BOSTON (CBS) – People who use Uber and Lyft to get to Logan Airport might not like Massport’s plan to reduce traffic congestion there. Right now, ride sharing services can drop you off and pick you up at your terminal. But under Massport’s proposal all of those pick ups and drop offs would be moved to the ground floor of the airport’s central garage. That would mean passengers would have to do much more walking with their luggage to get to their terminal. Massport said there are benefits though. “By moving these operations into the garage, it will be easier for a (ride sharing) driver dropping off a passenger to match with a waiting pick up passenger,” spokesperson Bernice Freedman said in a statement. “Passengers will have a shorter wait time to be picked up, in a weather-protected area (unlike the current set up), and will have the option to take a Massport-discounted shared ride, such as uberPOOL and Lyft Line.” Freedman said Uber and Lyft drivers would also have shorter wait times between customers and have less traffic at the airport. At least one Lyft driver agreed. “Just the overall volume of the amount of cars that are processed through this lot, it’s just totally under-sized,” said Tom Burns. Customer Ben Nguyen said, “It’s probably better for traffic that there aren’t that many cars in front of the terminal.” But, it “will be a real inconvenience for anyone who tries to take an Uber,” he added. Massport said ride sharing services “generated 12 million total vehicle trips to/from Logan in 2018,” but only 7 million of those involved passenger drop-offs or pick-ups. The remaining 5 million trips did not carrying any passengers, the agency said, noting it’s that kind of traffic congestion they’re trying to get rid of at the airport and in the nearby tunnels and Route 1A. “As we continue our conversations with MassPort, we are hopeful that we can reach shared goals of ensuring that the rideshare experience at Boston Logan can be affordable and hassle-free,” Lyft spokesperson Campbell Matthews said in a statement to WBZ-TV Friday. “We look forward to additional discussions to find the best solution for drivers, riders, and officials at the airport.” Massport is also looking at changing fees for Uber and Lyft, as well as parking rates at Logan. It also wants to increase the number of riders on the Logan Express bus program from 1.8 million a year to 4 million annually.<doc-sep>Hide Transcript Show Transcript drop off just feet from the terminal, but that convenience is causing a traffic headache The airport says it logged 12 million ride-hailing trips last year. 26 2:30 a lot of congestion here - when it's busy it gets crazy Massport says a lot of the backups come from drivers themselves after they drop off a passenger in departures, they have to wind through the airport, driving to arrivals to pick up the next ride. And drivers say it can be disorganized. 33 8:33 people don't know what they're doing - not much instruction So now, the airport wants to combine pickups and drop-offs farther away in the central parking garage. :49 as someo not from here, this is very easy convenient if we have to wind through parking garages, could make it difficult to find where we are picking up uber :43 I mean the time it takes to call uber, you could walk there - as long as signage is clear, putting it in convenient place is appropriate Fees could also go up - which uber opposes - it says fees on a roundtrip to the airport would jump to 10 dollars. Customers say it could take some time to adapt to the changes. :59 people would have to adjust habits I count on being dropped off at the terminal when I determine how much time to get to a flight. Advertisement Massport proposing big changes to Uber, Lyft rides at Logan Airport Share Shares Copy Link Copy Massport officials are looking at every option to reduce congestion at Boston's Logan International Airport.Some of the proposals they're considering may not sit well with travelers who use Uber and Lyft Officials are proposing higher fees and new dropoff and pickup locations for rideshare services to help reduce the number of empty vehicles heading to and from the airport. Massport officials are proposing moving all Uber and Lyft pickup and dropoff locations to the central parking garage instead of dropping off passengers at the terminal or picking them up at designated pickup locations close to each terminal. Officials hope this will allow vehicles to dropoff passengers, and pickup new ones, eliminating so-called deadhead trips, where rideshare vehicles arrive or depart from the airport empty. Officials said the change could reduce passengerless rideshare vehicles by as much as 30 percent. The $3.25 fee passengers pay when they get picked up at the airport by Uber or Lyft would increase to $5 under the Massport proposal. That fee would drop to $2.50 for those sharing a ride.At a Massport board meeting Thursday, agency officials said the use of ride-hailing apps to come and go from the airport is exploding.Officials said the moves would clear space from crowded terminals because rideshare vehicles account for about 40 percent of curbside traffic during peak hours.Massport officials said their data indicate a good portion of the riders using Uber and Lyft are deserting public transportation, including the port authority’s own Logan Express buses.Massport said the initiatives are expected to eliminate up to 3 million vehicle trips off the roads and double Logan Express ridership while improving the customer experience and reducing emissions. "The bottom line is we need more people to get to and from the airport in fewer vehicles, and we think we can do that with these new strategies," Massport acting CEO John Pranckevicius said. "This plan is better for our customers, better for the community and better for the environment. "The Massport board was expected to vote on a new rideshare fee structure in April. The agency is also looking at ways to increase the number of passengers who use its Logan Express service from suburban locations in Braintree, Framingham, Woburn, Peabody and the Back Bay. Since 2009, Logan Express ridership has increased by 67 percent to 1.8 million riders. Massport said the goal was to increase annual ridership to 4 million. The agency said the Braintree and Framingham locations are the most popular with travelers, with over 740,000 and nearly 580,000 riders annually. Under Massport's new plan, service from Braintree will increase from two to three trips to Logan Airport per hour starting in May. The agency said parking capacity at both the Framingham and Braintree locations would also be increased. Massport opened a four-story, $33 million parking garage with over 1,000 parking spaces in Framingham in 2015, but some travelers have to park in an overflow lot at times of high demand. The agency plans to build additional levels onto the popular parking garage in the coming months and years. Massport also plans changes to its Logan Express service in Boston. Beginning in May, the pickup and dropoff location in Copley Square will move to just outside the MBTA’s Back Bay Station. The move puts the new stop next to the Orange Line and Commuter Rail. Massport is also introducing a discounted fare plan-- $3 for trips to Logan and free from Logan to the Back Bay station beginning May 1.The agency is also working to introduce a curbside Logan Express service for commuters at North Station with connections to the MBTA’s Green and Orange lines and the Commuter Rail. The agency said the fare will be $3 going to Logan Airport and free from Logan to North Station. It added that additional Logan Express locations were under consideration.<doc-sep>The Massachusetts Port Authority is considering raising the pickup and the drop-off fees for app-hail services going to and from Logan Airport to $5 a ride from $3.25. The move is an apparent bid to curb the congestion that the likes of Uber and Lyft contribute to at New England’s biggest transportation hub. Massport says it will use the money raised from the increased fees—which would become among the highest such in the nation, per the Globe’s Adam Vaccaro—to boost Logan Express bus service, including through a new, partially free route from the airport to North Station. Massport’s proposal doesn’t stop at fees. It would also move pickup and drop-off locations for Uber, Lyft, et al, to two sections of Logan’s central parking garage from just outside of the terminals. One would be for passengers of terminals A and E, and the other for those coming from terminals B and C. As for the increased fee, the agency is proposing a break for those willing to pool: $2.50 for riders who share their Uber and Lyfts with other riders. Nothing’s finalized yet, and the Massport idea faces opposition from the app-hail companies themselves and skepticism from officials. Stay tuned.<doc-sep>
Massport officials are proposing higher fees and new drop off locations for ride-share services at Boston Logan Airport, in an attempt to cut down on congestion. At a meeting on Thursday, officials proposed moving all Uber and Lyft pickups and drop offs to the central parking garage, rather than passengers being dropped off directly at their terminals, WCVB reports. This would cut down on the number of ride-share cars idling by the terminals waiting to pick up or drop off passengers. Officials anticipate this could reduce passenger-less ride-shares by about 30 percent, officials said in a news release. Ride-share vehicles account for about 40 percent of curbside traffic during the airport’s busiest hours, WCVB reports. “The growing congestion at Logan is significantly impacting our passengers and our surrounding communities,” Massport Acting CEO John Pranckevicius said in a statement. “The bottom line is we need more people to get to and from the airport in fewer vehicles, and we think we can do that with these new strategies. This plan is better for our customers, better for the community and better for the environment.” Officials are also mulling an increase in ride-share fees from $3.25 to $5 to be dropped off or picked up from Logan Airport. Massport would charge only $2.50 to people who agree to split their ride with another traveler. They will also encourage riders to take the shuttle buses from Logan to downtown Boston, according to The Boston Globe. Under the proposal, Massport would also add new buses between Logan and North Station. Trips to the airport would cost $3 and trips from the airport would be free, according to the Globe. Fares on Logan Express buses from Back Bay, which now cost $7.50 would drop to $3, the Globe reports. The airport would also test a giving expedited security screening in the terminal to those who rode the Logan Express, the Globe reports. The changes still need to be approved by the board.