Rideshare Drivers Get Lot At Sacramento Airport After Trash Complaints
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – Uber and Lyft drivers can now park on airport property to wait to get a ping for their passengers.
"It's better, definitely better," said one driver.
That's because their old parking lot was literally a dump.
"It was terrible. I mean, you had to park across the side of the road, that was it," said Steven Girard, who drives for Lyft.
Unlike taxi cabs, who have an agreement with the airport, Uber and Lyft drivers weren't allowed on airport property and drivers had limited options.
"We had to be off the property to get in the queue in [and] the queue was very limited, so we had to either park on frontage road or in the frontage road on the other side," said Nicky Deam while waiting to pick up a passenger.
We had a firsthand look at the piled up trash along Interstate 80 with no trash cans available and the lack of bathrooms.
"They didn't have anywhere to go, and if you left the area you would get kicked out of the queue, so you kind of had to make a choice: bush or leave the area," said Gerald Bermudez, who drives with Uber.
After weeks of negotiations, airport officials opened up the lot to app-based drivers just around the corner from pick-up.
"Much better. They have restrooms, garbage cans, organized. It's really good," Deam said.
While the new space is great, some airport patrons feel the Uber and Lyft drivers are encroaching on their space.
"I think they ought to act like a taxi and hang somewhere else," said one man while waiting to pick up his wife.
Plus, the luxury of a bathroom isn't cheap.
Who's paying for the potty?
For now, the airport is footing the bill and picking up the trash.
This is only a temporary solution. Airport officials are working with the app-based companies to share the costs.
The app drivers should follow the free airport signage and then follow the arrows to the back of the lot to wait for passengers.