You can take a Lyft to or from Fresno’s airport. Now there will be another choice
Travelers needing a ride to or from Fresno Yosemite International Airport will have one more option starting in July.
Uber is returning.
The Fresno City Council this week approved three-year agreements with both Uber and Lyft to operate at the airport. The agreement with Lyft was a renewal, but the one with Uber is new.
Kevin Meikle, the city’s director of airports, said the new agreements are a win-win.
“It’s all about providing choice, options and doing what we can to foster competition,” he said.
Uber operated at Fresno’s airport for a short time beginning in 2016, but service ended in May 2017 when the city and the ride-hailing service could not reach an agreement on fees and data requirements. At that time, the airport erected an electronic “geofence” around the airport, making Uber’s service unavailable.
Lyft, on the other hand, has been operating at the airport for about three years.
Meikle said Lyft operates at about 300 airports nationwide, compared to about 100 for Uber.
Adding another ride-sharing service is part of meeting travelers’ needs, Meikle said. (Travelers can also hail a cab.)
The agreements with Uber and Lyft, called “transportation network companies” or TNCs, are required by state law.
The city estimates it will generate about $72,540 annually from Uber’s airport operations and about $180,000 from Lyft.
This story was originally published May 17, 2019 at 4:06 PM.