UBER followed the lead of Lyft on Monday, urging its Boston customers to send emails to Massport opposing the agency’s anti-congestion plan, which targets ride-hailing apps with higher fees and less convenient pickup and drop-off locations at Logan International Airport.
With the Massport board scheduled to vote on the plan this week, Uber reached out to its customers urging them to send an email to board members asking them to reconsider. (Lyft made a similar move on Friday.) “Not only would it mean a $5 fee on both pickups and drop-offs, but the plan to eliminate curbside pickups and dropoffs would add unnecessary hassle to the airport traveler experience,” said the draft email put together by Uber.
Massport has proposed hiking the fees assessed on ride-hailing apps serving the airport from the current level of $3.50 for pickups only to $5 for both pickups and drop-offs. The plan would also centralize pickups and drop-offs in the central parking garage in a bid to facilitate efforts to have vehicles dropping off departing passengers pick up arriving passengers at the same time. The goal is to cut down on airport trips and particularly dead-head trips where a vehicle carries no passengers.
Harry Hartfield, a spokesman for Uber, said his company has urged alternative approaches that could be tried with little upfront cost. “While we want to work with Massport on a reasonable solution, we can’t sit idly by while the airport pushes an unfair plan that will force rideshare customers to pay more and get less,” he said in a statement.

