Peter Schorsch
There’s nothing more aggravating than seeing the Legislature finally do the right thing, only to see local authorities attempt to undermine that progress. Take, for instance, the maddening example of Florida airports and the extra fees they tack on when travelers try to leave the airport property.
Since the Legislature passed uniform regulations for ridesharing services like Lyft and Uber, you might think the state’s airports would have consistent fees for tourists who want to get a ride to their destinations — but you’d be wrong.
I suppose I can understand different airports across the state charging different fees – within reason. But an egregious exception is Orlando’s airport, where arriving travelers who want to use Lyft or Uber to get to their final destination see a charge – some would call it a tax – of $5.80 added onto the fare for each ride.
Not only is this $5.80 fee among one of the highest charged by any airport in the country, it’s also a huge leap above the $3.30 fee for travelers who choose to take a taxi. The $2.50 difference is tangible evidence of the leadership at the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority attempting to pick winners and losers in the transportation space.
This needs to stop.
Orlando is a major tourist attraction for the state. The airport alone receives 40+ million passengers every year and is one of the busiest airports in the nation – both with tourists and local residents. Coupled with the ongoing crisis in Puerto Rico, which has brought a significant influx of refugees to Central Florida, and it becomes even clearer that we need to ensure a reasonable and consistent level of fees for passengers regardless of which mode of transportation they choose.
Whether this substantial price difference is a result of Mears Transportation’s powerful influence in Central Florida, or just some airport execs trying to maximize profits on the backs of an emerging transportation option, remains to be seen. They claim it has to do with a subtle difference between a pre-arranged ride and one that is requested on the spot, but consumers don’t see that difference. Neither do I – sounds like a distinction without a difference. People just want to get where they need to go in the quickest, safest and cheapest way.
And airports don’t have a monopoly on outrageous fees and outdated rules. A story in WESH News last week shined a light on the excessive fees being charged to ridesharing drivers who go to pick up passengers at Port Canaveral. From the story, it seems like both ridesharing and taxicab drivers are unified in their opposition to costly rules that make it difficult and pricey for them to pick up passengers who arrive in the port after a cruise.
The fact is that lawmakers like Sen. Jeff Brandes, Rep. Chris Sprowls, and others worked hard – many for several years – to pass ridesharing legislation that gave these innovative companies the ability to operate across the entire state. While local governments are no longer able to charge these companies fees, airports and ports were specifically not preempted by the legislation that passed last year.
Regardless, in a time when lawmakers are carefully making sure that no company or industry gets a government-created handout or advantage, expect this issue to be something that draws attention over the coming months.
