Flying into LGA? You’ll need a PIN to hail an Uber
/
A passenger enters an Uber at LaGuardia. AP Photo/Seth Wenig.
By Alex Williamson
A new PIN matching system is changing the way passengers arriving at LaGuardia Airport hail a ride from Lyft or Uber.
The new system was rolled out at terminals C and D last week. The Port Authority pressed the rideshare apps to switch to the new code system in order to streamline pickups in the midst of construction from the airport’s ongoing $8 billion renovation project.
At LGA’s terminal B, Uber and Lyft have been piloting the PIN system since this summer. To mitigate construction-related congestion, the Port Authority asked both rideshare services to expand the pilot to terminals C and D last week, according to a spokesperson for the PA.
When travelers order a rideshare from LGA, they now receive a unique code. Passengers wait in line at a dedicated Uber or Lyft pickup area then show their code to the driver, who enters it into the app before the ride begins.
Previously, passengers waited in the pickup area for the specific driver the app matched them with. Under the new PIN system, passengers get in the first available car when their code is next in line.
The code matching system is similar to systems the rideshares already use at airports in Portland and San Francisco.
Spencer Schaff, who flew into LGA last week and took a Lyft home, reports the new system is easy to use.
“Once I figured the process out it was really smooth,” said Schaff. “There were attendants from Lyft helping direct traffic and explaining the process ... When I had flown into LGA a few weeks before, I waited for over an hour for my car because of construction. I only waited for about 15 minutes this time.”
The change means drivers at LGA are now queuing for passengers as well, removing the problem of passengers waiting for a specific driver who later cancels, an issue some reports say has been rampant at the airport.
Some drivers say they’re not happy with the change.
“We’re going to lose money, sometimes we lose one hour or two hours,” Lyft driver Hackan Egilmez told Pix11 news.
A spokesperson for Uber said the company is taking negative feedback from drivers into account.
“This was a decision the Port Authority made as a result of ongoing construction at the airport, and we’re working closely to try and limit issues for riders and drivers,” Uber spokesperson Harry Hartfield told the Queens Eagle in an email.
Hartfield said he couldn’t confirm whether the change would continue after construction wraps up at the airport, which should be in 2022, according to projections.
“Once construction is completed, we’ll continue to work with the Port,” said Hartfield.
