Here’s what new Uber, Lyft fees at Phoenix Sky Harbor mean to riders

PHOENIX — New fees on rides to and from Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport went into effect Friday despite earlier threats from Uber and Lyft to stop operating there.

The ride-hailing giants said they will continue offering service airport, reversing course from their original statements in response to the plan’s passage by the Phoenix City Council.

Uber and Lyft had been operating at the city-owned airport with $2.66 fees for pickups and no charge for drop-offs.

Although air traffic has dwindled during the coronavirus pandemic, here’s what the new fees mean at Sky Harbor:

• There is now a $4 fee each for curbside pickups and drop-offs via ride-hailing services.
• The ride-hailing pickup and drop-off fees will increase 25 cents a year until reaching $5 in 2024.
• Taxis, which had been charged $2.66 for pickups and nothing for drop-offs, will now be assessed $1.75 for each.
• The fee for shuttles (9-23 seats) changed from $3.48 for pickups to $2.25 each for pickups and drop-offs.
• Rates for charter buses (24-plus seats) went from $7.38 for pickups to $5.00 each for pickups and drop-offs.
• The taxi, shuttle and charter bus fees will increase at an annually adjusted rate.
• All fees in the plan apply at a 30% lower rate for rides to and from the 44th Street PHX Sky Train station and the 24th Street station under construction.
• Vehicles powered by alternative fuels get a 10% discount on all airport transportation fees, and zero-emissions vehicles get a 40% reduction.

The implementation of the plan follows months of numerous legal battles.

The fees were originally scheduled to take effect Feb. 1, but the city of Phoenix opted to delay implementation amid a legal challenge from Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich.

Brnovich filed a special action asking the Arizona Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of the approved fees, which were unanimously upheld by the high court on April 2.

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