A Massport plan that will improve rideshare charges to and from Boston Logan airport by greater than $15 roundtrip inside the subsequent decade has Uber up in arms over what it says is a “blatant cash grab.”
Uber, a main transportation community firm that passengers use to get to and from Logan, is shedding mild on how Massport is trying to increase charges by $8.25 every approach by 2031, greater than the rise the company offered final month.
A slideshow that Massport offered on Feb. 12 features a graph outlining rideshare price will increase by means of fiscal 12 months 2029. It reveals how costs are proposed to go from the present $3.25 to $5.50 the subsequent two years, after which $7.50 beginning in 2027, and staying at that charge the next 12 months.
Included in a footnote is a point out of how charges would improve one other $2 in fiscal years ’30 and ’32, that means passengers who use Uber, Lyft and different rideshares could possibly be spending $23 roundtrip beginning in 2031.
“This is going to be just a massive outlier, and it’s a blatant cash grab,” Uber Senior Director of Public Coverage & Communications Josh Gold informed the Herald on Tuesday. “Our drivers are going to feel it, and our riders are going to feel it, in an era where residents of the Bay State are looking for affordability. This is not the best path forward.”
Massport spokesperson Jennifer Mehigan informed the Herald Tuesday that she couldn’t touch upon the request the company’s board might be voting on subsequent Thursday, “since the original proposal may have changed as our staff is having ongoing discussions with the various transportation companies.”
Massport has not raised rideshare app charges in six years, Mehigan mentioned.
In a launch shared with the Herald, Uber contends that it solely discovered in regards to the proposal to lift rideshare charges to $23 roundtrip by 2031 in a doc it accessed in response to a information request.
The doc supplied to the Herald was a slideshow presentation offered on Feb. 12 throughout a joint assembly of the Audit and Finance Committee and the Services and Building Committee.
Uber says the $23 roundtrip price can be the “highest rideshare fee at any airport in the entire world.” Chicago O’Hare’s $10 roundtrip charges are the very best within the nation adopted by $8 roundtrips in Los Angeles and Dallas-Fort Value, based on knowledge the corporate supplied.
The Uber rep informed the Herald that Uber is often included in conversations about elevating charges at airports throughout the nation. He mentioned he didn’t find out about Massport’s plans to extend prices to $7.50 every approach beginning in 2027 till the evening earlier than final month’s presentation.
“What’s clear now is that the whole plan wasn’t even released because they only talked about what they’re going to be in 2029,” Gold mentioned. “They didn’t go to the full $23 (in 2031).”
“It’s not uncommon for airports to think about raising rates,” he added. “It is uncommon for them not to have conversations about it.”
Mehigan defined that final month’s presentation was “part of an overall strategic ground transportation plan, requiring both capital and operating investments.” If permitted, she mentioned, the proposal would “invest hundreds of millions to improve ground transportation at Logan for all passengers, including those who use and drive for the Ride Apps.”
“Logan saw its busiest year in 2024 with 43 million passengers,” Mehigan mentioned, “and as we manage our growth, we need to make improvements to all of our ground transportation modes, including Ride Apps.”
“Nearly 30% of our passengers used a Ride App in 2024, bringing millions of vehicles to Logan’s roadways,” she added. “As passengers increase at Logan, we expect even more to use Ride Apps. We need to continue to improve our infrastructure to handle the demand.”
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