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SFO to move all Uber, Lyft pick ups to central parking lot

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SFO to move all Uber, Lyft pick ups to central parking lot

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Old Jun 30, 2019, 7:24 pm
  #31  
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Great to see. I have much sympathy for airport administrations as they try to adjust to the massive disruption of Uber/Lyft.
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Old Jun 30, 2019, 8:33 pm
  #32  
 
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Originally Posted by dhuey


I have no idea, but my guess is no airport fees at the rental car center. It probably never occurred to anyone that there would be many Uber/Lyft pickups there.
I’ve thought about doing this a few times even before the recent mess, but when I’ve manually changed the pick up point to the Rental Car Center, or even Long Term Parking, the price didn’t change. So I don’t think you avoid the fees, although it sounds like the pick up experience might be better nowadays.
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Old Jul 1, 2019, 5:21 pm
  #33  
 
 
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Airports and apps are all very good at geofencing these days. If you're on airport property, I'd expect to pay the airport fees.

-David
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Old Jul 2, 2019, 2:00 pm
  #34  
 
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I got to experience this for the first time last weekend. It took my Uber driver 30 minutes to pick me up. I know that loads of rideshare vehicles picking up people curbside wasn't workable forever, but that was an absolute disaster.

Also, the instructions - to go to the bottom floor and take the elevator up - is totally unnecessary...I could have taken the escalator up to the AirTrain level and simply walked out to the same place.
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Old Jul 2, 2019, 6:04 pm
  #35  
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Originally Posted by PsiFighter37
Also, the instructions - to go to the bottom floor and take the elevator up - is totally unnecessary...I could have taken the escalator up to the AirTrain level and simply walked out to the same place.
That probably didn't add much time, if any, to your walk. It might even be faster if you're starting from baggage claim in the domestic terminals, though I'd suggest the down escalator rather than the elevator if you have the mobility to do that.
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Old Jul 3, 2019, 12:05 am
  #36  
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I tried the Rental Car Center pickup tonight... I'd say it's viable if the parking garage is a disaster but added a lot of overhead, since it's still dispatching someone from the rideshare staging area on the south side of the airport.

The other issue is that the entire Kiss-and-Fly area is signed for no taxi pickups. I think technically a pickup on the parking along the side of the rental car center might be allowed. My driver tonight didn't seem to care (about anything in general) but I could see someone else having a problem with it.

Overall, I'd probably just take the longer wait at the parking garage instead of trying to make this work.
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Old Jul 10, 2019, 7:53 pm
  #37  
 
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Has anybody tried taking the first free shuttle that goes to a local hotel and getting Uber/Lyft from there?
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Old Jul 11, 2019, 8:07 am
  #38  
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I'm wondering if this is now a non-issue with the latest reconfiguration. It was pretty busy last night and the delay was minimal. They also had some folks in vests actively directing traffic around the different pickup zones. I ordered the car from deep within the United gates and almost made it to the garage before him.
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Old Jul 13, 2019, 11:55 pm
  #39  
 
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Originally Posted by CDTraveler
Has anybody tried taking the first free shuttle that goes to a local hotel and getting Uber/Lyft from there?
Yes.
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Old Jul 14, 2019, 1:11 pm
  #40  
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It sounds like they're getting things under control now with the new pickup site on top of the garage. It was a massive change for everyone involved, and the decentralized nature of Uber/Lyft makes it difficult to retrain the drivers on the new pickup routine.
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Old Aug 3, 2019, 9:24 am
  #41  
 
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I pass by SFO with some regularity, and on Thursday/Sunday evenings there still is a massive queue going northbound for Uber/Lyft drivers trying to get into SFO.

They may have figured out some of the logistics and bottlenecks of the parking garage itself, but I would hate coming from south of SFO, late for a flight, and being stuck in that line.
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Old Aug 6, 2019, 10:52 pm
  #42  
nnn
 
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I've done the central garage Uber/Lyft pickup a couple of times now, and overall found it easier and quicker than the old curbside method. But I may have missed the crunch hours/days.
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Old Aug 11, 2019, 1:34 pm
  #43  
 
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Originally Posted by nnn
I've done the central garage Uber/Lyft pickup a couple of times now, and overall found it easier and quicker than the old curbside method. But I may have missed the crunch hours/days.
Yeah, I find it more peaceful to wait up there vs. curbside.
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Old Aug 14, 2019, 10:42 pm
  #44  
 
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Originally Posted by nnn
I've done the central garage Uber/Lyft pickup a couple of times now, and overall found it easier and quicker than the old curbside method. But I may have missed the crunch hours/days.
Originally Posted by bman1002
Yeah, I find it more peaceful to wait up there vs. curbside.
I was up there last Sunday night (granted the most busy time of week) and it was anything but peaceful. Both indoor area by the elevators and outside pick-up areas were packed in the section I was in. Probably 60-80 people combined. Took 20 min for my driver to get from turning off 101 to picking me up. Admittedly, old curbside location likely would have been just as hectic.
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Old Oct 16, 2019, 2:55 pm
  #45  
 
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Will be arriving SFO in a couple of weeks and curious to know whether anything has changed (good or bad) for Uber/Lyft wait times in the new-ish garage pickup configuration. Considering taking a regular cab from curbside if the schlep to garage + wait time is bad. Arriving around noon on a Friday if that makes a difference.
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