Lyft, which has long sold itself as an alternative to the airport taxi line is now joining the queue to speed up service at crowded airports, starting in May at San Diego.
Customers will still sign up in the Lyft app for a ride, but instead of getting an assigned car and driver, they’ll get a numeric code, and instructions to head for the designated Lyft pickup area at the airport. Once at the pickup point, they’ll join a line, just like at the taxi stand, and will be assigned to a car by a Lyft ‘ambassador.’
The plan will be rolled out at other airports where congestion and regulations have made at-the-curb pickups impossible or difficult, with delay times once a request is put in going beyond 15 minutes. Lyft hopes the new idea will help it get back to its claim that “leaving the airport should be the simplest part.”
