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Ride-sharing woes at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport being addressed

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Published  November 13, 2024 5:46pm EST
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
FOX 5 Atlanta

Rideshare problems at Atlanta airport

An Atlanta City Council member says he has gotten complaints from Uber and Lyft customers that the ride share experience at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport needs to change.

The Brief

    • Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is facing complaints about the inadequate ride-share experience, even as ride-share usage surges.
    • Council Member Farokhi criticizes the current state of ride-share services at the airport, with passengers facing long walks to access services like Uber and Lyft.
    • The airport, anticipating hosting a significant number of people for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, is under pressure to improve its ride-share system.
    • Despite winning a service quality award for 2023, the airport acknowledges a decline in customer experience scores, partly due to long wait times.
    • Interim General Manager Jan Lennon and newly hired Chief Customer Experience Officer Karen Ellis are focusing on addressing the issues to enhance the overall customer experience.

ATLANTA - Ride-share numbers are booming for those who head to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, but one Atlanta City Council member says he is getting complaints from Uber and Lyft customers that the ride-share experience needs to improve. 

The world's busiest airport is trying to address its customer experience numbers, which have also taken a dip of late.

The problem is the last thing travelers want to do after an exhaustive trip at the airport, is push your luggage an extended distance to get an Uber or Lyft. However, that is what is happening at Atlanta’s airport. 

"We are going to be hosting a whole lot of people, and we wanted it to be enjoyable," interim Airport General Manager Jan Lennon explained. Lennon told the council’s Transportation Committee that Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport wants to be ready when the FIFA World Cup arrives in 2026.

One council member says he wants improvements to what has become the airport's Achilles heel. 

"Why is the ride-share experience so bad at Atlantis airport? Why do you have to hike so far to catch a ride when that's what the majority of our customers are doing?" District 2 Amir Farokhi questioned. 

The council member is right. Ride-share numbers are exploding with 3.3 million people projected this year, in contrast to 463,000 passengers using taxis. 

"We are not serving our customers well if our ride-share experience is what it is, given the number of people who are using it and the revenues generated for our airport," Farokhi declared. 

Lennon says her team is working on improving the ride-share experience.

"We are in a constraint area, working in a small confinement. Getting passengers to ride-share closer because it is a long distance, and we do understand that, especially people with ADA issues and things like that, so we are looking at that," Lennon responded. 

Lennon says the airport won a service quality award just yesterday for 2023, but concedes the customer experience numbers have taken a dip. 

"Wait times were some of the reasons. I just had a meeting with the TSA administrator and preparing him. This is what's happening for this airport. Moving forward, we need more officers," Lennon demanded.

The Interim GM also announced the airport has hired Karen Ellis.

Ellis is a customer Chief Experience Officer who plans to help them get the customer experience numbers back up.

The Source: FOX 5 Atlanta compiled this based on the Atlanta City Council's Transportation Committee meeting on Nov. 13, 2024.