The Port of Seattle recently announced that it will increase trip fees by $1, starting Nov. 1, for transportation network companies (TNCs) such as Uber, Lyft and Wingz serving the Seattle-Tacoma (Sea-Tac) International Airport.
According to the Port of Seattle, the increase was informed by 18 months of trip data and market analysis.
Compared to last year, ground transportation trips have risen by approximately 13 percent with more than 2.8 million trips year-to-date. Accounting only for September, trips were up 8.6 percent with 335,754 trips.
TNC trips have grown from 39,975 during the first month of operation at Sea-Tac in April 2016 to 120,803 during September 2017, which represented a 202 percent increase.
The port said ground transportation fees will go directly to support airport maintenance projects including walkway improvements, enhanced wi-fi service, and lighting and safety improvements in the airport garage.
The increase now brings Sea-Tac’s total trip fee to $6 which, according to the airport, was lower than other international airports including San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Cleveland, Orlando, Chicago, and Detroit.
The Port of Seattle noted that customers using for-hire taxi services and other ground transportation services would not see any change in rates charged by the port.