Sidecar first ride company to win OK from SFO for airport rides

Sidecar became the first on-demand ride service okayed to work at SFO. Rider JoAnna Karem prepares to take a short trip in San Francisco with Sidecar driver Eric Janson. Sidecar became the first on-demand ride service okayed to work at SFO. Rider JoAnna Karem prepares to take a short trip in San Francisco with Sidecar driver Eric Janson. Photo: Michael Macor / Michael Macor / The Chronicle Photo: Michael Macor / Michael Macor / The Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Sidecar first ride company to win OK from SFO for airport rides 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

In a big win for a small company, Sidecar became the first on-demand ride service approved to operate at San Francisco International Airport — and the first allowed at any California airport — under an agreement announced Tuesday.

The San Francisco company said it will start SFO rides within 30 days. Meanwhile bigger rivals Uber and Lyft said they are still pursuing SFO’s OK.

“This permit reflects our commitment to new business models at SFO, and ensures safe, consistent service for our customers,” said Airport Director John Martin in a statement. “I applaud Sidecar for taking the lead in their industry with the first authorized service at SFO. Their proactive approach sets an example for other transportation network companies to follow.”

SFO spokesman Doug Yakel said Sidecar will pay the airport $3.85 per trip, on par with what taxis and limos pay. Sidecar said that cost will be passed directly to passengers. It will also pay a permit activation fee and monthly fee.

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To avoid congestion, Sidecar drivers will both drop off and pick up passengers on the airport’s upper level, the departure level, Yakel said. SFO will set up a staging area, next to the cell-phone waiting area, where Sidecar drivers can wait for ride requests so they don’t have to circle the airport.

“When regulators and innovators work together consumers win,” Sidecar co-founder and CEO Sunil Paul wrote in a blog post. “We commend SFO for their forward thinking, and for developing a framework that will allow Sidecar to provide safe and affordable transportation to people who live in and visit our city. SFO is one of our most in-demand places for ride requests.”

Sidecar’s permit is part of a pilot program that SFO will use to study its impact on traffic congestion, Paul wrote.

For-hire vehicles working without permission at airports are considered to be trespassing. SFO and other airports have cracked down on nonprofessional drivers using their own cars for app-summoned paid rides, issuing hundreds of verbal admonishments and dozens of citations (for repeat offenders) to drivers, Yakel said. State regulators warned UberX, Lyft, Wingz and Sidecar in June that their entire companies risked being shut down if they continued to give airport rides without permission. Some drivers for UberX and Lyft said the companies encouraged them to operate at the airports and said they would cover the hefty fees imposed on violators.

UberX and Lyft drivers are still subject to warnings and citations at SFO, Yakel said.

Uber spokeswoman Eva Behrend applauded the news in a statement that was unusually congenial for the famously combative company.

“SFO is embracing the convenience, reliability, and seamless experience that the ridesharing industry offers travelers and it is clear that the countless hours we have spent working with airport officials on a solution has paid off,” she said. “This is a win for the people who live (in) and visit the Bay Area.”

Lyft pointed out that it has the only other airport deal in the nation, at Nashville International Airport. “Lyft continues to have productive conversations with SFO,” it said in a statement. “These agreements are the first of many steps toward securing nationwide coverage and authorization for (transportation network companies) at airports.“

A UC Berkeley study this year found that about 61 percent of on-demand San Francisco ride customers used Uber (mainly its lower-cost UberX service); 30 percent used Lyft and 7 percent used Sidecar.

Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: csaid@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @csaid