BOSTON (WHDH) - Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) is proposing to increase rideshare taxes.
Massport says 43 million passengers came through Logan Airport in 2024 and thirty percent of them relied on apps like Uber and Lyft.
Massport recognizes that the amount of travelers is likely to grow and believes the price hike will help manage the infrastructure needed to support that growth.
However, Uber is pushing back. They say those funds shouldn’t fall on its customers.
“It could impact everybody’s bottom line at the end of the day,” said traveler Matt Bryant. “Especially business travelers like me.”
Uber tells 7NEWS that Massport is recommending to raise the rideshare pick up tax from $3.25 to $5.50 as soon as this summer and could increase to $7.50 by June 2027.
According to a spokesperson from Uber, that would make Logan have the highest rideshare tax in the world.
“The fee gets passed through to riders and so the impact is on riders,” said Josh Gold, Uber Senior Director of Policy and Communications. “They’re gonna pay $15 to get to and from the airport, that’s much more than they’ll pay at any other airport in the country.”
One Uber driver shared his frustrations.
“Right now, I just came through with a trip from downtown Avenue E to here for $7,” said the Uber driver. “It’s like, we have to pay the toll to come here and pay the toll to go back, so [what are] we doing? We might as well leave this job.”
At this point, this is just a proposal. It would have to be voted on before going into effect.
Massport declined to share the proposal with 7NEWS.
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