Ride-sharing pick-ups at the Phoenix airport are set to begin June 18. (Image: Phoenix Sky Harbor International)
Travelers to Phoenix Sky Harbor will be able to summon Uber and Lyft rides starting next month; an Uber/Lyft competitor expands to five Texas airports; and specialty rental firm Silvercar adds an east coast airport location.
The Phoenix city council has voted in favor of a proposal to let Uber, Lyft and other app-based ride-hailing companies start picking up passengers at Sky Harbor International Airport effective June 18. Uber and Lyft have been negotiating with city officials for almost a year before the approval finally came through. The city initially demanded that drivers undergo a fingerprint check, but that requirement was not included in the final agreement. The agreement imposes a special fee for airport pick-ups of $3.25 for vehicles that carry up to eight passengers.
Another app-based ride-hailing service, Wingz, has expanded into the Texas market, adding new service at Dallas/Ft. Worth, Dallas Love Field, Houston Intercontinental, Houston Hobby and Austin. The difference between Wingz and its two larger competitors is that Wingz does not use surge pricing, so that its rates might be higher than Uber and Lyft’s base rates, but lower than their prices during periods of peak demand. A Wingz executive told the Dallas Business Journal that a three-passenger ride from DFW to downtown Dallas would cost about $42. Wiingz also allows repeat customers to request a specific driver if they want to. Wingz also operates at five Los Angeles-area airports and three in the Bay Area, as well as San Diego, Seattle, Sacramento, Phoenix and Denver.
Note: In Austin, Uber & Lyft have left the house
(Photo: Silvercar)
Silvercar, a boutique car rental firm that has a fleet of nothing but fully-loaded silver Audi A4s, has opened a location serving Newark Liberty International Airport. Silvercar uses a mobile app for reservations and rental transactions. At EWR, the company is basing its cars at the WallyPark location. It has also opened a rental outlet in Brooklyn, at the McCarren Hotel & Pool in the Williamsburg district. Silvercar already has a Manhattan outlet, as well as airport locations in Austin, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas. Denver, Miami, Phoenix, Ft. Lauderdale and Chicago.
Have you used Silvercar? What did you think?
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