MA: Massport approves 70% hike in rideshare fees for trips to Logan despite driver objections

Massport has approved a pared down plan to raise fees for rideshare drivers picking up or dropping off passengers at Logan, with fees set to jump by 70% this summer.

The plan was unanimously approved by the Massport Board of Directors during a remote meeting held Thursday morning, after the board apparently reached a “tentative agreement” with rideshare companies Uber and Lyft. Despite thos reported agreements, the fee change comes over the objections of a rideshare drivers union and individual drivers alike.

“These developments were shaped without the input of drivers, the people who will be hit hardest by the ( Transportation Network Company) fee,” Mike Vartabedian, an The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers spokesman speaking on behalf of the App Drivers Union, told the board.

“Uber and Lyft drivers move thousands of passengers in and out of Logan every day. For these drivers, airport fares are a critical source of income. The proposed TNC fee could be a crushing financial blow to drivers who are already struggling to get by,” Vartabedian said.

With the vote, as of July 1, one-time per-trip fees for app based drivers taking passengers to or from the airport in Boston will jump from their current rate of $3.25 to $5.50.

The new rate was approved without a plan to raise it again in the next fiscal year to $7.50, as originally proposed by the Massport board in February. Thursday’s meeting was preceded by a pair of public statements from Uber and Lyft in which the rideshare companies expressed their “tentative agreement” with a proposal they previously described as a “blatant cash grab” by Massport.

According to the releases, agreement over a one-time increase to the rideshare fee comes with a promise by Massport to “expand curbside access for rideshare drivers,” while the companies agreed to pursue carpooling options for passengers to reduce the number of cars heading to the airport. High occupancy trips to the airport would face a reduced-rate $1.50 fee.

“Lyft appreciates the productive conversations we’ve been able to have with Massport since their initial announcement. While we still have concerns about increasing fees on riders, this is a step in the right direction. It allows us to improve the rider experience at Logan as we continue to look for ways to equitably fund the airport’s future success,” Lyft’s public policy manager, Brendan Joyce, said in a statement shared by Massport.

Josh Gold, Uber’s senior director of public policy and communications said in a statement that his company is “pleased to have negotiated this compromise with Massport that will get passengers to and from Logan Airport more efficiently, while at the same time reducing congestion in the area.”

“We will continue to work with Massport to get travelers as close to the curb as possible and will always advocate for the best service for riders and the best platform for drivers,” Gold said.

According to Vartabedian, “however you cut it, drivers will bear the burden” of the increased fee.

“Massport needs to hear drivers’ concerns, add them to the decision-making process and ensure that these costs do not negatively impact their earnings. We hope to have continued discussions with Massport around the allocation of these fees, and drivers having a seat at the table and the chance to improve their worksite,” he said.

Felipe Reis, an Uber driver, told the board that if the fees are going to go up, and if they’re indeed going to fall on the drivers instead of the rideshare companies, then they should be put to good use improving working conditions for drivers. As things stand, Reis said, drivers don’t even have a place to eat or take a break, and the parking lot where they are allowed to wait for passengers is frequently filled.

“There should be a conversation – okay? We feel these fees, they should go toward improvements of the installations of drivers. They do need a break room after driving for long hours everyday. They do need a specific area to eat, okay? The conditions are awful, they don’t have a place to eat, they don’t have a place to get a rest. Also for drivers which need an area to pray conditions are awful,” he said.

The fees are meant to help fund airport infrastructure improvements and to encourage people to use public transit for airport trips. Traffic around the airport is notoriously bad, and the cost of accommodating growing demands for air travel need to be covered somehow, according to board member John Nucci.

“I’m pretty sure that nobody on this board wants to raise fees. Nobody likes to do that, nobody enjoys that. I know I don’t. But to do nothing right now could be a disaster waiting to happen. It’s almost irresponsible not to do what’s needed here today to raise these fees for so many reasons having to do with Logan and the Authority in general,” he said.

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