Confusion For Ride Hail Passengers At SFO Is Improving, Officials Say

San Francisco International Airport - SFO
Photo credit San Francisco International Airport - SFO (Photo credit: Kenishirotie)

Sunday nights have been nightmarish for arriving passengers trying to hail an Uber or a Lyft at San Francisco International Airport since SFO has moved pickups to its domestic garage.

But officials think they've finally solved the problem. 

SFO has moved the pickup zone for ride hail passengers away from the three domestic terminals and into their parking garage. That's created chaos and confusion for both drivers and riders, especially on Sunday nights, which is the busiest arrival time of the week.

However, SFO spokesman Doug Yakel said last week brought a breakthrough regarding the parking problem.

“The wait-times were cut in half compared to two Sundays ago,” said Yakel. "At the same time, as we cut those wait-times in half, we saw 2,000 more pick-ups by Uber and Lyft. So, we’re actually accommodating more and people are waiting less time.”

The airport has opened a second dedicated lane for Uber and Lyft drivers to speed things along and installed new signage to direct these drivers and passengers to the correct areas. However, Uber and Lyft drivers and many of their customers said the parking situation at SFO is still a mess, and is less convenient than before.

Yet, Yakel insists that the airport is progressing toward the ultimate goal of alleviating parking and traffic woes for rideshare traffic, and he expects continued improvement with each successive Sunday.

“The drivers are starting to learn the new system…they [now] know where to go and how to get there. That is certainly helping things along,” said Yakel. “Obviously, we want to keep decreasing how long people have to wait for an Uber or Lyft in this new space, but I think we’re heading in the right direction.”