume of taxicab business, the number of waiting taxicabs, the average length of time the drivers spend in the hold lot (which varies from under 2 hours in BOS to nearly 4 hours at IAH), and the availability of convenient sites on the airport. Other information gathered from the peer airports includes: The travel time from the staging areas ranged from 1 to 10 minutes. Airports with 10 minute travel times (e.g., FLL and IAD) were more likely to have supplemental stacking areas. Generally the staging areas serve taxicabs, sharedride vans, limousines, and charter buses, with the areas for taxicabs separated from the other services by fences or barriers. However staging area at MIA and SFO are reserved exclusively for taxicabs. Waiting taxicabs park in nosetotail queues at all the airports except IAD, MSP, and PHX. Each of these three airports have reader boards that indicate each driver's position in the waiting queue, allowing drivers to park their cars in Comprehensive Review of Commercial Ground Transportation Operations SeattleTacoma International Airport 29 conventional spaces and avoid the need to move up when preceding taxicabs are dispatched to the terminal. Staff of the peer airports reported that commercial vehicles never or rarely park in adjacent communities, and that when they do it is typically not a concern of the local communities. Figure 10 presents information about the driver lounges. BOS and SFO reported not having a lounge, and FLL's consists of a tent and wood deck. Generally the lounges contain TVs (sometimes provided by the drivers rather than the airport), microwaves, and most offer WiFi access. The lounge at MSP is in the rear of a convenience store/service station, allowing access to food, beverages, and gas/oil for their vehicles. IAD provides a virtual hold lot, allowing drivers to exit the hold lot and monitor their position remotely without losing their place in the queue. Five of the airports provide facilities for meditation, reflection or religious practices. At some this implies a quiet area, while others have provided special fixtures (e.g., foot washes). Six of the peer airports reported that one to two staff were present in the holding area at all times and provided some form of office space for these staff. DEN has eight staff (including two from their management contractor). AIRPORT DESIRED IMPROVEMENTS AND EXAMPLES Twelve of the fourteen airports provided examples of airports whose ground transportation systems as a whole or a specific aspect of an airport's ground transportation system they found desirable. The twelve responses included 28 references to 14 airports. The airport that received the most references was MCO, which was highlighted in four responses. SEA and SFO were each mentioned by three others and five airports were mentioned by two others. PDX and TPA also selfidentified as having desirable systems, PDX specifically for its busing and TPA overall. Another airport called out PDX's taxicab rotation system. Of those airports that received multiple references, the references were mostly for different aspects of the system. For example, references to MCO highlighted the Mears buses, curbside layout, shuttles, and rental car facility (which was outside the scope of the study). Only MSP (taxi system) and DFW (tolling system) received multiple references for the same reason. Specifically, other airport staff liked the taxi dispatch system and pullthrough curb spaces at MSP. PHX was called out for its handheld devices and likecolored taxicabs, and ATL's commercial vehicle loading areas with stall parking and covered walkways was also referenced. SEA received references for its rental car facility, taxicab system, covered commercial vehicle area, and amount of curb space (from PDX staff). Several of the staff interviewed listed additional curbside capacity as a desired improvement for their own airports. Comprehensive Review of Commercial Ground Transportation Operations SeattleTacoma International Airport 30 Figure 10 Drivers Lounge Amenities Airport Amenities provided drivers offfice/staff Approx. size Area for (sq. ft.) Permanent reflection Call Permanent FID Food cafe/ Vending or religious board/ restroom monitor truck restaurant machines practices displays Office Staff Monitor ~2500 shows SEA Yes No No Kitchenette Yes No Yes 0 3000 GT plaza BOS None No No No No No No No Yes 2 BWI ~1000 Yes No Yes No Yes Yes No Yes 1 DEN >2000 Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No Yes 8 DTW Unknown N/A (tent FLL and wood No No Yes No No No No No 0 deck) Quiet room IAD ~1000 Yes Yes No No Yes and Yes Yes 0 footwash IAH >2000 Yes No Yes No No No No Yes 2 MIA Open air Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No Yes 2 160 MSP people + Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes No 0 a store PDX Unknown Yes Yes No No Yes Yes No Yes 1 PHL Unknown Yes No Yes No No No No No 0 Large ~4000 board (incl. PHX Yes Yes Yes No Yes No outside, No 0 outdoor monitor space) s inside SFO None Yes No Yes No No Footwash No No 1 TPA ~1000 Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No No 0 For special "Quiet request YVR Unknown Yes Yes No No No No 0 Area" s & number needed Comprehensive Review of Commercial Ground Transportation Operations SeattleTacoma International Airport 31 CURRENT COMMERCIAL GROUND TRANSPORTATION PROVIDERS AT THE AIRPORT AND THEIR SPECIFIC BUSINESS MODELS To be completed by Port staff KEY CONSTRAINTS ON COMMERCIAL GROUND TRANSPORTATION OPERATIONS AT THE AIRPORT To be completed by Port staff Comprehensive Review of Commercial Ground Transportation Operations SeattleTacoma International Airport 32
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