BOSTON (WHDH) - Massachusetts Port Authority officials are proposing the elimination of 1,000 parking spaces at Logan International Airport to accommodate for the influx of rideshare vehicles.
The revenue-generated parking spaces in the Central Garage would make way for Transportation Network Companies, like Uber and Lyft, which generated 12 million trips to and from Logan last year. Only seven million of those trips involved passenger drop-offs or pick-ups, while the remaining five million did not carry passengers, adding to traffic congestion in the tunnels and along Route 1A, according to Massport.
Officials project that the total rideshare vehicles in and out of the airport will reach 15 million in 2019.
“Our goal is to reduce congestion to benefit all passengers, and we can do that and still provide great customer service,” Acting Massport CEO John Pranckevicius said. “There are other long-term ideas, but moving the TNCs to a central location is something we can do in a few months. Partnered with an increase in Logan Express ridership, we expect these initiatives will make a real reduction in traffic that impacts Logan and the surrounding communities.”
The dedicated areas in the Central Garage would include baggage check and Sky Caps, improved Wi-Fi, better lighting, wheelchair assistance, increased enforcement of TNC drivers and vehicles, weather-protection and climate control.
Officials say the area could be implemented as early as October.
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)