Ground Transportation Study

Project Brief

InterVISTAS assisted Gerald R. Ford International Airport with analysis of their commercial ground transportation (CGT) and public parking services.

Gerald R. Ford International, a small-hub airport, had not updated its commercial vehicle regulations for several years. While the introduction of TNC services at the airport had a less-severe impact on parking, rental car, and 13 taxi activity than at many US airports, the Airport determined that it was an opportune time to (a) review all of its commercial vehicle regulations and (b) consider reallocating the space on its commercial ground transportation curb to reflect the current and projected mix of vehicle traffic.

Regulations considered for TNCs and taxicabs also recognized that during times of the week, there was often a limited supply of vehicles at the airport due to drivers choosing to serve other parts of the city.

Approach

InterVISTAS developed recommendations centered on implementing new commercial ground transportation rules, regulations, and fees, and adapting public parking pricing to balance demand across facilities. Based on these recommendations, the Airport has begun the stakeholder coordination process to update the commercial vehicle rules and regulations and has modified its parking prices. The analysis also estimated potential benefits and costs of implementing a parking pre-booking system with yield management capabilities.

Specific tasks included:

• Reviewing existing CGT rules and regulations, contracts with existing CGT providers, and historical CGT revenues and activity.
• Conducting facility demand analysis using master plan facility requirements and developing alternative curbside allocation plans to accommodate current and future growth in TNC activity.
• Identifying best practices and suggested improvements for parking and CGT products, services, customer amenities, webpage visibility and utility, and methods for collecting customer feedback.
• Comparing the airport’s staffing levels for parking and CGT oversight with that at peer airports.
• Development of a price-elasticity model to predict impact of parking pricing changes on revenues and facility utilization.
• Evaluating current and potential parking products and services, including consideration of yield management and dynamic pricing strategies.