By: Greg Dingrando KOAA News 5
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO – If you’re used to catching an Uber from the Colorado Springs Airport, you’ll have to find another way. Uber drivers were just banned from the airport after new ground transportation rules went into effect Monday, and it’s creating some mixed reactions at the airport.
This is basically the Colorado Springs Airport catching up with the times — Uber and Lyft have been operating there for a couple years, but the airport wasn’t collecting the roughly $2 fee like they were with the cab companies. Airport officials decided that needed to change, so they implemented a new ground transportation rule.
Lyft had the software ready to go, but Uber didn’t. So on Monday, drivers were suddenly banned from picking riders up there.
“I can’t believe they would do it without letting anyone know before hand. It’s a little bit unfair,” Uber driver David Douglas said.
And for some, that’s a big hit to their business.
“The fact that it’s put a lot of people out of work in this area near the airport right now is a big concern,” Uber driver Mark Medina said.
But drivers aren’t the only ones affected. If you try to request a ride from the airport, you’ll get a message on your phone that says Uber is not available there.
“There’s a lot of people flying in and this is how they get around. They’re not expecting to not be able to use that,” Douglas said.
The ban was just as surprising to cab drivers, but they had a very different reaction.
“It’s wonderful,” one cab driver said.
“Generally when I pull up there’s at least a dozen cabs out here. This morning only five. I thought I just got lucky, but evidently it’s already making an impact,” another cab driver said.
But the airport said the ban isn’t permanent — it’s just a matter of Uber fixing it on their end.
“We want to make sure the airport is receiving that fee and so sometimes we have to make technology adjustments to make sure that takes place and that is what we’re working on right now,” Uber spokeswoman Taylor Patterson said.
Uber drivers and riders say they’re hoping sooner the better, but cab drivers say they wouldn’t mind if Uber never came back.
The timeline for when Uber drivers will be allowed back at the Colorado Springs Airport is still unknown, but the technology upgrade the Colorado Springs Airport requested isn’t even in place at DIA. So, for Uber to come here and set that up could take a while.
There are some other options Uber will explore to cut a deal with the airport, but for now, drivers are banned from picking riders up there.
