ITEM NO:       ___7a_Supp______ 
DATE OF MEETING: September 8, 2015 






The Ground Transportation System at
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport: 
Options to Expand Participation and
Enhance Customer Service 

1

Outline 
1. Direction at 5/26 Commission Meeting 
2. Current Ground Transportation (GT) Services at the
Airport 
3. Peer Airport and Best Practices Analysis 
4. Stakeholder Outreach Meetings 
5. Key Policy Considerations 
6. Options for Structuring GT System 
7. Next Steps 
8. Appendix (Airport/Maritime Operational Details) 

Preparation for Commission consideration of Options 
2

Direction to Staff on 5/26 Commission Meeting 
Develop options for Commission consideration that
meet the following criteria: 
Provides quality service for the traveling public 
Provides adequate capacity to meet demand 
Allows provision of service to be manageable 
Generates income for the Port of Seattle 
Promotes small business 
Expands economic opportunity 
Encourages environmental sustainability 
Create a process for GT stakeholders to provide input 
Other considerations 
Criteria, input and considerations used in developing options 
3

Current GT Services at the Airport 
On-Demand service  transportation services that are available on a walk-up
basis at the curbside without prior arrangement or customer interaction
between the customer and provider 
Taxi (Puget Sound Dispatch) 
Limousine (Seattle-Tacoma International Limousine Association) 
Shared Ride/Airporter 
Pre-Arranged service  transportation that is provided in response to a prior
request from a customer via telephone, smartphone application or other
method 
Taxi, Limousine, For Hire, Shared Ride/Airporter, Courtesy, Charter 
Ground Transportation system at Sea-Tac is primarily managed by Port staff 
See appendix for detailed information of each class of service 
A variety of operators serve the traveling public at Sea-Tac with 
on-demand and pre-arranged services 
4

Current GT Services at the Airport 
The GT system includes 8 classes of service 
GT system activity in 2014: 
Over 2.3 million trips across all classes of service 
Generated more than $8 million in non-aeronautical
revenue 
Direct Port costs allocated to these service classes
total approximately $2.5 million 
GT services at Sea-Tac have consistently ranked
high among peer airports 
The GT system is important operationally and financially to the airport 
5

Peer Airport and Best Practices Analysis (Leigh Fisher Report) 
Airports Selected for Analysis 
San Francisco     Tampa          Fort Lauderdale 
Denver         Philadelphia     Minneapolis/St. Paul 
Boston         Detroit         Houston (Bush) 
Miami         Portland       Washington (Dulles) 
Phoenix        Baltimore       Vancouver 
Criteria for Selecting Peer Airports 
Similar volume of origin and destination (O&D) passengers 
Serve a passenger mix similar to that of Sea-Tac (business vs. leisure passengers) 
Employs a range of ground transportation business structures or operating models
including those considered to have best industry practices 

Independent 3rd party completed peer airport review and best practice
analysis 
6

Peer Airport and Best Practices Analysis (Leigh Fisher Report) 
Basic Types of Business Arrangements 
1. Open access  any vehicle having a valid permit issued by local regulatory
agency may serve the airport 
2. Exclusive access  airport awards a contract to one or several companies 
and only this company(ies) may pick up on-demand customers at the
airport 
3. Hybrid  blend of 1 and 2 based on class of service 
Key differences of the models are: 
The airport's ability to control the customer experience and operations,
including vehicle and driver standards 
The amount of staff effort required to implement and oversee operations 
The amount of competition among companies 

Choice of GT business model impacts multiple factors 

7

Peer Airport and Best Practices Analysis (Leigh Fisher Report) 
Open System                 Exclusive System 
Pros                       Pros 
No licensed vehicles are excluded from serving the           Airport's contractual relationship provides ability to
airport                                          require such things as environmental standards,
vehicle availability, operator's on-site management 
Enhanced customer service 
Significantly less enforcement and management
oversight required 
Cons                     Cons 
Frequently leads to oversupply                            Some properly licensed companies will not be
Difficult to maintain customer service standards (wait         selected and will be precluded from conducting ontime
, vehicle condition, driver training)                   demand business at the airport 
Increased enforcement requirements which require           Perceived advantage for incumbent in successive
greater staff effort and resources                       contracts 
Need for and cost of additional staging/queueing
facilities 

Each GT structure has different benefits 

8

Peer Airport and Best Practices Analysis (Leigh Fisher Report) 
Best Practices for Structure of Ground Transportation
Services 
Taxis/For-Hire: Exclusive access for on-demand services 
Limos: Only four of the peer airports offer on-demand limos.              The value
of concession contracts appears to have diminished . 
Shared-Ride: Exclusive access 
TNCs: Only four peer airports have agreements with TNCs, too early to
determine best practices
Three of four airports rely on TNC self-reporting 
Main challenge is enforcing current airport regulations 

Exclusive model is considered best practice for taxis and shared ride
services 
9

Stakeholder Outreach Meetings (Conducted by Norton-Arnold & Co.) 

Five individual meetings were held with separate
stakeholder groups (Taxi, Limousine, For-Hire, Shared
Ride, TNC) 
Independent facilitator asked attendees to explain what
is working well and what needs to be changed with Sea-
Tac's GT system 


Process to meet Commission request for stakeholder input 

10

Stakeholder Outreach Meetings (Conducted by Norton-Arnold & Co.) 
Common Themes from Five Stakeholder Meetings: 
Competition 
Customer Service 
Small Business 
Revenue to the Port of Seattle 
Environmental Considerations 
Relationship with the Port of Seattle 

Common themes emerged from individual class of service meetings 

11

Stakeholder Outreach Meetings (Conducted by Norton-Arnold & Co.) 
Key Messages Articulated by Various Service
Providers 
Taxi - Regulated rates with a meter  easily understood by
customers 
For-Hire - Flat rate  easy for customers and less expensive 
Limousine - Highly regulated luxury vehicle service with
extensive background checks for drivers 
Door-to-Door Shuttle & Scheduled Airporters Regulations
require high levels of insurance, driver background checks,
vehicle inspections 
TNC - Regulated, variable insurance based on driver activity 
Each operator class articulated advantages of, or addressed concerns
regarding, their business model 
12

Key Policy Considerations 
Merit of promoting greater opportunity (open access) vs.
higher capital and operating costs, lower owner/driver
income, and less control of customer service 
Market rate or cost recovery methodology 
TNC operations 
Restrictions on private use for public facilities funded by
municipal bonds 
Means of ensuring safe and equitable operation 

Multiple issues to consider in setting policy 
13

Current GT Structure 
On-Demand
Taxi       Exclusive through competitive bid
Limo     Exclusive through competitive bid
Pre-Arranged
Taxi       Open
For-Hire    Open
Limo     Open
TNC     Pick-ups not allowed
Shared Ride   Open with appropriate permit
GT Management Port staff
This structure has provided excellent customer service and high
revenue to the Port 
14

Option 1 
Allow any taxi, for-hire, or limo provider with a
valid permit issued by the local regulatory agency
access to on-demand customers 
Co-locate all on-demand and pre-arranged GT
classes of service on third floor plaza of the garage 
1 year pilot program for TNCs to operate as a pre-
arranged option on the third floor of the garage 

This option focuses on creating parity of access to customers 
15

Option 1 
Considerations: 
Creates operational equity among providers 
Allows increased number of participants but likely reduces income levels 
Reduces ability to manage customer service, environmental standards and vehicle
condition 
Increases resources required to manage POS or third party 
Leads to over-supply but can manage through caps or rotations 
Increases difficulty to ensure adequate capacity 24/7 and during bad weather 
Can set rates higher than cost-recovery but must be reasonable and uniform 
Requires significant capital investment to expand curb space and off-site staging
areas, must also expand operational area on third floor 
Single lane entry/exit on third floor commercial area could lead to congestion 
Higher risk to customer safety and service levels due to congestion 

All operators would be located on 3rd floor 
16

Option 2 
Same as Option 1, except pre-arranged classes of service
continue to operate as they do currently 
Allow any taxi, for-hire, or limo provider with a valid permit
issued by the local regulatory agency access to on-demand
customers 
1 year pilot program for TNCs operation as a pre-arranged
option on the third floor of the garage 


This option focuses on creating more participation 
17

Option 2 
Considerations are very similar to Option 1, with the
following changes: 
Requires less capital investment to add curb space
and off-site staging areas 
Less congestion and risk to customer safety in
third floor GT operating area 

This option allows classes of service to operate where they do today
but with all classes using open structure 
18

Option 3 
Create a single exclusive contract that allows either taxi
and/or for-hire operators to provide on-demand service 
Maintain exclusive contract for on-demand limos 
Maintain open structure for pre-arranged classes of
service 
Pre-arranged classes of service continue to operate as
they do currently 
1 year pilot program for TNCs operation as a pre-
arranged option on the third floor of the garage 

This option utilizes exclusive contracts for on-demand services 
19

Option 3 
Considerations: 
Creates best customer service due to vested interest in contract and single point
of contact 
Allows all taxi and for-hire operators ability to compete for access to on-demand
customers 
Provides adequate capacity 24/7 and during bad weather due to contract
requirements 
Provides best justification for rates above cost-recovery as rate set by
competition through RFP 
Allows better enforcement of customer service, vehicle and environmental
standards 
Least impact to staff resources devoted to management and enforcement 
Of all proposed options, requires least amount of investment for additional
queueing/staging space 

Key ability is to control standards through contract 
20

Next Steps 
Pending Commission policy direction, will
need to address current Yellow Cab contract 
Extend month-to-month or by limited term 
Any additional changes during such extension? 
Initiate service by other modes (e.g., TNCs, For-Hire) 
Prepare comprehensive multi-mode plan
and associated scope of facility changes or
expansion 

21

Appendix: Detail of GT Operator Classes 
Classes of GT             Taxi        Limousine      Taxi/For-Hire      Limousine                      Shared Ride, Other
Shared Ride                   Courtesy Vehicles   Charter Vehicles 
Service       (On-Demand)      (On-Demand)     (Pre-Arranged)   (Pre-Arranged)                            Airporters 

Scheduled door to door
On-demand or
van service. Territories     On-demand or  Scheduled coach
On-demand, on-site                Pre-arranged scheduled door to door
On-demand, on-site              Prearranged service                                 include: Pierce,   scheduled service   bus service for
Service                luxury town-car, limo              service in a luxury van service (sharing the
metered service,               in a metered taxi or                                 Snohomish, Kitsap  available, courtesy groups traveling to
Description                     or SUV service,               town-car, limo or     ride), on-site and
available 24/7                 flat rate for-hire car.                                   counties, Whidbey ride to nearby hotels       the same
available 24/7                        SUV  available 24/7. Primary
Island, Bellingham,     or parking lots      destination
territory: I-5 Corridor 
Vancouver BC 

Regulatory                    WA Dept. of                 WA Dept. of     WA Util. & Trans.     WA Util. & Trans.               WA Util. & Trans.
City/County                     City/County                                                         N/A 
Body                      Licensing                   Licensing        Commission         Commission                  Commission 
Capital Aeroporter,
Bremerton Kitsap, Quick
Seattle Tacoma Int'l      Independent
Puget Sound Dispatch                              Independent      Shuttle Express, Coach, Whidbey SeaTac, Offsite Parking Lots,
Operator(s)                   Limo Association   Owner/Operators                                                                   Various 
dba Yellow Cab                             Owner/Operators        SpeediShuttle     BelAir, Wenatchee     Hotel/Motels 
(STILA)   (Eastside For-Hire) 
Valley, Rocket
Transportation 
Length of
Five Years         Five Years    Month-to-Month Month-to-Month      Month-to-Month       Month-to-Month    Month-to-Month  Month-to-Month 
Agreement 
GT Plaza Parking
Operator Area       GT Plaza Curb      GT Plaza Curb      Arrivals Drive                   GT Plaza Curb         South GT Lot        GT Islands     South GT Lot 
or Arrivals Drive 



22

Appendix: Detail of GT Operator Classes 
Classes of GT            Taxi        Limousine      Taxi/For-Hire        Limousine                    Shared Ride, Other
Shared Ride                   Courtesy Vehicles   Charter Vehicles 
Service      (On-Demand)      (On-Demand)     (Pre-Arranged)     (Pre-Arranged)                          Airporters 
Market Rate / 
Market Rate       Market Rate      Cost Recovery     Cost Recovery      Cost Recovery        Cost Recovery      Cost Recovery    Cost Recovery 
Cost Recovery 
Method of
MAG plus %   MAG plus per-trip       Permit fee       Permit fee       Per-trip fee         Per-trip fee       Per-trip fee      Per-trip fee 
payment 
2015 Fee            N/A            N/A         $511.50         $260.56           $3.27             $2.32           $1.78  $17.98/$29.26** 

2014 Trips 
815,176          74,082          67,252          69,379           64,703             35,925        1,219,630          7,055 
% of Total Trips             35%              3%              3%             3%              3%                 2%             52%      Less than 1% 
Growth in trips
10%          18%          N/A *          17%           1%             8%           -3%          -4% 
vs. 2013 
2014 Revenue       $3,670,778        $943,112        $56,212       $513,583        $227,108          $108,646       $2,437,657       $179,261 
% of Total
45%          12%           1%           6%           3%             1%          30%          2% 
Revenue 
2014 Rev/trip           $4.50          $12.73 
2014 Permit
$0.84           $7.40 
fee/trip 
2014 Per trip fee                                                                        $3.51              $3.31            $1.95         $18.82 

* Vehicles just recently tagged using Automated Vehicle Identification (AVI) 
** Charter Vehicle trip fees were split to vans (less than 30 passengers, $17.98 per trip) and coaches (greater than 30 passengers, $29.26 per trip) in 2015 



23

Appendix: Current GT Services at Cruise Terminals 
Cruise Terminal Transportation Services 
Disembarkation of Passengers - 7:30 AM to 10:00
AM 
Embarkation of Passengers - busiest from 11:00 AM
to 1:30 PM) 
Smith Cove Cruise Terminal (SCCT P91) Serving two
cruise ship berths
Bell Street Cruise Terminal (BSCT P66) Single cruise
ship berth 
The Port has two sites for cruise passengers 
24

Appendix: Current GT Services at Cruise Terminals 
Pier 91 
SCCT at T91 is operated by Cruise Terminals of America (CTA) under a lease with POS.
CTA is responsible for passenger transportation circulation and coordinates with the
cruise lines for all passenger movements 
CTA's lease at T91 runs through Dec 2019.CTA is responsible for managing passenger
transportation services 
To maintain a safe flow of vehicles and cruise passengers CTA has an arrangement with
Yellow Cab that they will provide an onsite supervisor to manage the flow of taxis and
passenger waiting. Any metered taxi can get in the taxi line 
All taxi cabs, for-hire vehicles, limos, and personal vehicles which are dropping off 
passengers arriving to board a cruise ship are provided full entry to SCCT 
SCCT cell-phone waiting lot for anyone picking up returning cruise passengers. Limos
and for-hire vehicles with pre-arranged trips to pick-up cruise passengers are directed to
the cell phone lot until their passengers have departed the vessel and then they can pick
them up in the area designated for personal vehicles 
Any licensed taxis may pick up on-demand passengers at Pier 91, prearranged
vehicles wait in the cell phone lot 
25

Appendix: Current GT Services at Cruise Terminals 
Pier 66 
BSCT P66 will be under lease with Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH)
beginning in 2016. CTA to provide terminal management services for NCLH
through 2016 cruise season. NCLH is responsible for cruise terminal
operations through the end of their 15 year lease 
At P66 the majority of passenger movement is on Alaskan Way  City of Seattle
right-of-way 
Currently, Yellow Cab provides a supervisor who controls the line of taxis along
the curb along southbound Alaskan Way. The supervision is to ensure a safe,
orderly operation. Any licensed taxi can pick up at the designated taxi area. It
is anticipated that a supervisor will be utilized in the same manner in the
future 
City street curb-side drop off/pickup is on Alaskan Way. All taxi, for-hire, limos
and personal vehicles are allowed to drop off passengers that are arriving to
board the ship 

Pier 66 GT operations take place on a Seattle city street where any
licensed taxi may pick up passengers 
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