Owned and operated by the County of Orange, John Wayne Airport (code: SNA) is situated in the heart of Southern California, 35 miles south of Los Angeles and 90 miles north of San Diego. The airport serves more than 9 million passengers each year on 20+ nonstop routes throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. SNA offers an easy-to-navigate, convenient airport experience with vital services that meet the needs of today’s sophisticated travelers, including a variety of ground transportation options.
John Wayne Airport prides itself on being proactive in providing new services and facilities to its customers. It was onethe first airports in the country to offer in-line bag screening, a facility-wide Common Use Passenger Processing System (CUPPS), and its own central utility plant. With all these firsts to its name, it made sense for John Wayne Airport to take an early interest in the fast-developing world of Transportation Network Companies (referred to as TNCs in California).
“TNCs are a new and innovative business model that provides a popular transportation option for many of our travelers,” says Board of Supervisors Chairman Todd Spitzer. “It was important for us to find ways to accommodate this new technology.”
Developing a Fair and Equitable Policy
Airport officials started the process with a commitment to ensuring that all of the airport’s ground transportation providers were treated fairly and equitably. While the aim was to continue providing passengers with a full range of ground transportation options, the airport needed to ensure the safety and security of both passengers and the airport itself. Led by the airport’s Operations division, with input from Business Development, County Counsel, Public Affairs and Risk Management, John Wayne Airport began conversations with TNCs in March 2014 to get a better understanding of their operating model.
As a result of these discussions, the airport began drafting a modified permit for TNCs. While the permit was under development, the airport advised the TNCs that they would need to cease passenger pickups pursuant to the County of Orange Codified Ordinance. TNCs were however, allowed to continue drop offs during this period as long as they held a valid California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) permit.
During the permit development process, John Wayne Airport monitored the CPUC’s regulatory actions and public hearings as well as TNC-related legislation that had been introduced in the California legislature. Once TNC insurance requirements had been established through the legislative and regulatory processes, the airport had a basis for creating its own TNC permit. John Wayne Airport incorporated specific insurance requirements in the permit that minimized coverage gaps and overlaps, and included language to address operational characteristics unique to the TNC operating model, including the need to “track” TNC vehicles while on airport property.
The airport tracks other forms of commercial ground transportation providers with Automatic Vehicle Identification (AVI) transponders. However, airport officials realized early on that issuing AVI transponders to potentially thousands of TNC drivers was neither financially feasible nor administratively practical. TNC companies utilize geo-fence technology and GPS-equipped smartphones with apps that have the ability to report vehicle location and identify the specific phase of TNC activity (app open, customer request accepted, customer in vehicle, ride completed). As a result, TNC vehicles can be tracked, and trip fees can be calculated, using GPS and trip data.
John Wayne Airport is currently in discussions with Transcore Inc., its existing AVI system provider, to determine whether TNC operators can send activity reports to its existing AVI system. The American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) also offers a system that tracks app-based ground transportation transactions. In both systems, the data used to generate trip fee billings is ultimately supplied by TNC operators. Regardless of the system the airport ultimately selects, the airport’s view is that it’s important to audit the accuracy of the TNC-provided data by conducting periodic curbside observations of TNC activity. John Wayne Airport’s TNC Ground Transportation Permit requires TNCs to provide monthly trip reports that show all driver activity at the airport. Field audits are part of its standard quality control program for all commercial ground transportation AVI system users.
In addition to tracking TNC vehicles, the airport’s new permit also addresses the unique insurance requirements associated with this business model. To avoid potential issues associated with inadequate or expired driver insurance, or instances where more than one insurance company is responsible for driver liability, the John Wayne Airport permit requires that TNCs provide primary insurance at all times while drivers are on airport property.
By the summer of 2014, a draft TNC Ground Transportation Permit was completed and was provided to multiple TNCs for review and comment. The collaborative approach to the permit development process ensured both the airport and the TNCs could fully discuss their respective concerns prior to a final decision.
A Permit in Place
A year later in March 2015, the TNC Ground Transportation Permit was approved by the Orange County Board of Supervisors. Supervisor Michelle Steel, whose district includes John Wayne Airport, made the motion to initiate the permit process.
“It is important that we allow a free and fair market for these providers, but also that we take steps to ensure a safe environment for passengers,” she says. Within days of the Board’s action, permits were issued to Lyft, Uber and Wingz.
Since being authorized to pick up passengers at John Wayne Airport, Airport Police Services and Operations staff have logged samples of TNC activity by company name as depicted by the trade dress (corporate logo displayed in or on the vehicle), vehicle license number and time of passenger pickup. Airport officials have been pleased to see that their logs exactly match the data provided by the TNCs.
Clearly, this is a service passengers wanted to see at the airport; demand for TNC services has been impressive from day one. While there were many concerns at the outset about ensuring the safety of airport customers, providing a level playing field with other ground transportation providers and protecting the County from liability, the airport reports it has been able to address–and resolve–these concerns and has been able to help make this very popular service available to passengers at John Wayne Airport.
BIO: Scott Hagen is deputy airport director, Operations, at John Wayne Airport.
