Dallas Love Field has made a major change in how Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) like Uber and Lyft pick up passengers at the airport.
Beginning this week Uber and Lyft drivers can now wait for their passengers curbside in an area that had been reserved for taxis.
"They don't want us to park away from the curb to pick up the passenger, so with this extra space I think it will be a lot better for us – a lot easier for us – to get the passenger in the car, get their luggage in the car," said Christopher Price, a TNC driver.
An airport spokesman said the change was driven by consumer demand. TNCs accounted for nearly 1,800 passenger pickups in September. Taxis only did a third of that amount.
The belief is that by giving TNC drivers more space to wait for their passengers, instead of having to make laps around the airport or hold up traffic, it will allow vehicles to move more smoothly into and out of the airport. Drivers like Brenda Johnson feel the new changes have had a major impact.
"It just made more sense to give us more area that's expanded," she said. "Other cars can move up. We're literally in and out so much faster now. I love it."
But not everyone is giving the move a glowing review. With the TNC vehicles in their former spot, taxi drivers must now line up in the middle island near the shuttle buses – a spot that is poorly lit at night.
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"Nobody sees us here," said cab driver Alem Shemprga.
Several cab drivers said they understand why the airport would give Uber and Lyft drivers more space, but they believe limos have been given an unfair advantage.
Limo drivers must now wait where the TNC vehicles once queued. It's an area at the end of the lower level, but it's clearly visible to potential customers.
Shemprga hopes the airport will reevaluate the new alignment and make it more equitable.
"Put a limo stand here, five (cabs), five (TNC vehicles), and that would be alright," he said.
