Page 9 - Fall 2018

FALL RECAP 2018
Airport Ground Transportation Association
AGTA
AGTA
Insights
GROUND
GE RD OI T UO NR D' S T NR OA TN ES P O R T A T I O N
TRANSPORTATION
Car, Shuttle, Train & Taxi News
Car, Shuttle, Train & Taxi News
The Battle for Car Rental Fees
High Stakes - One can easily see the need for airports to protect the 100% usable revenues they receive from car rental firms. Such revenue is one of the two main sources of airport revenue above costs – the other being airport parking – especially off-
airport parking. But these remote car rental facilities, transfer costs, and airport fees have made renting from the traditional airport car rental firms expensive compared to car-sharing firms that argue they should not have to pay these car rental fees.
A good review of this issue can be found in an article published by AutoRental entitled, “Should Peer-to-Peer Renters Pay Airport Car Rental Fees? As this article points out, Turo and others like it are part of a movement called “mobility platforms” that, like Uber, seek to have laws interpreted or written to allow them to operate without the restrictions and fees that apply to traditional car rental companies. Car rental companies, especially Enterprise, argue that to not regulate these peer-to-peer car sharing companies as car rental firms would provide them with an unfair competitive advantage. Well, yes it would, just as TNC laws provide a competitive advantage over traditionally regulated taxi and shared ride operators! Turo is currently suing the City of Los Angeles, who owns LAX, arguing they should not have to pay car rental fees because they are not a car rental company. Perhaps this lawsuit will provide some clarity and guidance for other airports. There does appear to be some room for co-existence as Turo has reached an agreement with SFO to operate and pay agreed upon fees.
TNC
View Article:
Latest Updates & News
Should Peer-to-Peer Renters Pay Airport Car Rental Fees?
Note: This question of who has to pay airport car rental fees is being driven by customers who want variety in both the cost and
variety in the car rentals. Travel magazines are full of articles instructing travelers to skip the airport car rental counter and rent
their car from their hotel or downtown locations, avoiding the trip to and from the remote car rental facility, and saving a bundle to
IN OTHER NEWS...
boot. Savvy travelers are using a TNC to rent from off-airport car rental facilities today, and the trend is growing as airport car
AGTA Events & Other Industry News
rental costs go up.
Airport Rail Update
One noteworthy item would be the decision by the government of South Korea to shut down Incheon Airport high-speed rail. This high-speed rail line which could reach 300 kph, built primarily to showcase easy access to Incheon Airport and the Olympics, suffered an occupancy level of only 23% after the Olympics left town. As officials pointed out, buses enjoyed dedicated lanes allowing them to bypass traffic, and could be faster than the train; thus, buses became the preferred mode in this corridor. This article points out the often fever pitch claims made by proponents of high-speed airport rail that it would gain ridership once it is built. No matter how many cities experience disappointing results from airport rail, transportation planners view it as the preferred mode, often overlooking dedicated high occupancy byways and dedicated high occupancy lanes/pickup and drop-off areas at the airport curb.
View Article:
South Korea to shut down Incheon Airport high-speed rail; Four years into operation, KTX loses to buses in convenience and price