Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is building an automated, electrically-powered train. Phase One will transport travelers between the METRO light rail, East Economy Parking and Terminal 4, Sky Harbor’s busiest.
The PHX Sky Train should begin operating in early 2013 and riding on it will certainly be quite thrilling because, as you can see above, one portion of the train line includes the only bridge in the world to be constructed over an active airport taxiway. This one is more than 100 feet tall and large enough for a Boeing 747 to pass below.
Want a free ride to town from the airport? In Boston this summer, you’ll get your wish.
In what is apparently a first for a North American airport, Boston Logan International is waiving the $2 fare for all passengers who ride the inbound Silver Line bus from the airport to South Station in downtown Boston. From there, the transfer to the subway – known as the “T” – is free.
The clean-fuel Silver Line buses have been in operation since 2005, have room for luggage and make the trip in from the airport in 20-40 minutes (depending on which terminal you board at), a bit longer than it takes to drive.
The 90-day, free-ride pilot program, called “On Us,” should be a hit with many of the city’s summer visitors, who might otherwise pay $25 or more for a cab ride into the city. But a major goal of the program is to convince locals to switch to the bus and stop paying to park their cars in the airport’s central garage.
At first glance, that part of the program seems a bit counter-intuitive. “Parking is a critical revenue source for North American airports,” said Debby McElroy of Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA), an airport trade group. In fact, according to the organization’s 2011 Airport Concessions Benchmarking Survey, parking accounts for 42% of non-aeronautical revenue at airports. “These funds allow airports to modernize facilities, which ultimately benefits travelers,” said McElroy.
So why would Logan Airport decide to spend close to $300,000 to subsidize free bus rides for three months and encourage customers to leave their cars – and their cash – at home?
The answer is space, and not enough of it.
Sprawling airports in Denver and Dallas/Fort Worth sit on vast tracts of land beyond or between urban centers, but Logan has a very small footprint – just 1,700 acres – and is only three miles from downtown Boston. And while the airport’s passenger numbers keep growing (BOS expects to serve close to 30 million passengers this year), due to a regulatory cap limiting commercial parking, space at the airport’s central garages cannot.
The bottom line, is that “Logan cannot build new garages to meet demand,” David S. Mackey, Massport’s Interim CEO & Executive Director said in a statement. (Massport, the Massachusetts Port Authority, owns and operates Boston Logan Airport).
Instead, Logan has been trying to wean passengers from driving to the airport. In March, the daily parking rate in the central garage was raised $3, to $27. At the same time, the daily parking rate at Massport’s suburban lots was lowered to $7, down $4.
The Silver Line “On Us,” pilot program is the next step in that weaning. As part of the effort to reduce curb congestion and bulk up high occupancy vehicle (HOV) usage, the airport has hired and placed extra staff outside the terminals to explain the program to passengers. “We’re collecting information and counting the boardings and the loads at the bus stops at each terminal,” said Carl Leiner, Massport’s deputy director of economic planning and development. “There are people with stop watches calculating the dwell times, which is the amount of time people spend waiting for the bus.”
While no other airports are jumping to match Logan’s free-ride offer just yet, many are watching closely.
“We applaud Logan’s efforts and the fact their parking is full,” said Perry Cooper, spokesperson for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, which has a 13,000-space parking garage. “We have not reached a point where we are filling our garage regularly. However, we have been working to encourage light rail use with discount parking offers for sporting events to relieve the traffic and parking problems downtown.”
With 25,000 parking spaces on property, Los Angeles International Airport doesn’t have a parking problem either, but, as part of a longstanding emissions reduction program, it does operate express “FlyAway” shuttle buses to Van Nuys and Union Station (Fare: $7), Westwood (Fare: $10) and Irvine Station (Fare $25).
Miami International Airport (MIA) isn’t reporting a parking crunch either. But while “a good portion” of airport revenue does come from parking fees, airport spokesperson Marc Henderson says the airport is delighted that, since it began operating in December 2010, more than a million people have used the Airport Flyer Express bus that goes to Miami Beach and downtown Miami. The bus has luggage racks, free Wi-Fi and makes the trip in 35 minutes.
“It’s a good way to get people down to the beach who may not want to rent a vehicle and deal with parking,” said MIA spokesperson Marc Henderson. “At $2.35 each way, the service is inexpensive. And it’s done well,” he said.
The 90-day, free-ride pilot program, called ‘On Us,’ should be a hit with many of the city?s summer visitors, who might otherwise pay $25 or more for a cab ride into the city.
Moving people out of cars at the airport can be a challenge. While there is a local bus route in Houston that serves the George Bush Intercontinental Airport, in August 2011, the Metropolitan Transit Authority decided to cancel express bus service to the airport “because of low passenger numbers,” said airport spokesperson Darian Ward.
Back in Boston, airport spokesperson Matthew Brelis says while “no determination has yet been made,” passengers may find that the free bus rides from Logan into town extend past the 90-day test period. Brelis says that “improving curbside traffic flow and reducing parking congestion” is the main reason the airport is offering the free rides, but “if passengers are thrilled with the service and delighted that it’s free, it’s icing on the cake.”
On Monday, the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey introduced a wide variety of customer service improvements at JFK, Newark Liberty and LaGuardia airports, but it was AVA, the airport virtual assistant, that got all the attention.
In July, when the computerized avatars begin offering automated information at LaGuardia’s Central Terminal Building, at Newark’s Terminal B and at JFK’s Terminal 5, it will be the first time the hologram-like technology will be used at a North American airport.
Other improvements to be rolled out in the next 90 days include additional (live) customer care agents during peak travel times, an expanded effort to halt taxi hustling, the installation of additional power poles to charge electronic devices and cleaner restroom facilities.
Here are some more details from the plan:
At Newark Liberty, more than 100 chairs and more than 50 tables will be added to food courts in Terminals A and B, full-time restroom attendants will be on duty in Terminal A and additional quality control visits will be made to airport stores “to ensure customers are treated fairly.”
Newark, JFK, LaGuardia (and Stewart International Airport) are now included in the free FlySmart mobile app that offers real-time flight notifications for smart phones, terminal maps and basic listings for ground transportation and concessions.
The Port Authority is also starting a “We Listen” campaign to give travelers a chance to meet with airport management.
These short-term initiatives, the Port Authority points out, dovetail with the agency’s long-term efforts to improve the infrastructure at all three airports.
It all sounds promising. Except perhaps for those virtual assistants. In the promo “AVA” says she never takes a vacation, but when I arrived at Dubai International Airport recently, the representative meeting our group said the virtual assistants that were supposed to be on duty there hadn’t been working “for quite some time.”
Sure, flying can be such a hassle that you decide to drive or take the bus.
But bus passengers beware: make sure the seat you’re purchasing is in the bus, not under it.
A Michigan bus company that has been transporting passengers in its cargo compartments has been ordered to cease operating.
On Saturday, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced it had shut down Haines Tours of Gladwin, MI., calling it an “imminent hazard” to public safety.
According to the DOT, on May 27, 2011, when a Haines Tour bus traveling from Michigan to Ohio was inspected by the Ohio State Highway Patrol, it was discovered that six of the 62 passengers were riding in the luggage compartment along with unsecured baggage.
“Safety is everyone’s responsibility and it begins with practicing common sense,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “That means not putting human beings in cargo holds.”
This wasn’t the first time Haines Tours was found to be using its luggage bins inappropriately. In August 2010 the company was cited for using luggage bins as sleeping berths for drivers.
On Saturday the FMCSA also announced that it had issued an “imminent hazard” out-of-service order to North Carolina-based United Tours, Inc. for, among other things, using non-qualified drivers.
Earlier in the week, Atlanta-based JCT Motor Coach, Inc. was shut down for trying to evade a previous out-of-service order by operating under a different name. Under its other name, the company had been cited for numerous violations, including falsifying vehicle maintenance records and using drivers with positive drug and alcohol testing results.
Several recent deadly bus crashes have raised safety concerns about the nation’s charter and commercial buses. Over the recent Memorial Day holiday weekend a crash on Interstate 95 in Virginia left 4 people dead and dozens injured, while a bus rollover accident on Interstate 90 in Washington killed 2 people and injured more than 20 others. In March, 15 people died when a bus returning from a Connecticut casino fell from an elevated highway and hit a utility pole
Want to know if your tour bus company has been cited? The DOT now offers a pre-trip safety checklist encouraging travelers to review a bus company’s safety record, safety rating and DOT operating authority before climbing on board.
I recently told you about an alternative form of sport and transportation: Outhouse Racing.
Here’s another somewhat different transportation tale: the Endanger Bus.
In San Francisco, Todd Gilens has wrapped four San Fransisco MUNI buses with images of regionally endangered flora and fauna for a rolling public art project – Endangered Species – that, in an intriguing, temporary and transit way, reintroduces these species and their habitats into the urban scene which has displaced them.
Look for Endanger Buses sporting salmon, mice, a butterflies and pelicans as they roll through town.
Here’s a note about the project from Todd Gilens:
This temporary art project is meant to help people notice parallels and conflicts between urban and natural systems, provoke questions about ownership and design of the physical environment, and provide moments of pleasure and surprise across the city.
