Who The Cheapest Ride Denver Airport Sharing App In Colorado Springs Colorado

Cathy D'Agostino waited more than 90 minutes for an Uber ride Friday after returning from a trip to Green Bay, Wis., for a family gathering, arriving at her Colorado Springs home at midnight.

She wasn't alone — two flights arrived at the same time and she and her husband Tom D'Agostino were among the first to get a ride with dozens of others waiting even longer, she said. Similar logjams happened May 20 and Sunday, and are happening across the nation as transportation companies Lyft and Uber and taxi providers struggle to recall or hire enough drivers to meet surging demand for airport ground transportation.

"As soon as our flight arrived at 9:30 p.m., my husband turned on his cell and requested an Uber and couldn't book one. He even downloaded the Lyft app and tried to book through them. We ended up waiting an hour and a half for a ride and there were still people after us waiting for a vehicle," Cathy D'Agostino said. "I could have driven and parked there. The only reason I didn't was that they (the Colorado Springs Airport) don't have covered parking and I was worried about hail."

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Brett Miller, the city's assistant aviation director, said the problem started to develop in April and typically happens on holiday weekends when travel is heavy. He is working with Uber, Lyft, and taxi providers zTrip and Pikes Peak Cab, as well as others for solutions to ensure passengers aren't stranded at the airport with no way to get home or to a hotel. Those include reserving a taxi through zTrip's Super Shuttle Express affiliate or driving to and parking at the airport. To encourage more travelers to drive and park, the airport has extended its half-price promotion for long-term parking to July 6.

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"Uber, Lyft and the taxi providers were all mostly shut down during the pandemic due to lack of demand. They have tried to call back drivers that left during the pandemic, but many are unwilling to return until after the additional federal unemployment compensation expires in September," Miller said. "We recommend if there are no taxis waiting in line outside the terminal, passengers pick up a white paging phone and the communications center will get a taxi for them. We also have pushed out the flight information display system to the taxi drivers so they know when flights and passengers are arriving."

The driver shortage is not unique to Colorado Springs — reports of long waits and soaring prices for Lyft and Uber rides have been reported in Dallas, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, Fla., New York and Phoenix. Both Lyft and Uber report that demand for rides is growing faster than the number of drivers available, and both companies are offering incentives to recruit drivers nationwide. Renting a vehicle isn't a good alternative either — rental car prices have surged amid a shortage of vehicles triggered by manufacturing delays related to a lack of semiconductors. A spokesperson for Denver International Airport didn't return a call seeking comment.

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Greg Phillips, aviation director for the city of Colorado Springs, found out how widespread the driver shortage was Tuesday when he ended up waiting an hour for a taxi in Orlando and sharing it with three other people when his flight from Denver was diverted and then arrived late. He ended up at his hotel after 1 a.m. He is in Orlando for the Routes America conference where airport officials meet with airline executives to discuss possible air service expansions.

Dwight Kines, a regional vice president for zTrip parent company WHC Worldwide, said the provider of taxi and other transportation services is coping with a labor shortage just like restaurants, hotels and even airlines. He doesn't see the driver shortage getting much better for most of the rest of the year and recommends booking transportation as far in advance as possible.

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"Everybody in the hospitality industry can't find enough labor to keep up with demand. Uber, Lyft, us and everyone else is short drivers. We have seen a tremendous increase in demand and have expanded our fleet by 20-25%, but we don't have enough drivers," Kines said. "We have assigned an employee in every market full time to recruit drivers. Between the extra unemployment (benefits), child care issues and school not being in session, there is a huge amount of people sitting on the sidelines."

Mark Grigo, communications manager for Pikes Peak Cab, said the company had 26 drivers before the pandemic, which declined to five and has only increased to 10. He said the shortage of drivers was made worse by two local taxi companies shutting down during the pandemic, leaving the area with too few drivers to meet demand for rides that now exceeds levels reached before the pandemic.

"At this point, we are just trying to take care of people who need to go to doctor's appointments or the airport. It is hard to accommodate everybody who needs a ride. That's just the way it is," Grigo said.