Confusion and frustration persist among travelers and drivers months after Massport rolled out sweeping changes in how ride-hailing apps like Uber and Lyft conduct pickups and dropoffs at Logan International Airport.
“This is just ridiculous,” said O. Robert Simha, 88, of Cambridge, who uses a wheelchair. Simha said he had been waiting nearly an hour and a half for a ride-share after arriving on a Delta Airlines flight from Florida on Wednesday.
The Massachusetts Port Authority in October relocated all Uber and Lyft rides away from Logan Airport terminals to designated areas in an effort to curb worsening congestion around the airport. Fourteen million people used ride-hailing apps to travel to and from Logan last year.
Riders like Simha who have disabilities or limited mobility can still be accommodated with curbside pickup or dropoff, Massport spokeswoman Samantha Decker said.
Uber and Lyft are piloting an “Accessibility” function in their respective apps where riders are able to indicate their pickup or drop-off location. Accessible rides can be selected when the passenger is located at the designated location on each terminal curb. In the Uber app, Accessible rides can be selected after entering the code BOSCURBACCESSIBLE.
The changes in how ride-hailing drivers access Logan were first announced last spring and Decker said Massport has worked to educate the traveling public throughout the process.
Massport officials worked with both ride-hail companies to develop the plan they say has helped reduce gridlock at the terminals, but riders like Simha said there could be more outreach.
“There’s nothing on Uber’s website about how to alert drivers about wheelchair pickup,” Simha said.
Four months after the rollout, travelers’ reactions to the changes are mixed.
In response to a Herald column by Jaclyn Cashman this week, reader Julie Nadeau called her experience dragging her luggage and skiing equipment to the designated rideshare pickup area after a recent trip “absolutely horrible.”
“It shouldn’t be that hard to get a cab at the airport. Seriously we are supposed to be a real city. Let’s start acting like it,” she wrote.
Bob Chapman commented, “This is nothing more than Marty and Massport protecting the unions and making life difficult for people who prefer not to have to deal with the USW Boston Taxi Drivers Association, their nasty cabs with rude drivers.”
Lisa Wright, who said on Facebook that she flies fairly often, said the new system is “chaos” and “is not working.”
“Not sure what the solution is but it sure isn’t this!” Wright said.
Paul Leahy said on Facebook that he’s a fan of the changes. “Well done Massport… It adds a little bit more walking but so what.”
Uber spokesman Harry Hartfield said the changes have been confusing for some drivers. The company periodically sends notifications to drivers reminding them of the new pickup and dropoff policies.
Decker said the Massport has been in contact with Uber and said the rideshare company “has been doing ongoing messaging to keep drivers educated on the new system.”
———
©2020 the Boston Herald
Visit the Boston Herald at www.bostonherald.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
