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United’s NYC taxi tip: Newark is quicker

June 20, 2017

United ads compare travel time to Newark vs. JFK. (Image: United)

United Airlines has kicked off a clever advertising campaign to convince NYC travelers they should fly out of its Newark hub instead of JFK Airport.

The airline has put digital displays on the roofs of 125 New York City taxis showing the estimated travel times to both JFK and Newark – and Newark comes out the winner.

The clever part is that these aren’t average travel times – they’re estimates based on the taxi’s location at the time you see it (the cabs are equipped with GPS software), and real-time traffic conditions in the New York area.

Of course, travel time is one thing and cost is another. The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission has established a $52 flat fee for trips from Manhattan to JFK (plus tolls and tip). There’s no flat fee to Newark; the meter fare is around $48 from Midtown – but there’s also a $17.50 surcharge for EWR trips that doesn’t apply to JFK.

And then there is the Uber/Lyft option.

The route from Manhattan to EWR. (Image: RideGuru)

We looked up the cost of rides from Times Square to both airports on RideGuru. It put the cost of a taxi ride to EWR at $68, vs. $73 on Lyft and $77 on UberX (with no surge pricing premium). A taxi to JFK came to $54, vs. $45 on UberX and Lyft.

But our favorite way for getting to Newark has to be the New Jersey Transit train service from Penn Station. A ride on the frequent service from Penn Station in Manhattan to EWR takes less than half an hour and costs just $13.

Readers: Which New York airport do you generally fly out of, and how do you get there?

H/T Stuck at the Airport

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Airport news: LAX Terminal 1.5 | Raleigh-Durham | Chicago | Minneapolis | Montreal

December 5, 2016

LAX’s Terminal 1.5 will link T1 and T2. (Image: Los Angeles World Airports)

In airport news this week, Los Angeles moves forward with a couple of new construction projects; Delta overhauls its Sky Club at Raleigh-Durham; Chicago introduces a new tool for passengers to determine taxi waiting times; Minneapolis-St. Paul adds some new gates and restaurants; and Air Canada cuts the ribbon on a Maple Leaf lounge at Montreal.

Pending final approval from the city council, the Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners has given a tentative OK to environmental and design plans for what it is calling the Terminal 1.5 project – construction of a six-level, 417,500 square foot building connecting Terminals 1 (Southwest) and Terminal 2 (International). It won’t have any boarding gates, but will provide a new baggage claim area on the lower level, a ticketing lobby on the upper level, security screening on the concourse level and office space on the top two levels. Pre-security walkways on the first two levels will connect Terminals 1 and 2. The facility is expected to open in the summer of 2019. Meanwhile, airport officials are releasing a request for qualifications for design and construction of LAX’s planned Consolidated Rent-A-Car Center, which will be near Interstate 405 in Manchester Square. It will be linked to terminals by an automated people-mover system.

On December 6, Delta officials will cut the ribbon on the airline’s renovated Sky Club at Raleigh-Durham Airport, located on the second level of Terminal 2 across from Gate C3. The club has new contemporary furnishings; power outlets and charging stations near every seat; faster Wi-Fi; an expanded business center; a bar with free beverages including local craft beers, premium wines and cocktails as well as Starbucks coffee and self-serve espresso machines.

LoLo Kitchen has opened in MSP's Terminal 1. (Image: SSP America)

LoLo American Kitchen has opened in MSP’s Terminal 1. (Image: SSP America)

Noting that passenger counts at its Terminal 2 (Humphrey Terminal) have increased by 5.4 percent this year, Minneapolis-St. Paul International said it has opened four new aircraft gates at that terminal, which is used by Southwest, Sun Country, Icelandair and Condor. Besides the new gates (H11-H14), the project also included a new nursing mothers’ room and an indoor pet/service animal relief area. In Terminal 1, meanwhile, two new food and beverage options have opened. Concourse E is home to LoLo American Kitchen and Craft Bar, with seasonal local cuisine and craft beers; and Concourse D is the site of Republic, a “gastropub” offering local beers and small plate cuisine – along with live music performances during peak travel periods.

The Chicago Department of Aviation announced a new texting tool that passengers can use to get live updates on taxi waiting line times at the city’s two airports. Users simply text the word “taxi” to 312-883-8404 for O’Hare Airport waiting times, or 312-883-7969 for Midway Airport. The city also offers “e-hailing” for taxis through apps available at www.Chicabs.org, and the Aviation Department provides taxi wait times, traffic updates, weather and special travel alerts through its website at www.flychicago.com.

The food service area in Air Canada’s Montreal Maple Leaf Lounge. (Image: Air Canada)

Following a year-long overhaul, Air Canada’s International Maple Leaf Lounge at Montreal Trudeau has reopened. Located between Gates 52 and 53, the 11,000-square foot facility has room for 259 passengers. It has floor to ceiling windows, a full service bar with free drinks, a live food station, specialty coffees, free Wi-Fi, showers, a work area and more. It’s open to eligible Air Canada and Star Alliance customers.

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5 ways to avoid surge pricing from Uber & Lyft

November 9, 2015

Researchers suggest ways to avoid Uber’s surge pricing. (Image: Uber app)

As a business person you believe in the laws of supply and demand, right? But you might find them a little hard to swallow when they work against you — like when you hail an Uber ride from a location with high demand and limited drivers available. Because that’s when Uber’s irritating surge pricing kicks in.

Now a new study from Northeastern University suggests that savvy customers might be able to outsmart surge pricing and save themselves quite a bit on the fare.

Uber says surge pricing is determined by a proprietary algorithm that the company created; the theory is that jacking up the price in a designated area will attract more drivers there to fill the higher-than-usual demand.

But the study by researchers at Northeastern’s College of Computer and Information Science suggests that there a couple of easy ways to avoid surge pricing.

One is to wait five minutes or so; another is to walk a few blocks in an effort to put yourself into a different Uber “surge area.”

These conclusions are based on research for locations in Manhattan and San Francisco. “For example, 20 percent of the time in Times Square, customers can save 50 percent or more by being in an adjacent surge area,” they wrote. They also found that Uber’s surge pricing algorithm re-evaluates fares every five minutes, so a surge surcharge could quickly disappear.

Downloaded the Lyft app yet? Here’s how to get $20 off your first Lyft ride!

One difficulty: Uber doesn’t publicly divulge the boundaries of its surge areas, so a customer trying to outflank surge pricing can’t be sure how far or in which direction to walk in order to get into an adjacent area. The researchers noted that Manhattan has 16 surge areas and Boston has nine; they said they are working on a project to define where the surge areas are, and they plan to put that online.

Top tips for avoiding the surge?

1- Wait if you can. That’s because surges can be short-lived.

2- Move. Try moving your location pin around to see if you can find a nearby area outside the surge zone. Or walk across the street or to the next block.

3- Try SurgeProtector, a free app, helps find locations near you with lower or no surge pricing.

4- Share. You can also consider using UberPOOL or Lyft Line that offer flat rates, but you might have to share the seat with another rider.

5- Grab a cab. Or use a taxi app like FlyWheel for a taxicab.

How do YOU get around surge pricing? Please leave your tips below.

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Taxi meter accuracy questioned

October 28, 2015

In Manhattan, taxis are losing millions of rides to Uber. (Image: Jim Glab)

Investigators found taxi meters inaccurate 47% of the time (Image: Jim Glab)

An investigation by Good Morning America found that taxi meters in New Jersey are inaccurate 47% of the time.

In a segment that aired this week, GMA followed New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs employees who do spot checks on taxis in the Newark area. Cabs are inspected by police and then required to drive on a track that is measured exactly one mile.

When GMA was taping, one cab checked out just fine. But the two that followed were overcharging passengers– one overbilled by about $3 for a ten-mile ride. Another overbilled by almost $9 for a ten-mile ride. Drivers told GMA that they had not tampered with the meters, but would have them fixed immediately.

Regulators said that cabs with inaccurate meters are slapped with red stickers, and the cab is taken out of service.

GMA reports that during the a full week of testing New Jersey regulators uncovered a failure rate of 47%.

When GMA contacted the New Jersey Cab Association, they downplayed the failure rate by saying that most cabs operate from the airport where flat rates are in effect.

“That little box next to the driver is supposed to be an impartial arbiter of time, distance and cost — making sure that neither you nor the driver gets ripped off.” How Stuff Works

The report ended with the reporter stating that new technology would likely soon replace the old meters. GMA also recommended that cab riders always ask the driver for an estimation of the fare, get a receipt and if you think you’ve been hosed, to call the local regulator.

Although not mentioned in the GMA report, it’s likely that “new technology” in cabs will be in the form of what we see in ride sharing apps like Uber and Lyft that use GPS tracking to determine exact fares.

Here’s how to get $20 off you first Uber ride!

Here’s the Good Morning America segment:

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London’s Uber vs black cab battle enlists celebs

July 15, 2015

Comedian Russel Brand takes on Uber is a recent video tirade (Image: YouTube)

In London, taxi drivers are not rioting and burning Uber cars like we’ve recently seen in Paris.

Instead, they are enlisting the likes comedian Russell Brand who sides with London’s black cabs in an 8-minute video that’s making the rounds in social media this week. If you are time pressed, the tirade begins in the video above at about 1:50.

So far, a shorter (2 min) video has clocked over 1.5 million views on Brand’s Facebook page.

In the video, Brand says thing like: “Uber is a multi-billion dollar corporation, part-owned by Goldman Sachs, part-owned by Google, that skims off all its profit and puts it into foreign bank accounts.”

He also claims that using Uber means that, “more money is being siphoned out of our country. If you get a black cab that money stays in our country, stays in our economy. That’s one clear advantage.”

Brand is riding on a wave of discontent with Uber since its surge pricing model tripled fares last week during London’s tube strike.

Deal: Get $20 off your first Uber ride

Nonetheless, Uber continues to make big gains in the UK– here’s a list of fares between Heathrow and London:

Uber’s flat rates between Heathrow and London

London black cab rates run higher- here’s what the Transport for London page says:

I most often use the fast and easy Heathrow Express between London and Heathrow (about $33 each way), but end up having to jump in a cab and suffer through London traffic on the way to my hotel or appointment.

What about you? Have you or would you use Uber in London?

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