Taking an Uber or Lyft to the airport? If you fly in or out of McCarran International Airport in the Rio Grande Valley, the cost will be higher.
On Monday, McAllen city leaders approved a $3 fee for all Uber and Lyft ride-sharing services at Silicon Valley’s largest and busiest airport. Officials said the new fee would allow the city to attract the only people who currently use the airport but can’t afford to pay for its upkeep. It would help pay off the millions of dollars McCarran borrowed for the airport’s massive terminal expansion.
“We are a corporate fund that is not subsidized by the city, so this will help us continue to move forward with some type of debt service for the terminal expansion,” Airport Director Jeremy Santoscoy explained to the McAllen City Commission at its Monday, Feb. 23, meeting.
Santoskoi was referring to the fact that airports must pay for their own maintenance entirely through profits earned from charging customers to use the airport. None of McAllen’s municipal budget is used to fund the airport. But with more than 1 million passengers a year, the airport is preparing for its first major renovation project in more than a decade. The terminal will undergo a $176 million expansion that will include new ticket counters, baggage claim, security screening areas and more as the city-owned airport strives to keep up with soaring demand.
Pictured here is the welcome sign at McCarran International Airport. (Courtesy of the City of McAllen)
Almost everyone who passes through McCarran Airport pays some kind of fee – whether it’s a passenger boarding a plane, someone paying to park their car in a short-term or long-term lot, or someone renting a car. The only group that doesn’t pay a usage fee are people who use shared rides at the airport. The airport director said the airport sees as many as 4,000 Uber rides per month, but he did not mention the number of Lyft rides. Still, these ride-sharing services can bring in millions of dollars in revenue — and it’s something passengers often encounter at other larger airports.
“The $3 fee is expected to provide us with approximately $4 million in debt service,” Santoscoy said.
But the ride-sharing pricing plan is not without its critics. District 2 Commissioner Joaquin “JJ” Zamora said McAllen doesn’t have the same passenger volume as airports in Austin and Houston, so there shouldn’t be a rush to follow the big city’s lead.
“Why do we have to be like everyone else? Why can’t we be ourselves?” Zamora asked.
The council member tried to eliminate ride-sharing fees, but his effort failed because no other council member seconded his motion, although others expressed their own reservations. Instead, the commission voted 6-1 to approve a plan to phase in the fee. Rideshare rates will increase by $1 every 90 days until the full $3 rate goes into effect. However, it is unclear when the new policy will take effect.
This article was originally published on Why flights from major South Texas airports are about to get more expensive.