Program Definition, Consolidated Rental Car Facility

Project Brief

Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority retained InterVISTAS to prepare the program definition for new rental car, public parking, ground transportation, curbside, and roadway facilities.

InterVISTAS initially forecasted 2040 facility requirements based on the historical relationship between demand for ground transportation facilities and originating/terminating airline passenger volumes.  However, InterVISTAS understood that this relationship is no longer true due to increasing popularity of Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) and uncertainty regarding the eventual introduction of autonomous and connected vehicles.

Approach

Research was conducted on how TNCs have impacted travel patterns at Raleigh-Durham International and other airports and the likely implications of autonomous and connected vehicle use at airports.  Key findings included:

• TNCs have resulted in a significant drop in demand for taxis, shared-ride vans, and public transit, and a slight decrease, on a per-passenger basis, for public parking and rental cars; these decreases are expected to continue.
• Curbside requirements have increased due to the growing popularity of TNCs and are increasing faster than airline passengers.
• Autonomous vehicles will likely represent a significant proportion of the vehicle fleet serving the Airport by about 2030.

There will likely be a consolidation or merger of services offered by TNCs, car-sharing services (e.g., ZipCar), and rental car companies with vehicle manufacturers and technology companies becoming active players.

As a result, the rental car and public parking structures are sized smaller than originally proposed and alternative TNC passenger pick-up areas are planned.