Colonie

When Lyft arrived at Albany International Airport last July, Capitaland Taxi immediately felt the impact. Its airport business — it has the exclusive contract to pick up taxi passengers at the terminal — tumbled 11.3 percent, according to figures from the Albany County Airport Authority.

Lyft, in just a six-month period from July through December, provided 19,528 rides from the airport.

For all of 2017, Capitaland's departures were down 5.3 percent, to 48,991 from 51,753 in 2016.

Despite the decline, Capitaland owner Bret Peek said the company is "holding our own up there," and that "I've just replaced all my cars" with new taxis.

So far, Lyft also hasn't reduced parking or rental car revenues.

Figures show the airport authority collected $14,985,300 in parking fees for all of 2017, up slightly from $14,870,500 a year earlier. Meanwhile, rental car revenues totaled $5,427,700 compared to $5,057,300 in 2016, a 7.3 percent increase.

Capitaland has the exclusive contract to pick up arriving passengers at the airport, while Lyft has the exclusive ride-hailing contract for passenger pick-up. Both Uber and Lyft, as well as other taxi companies, can drop off passengers. Uber has balked at having a third party verify its operations at the airport, something that would include monitoring its pick-up and drop-off activity.

Capitaland Taxi pays a $2 fee per vehicle each time it takes passengers from the airport, but doesn't pay a drop-off fee. Lyft pays $2 for each vehicle pickup and drop-off.

Peek of Capitaland touts the advantages of his taxi service.

While Lyft drivers may or may not be immediately available, Peek is under a contractual obligation with the airport to have taxis available at least a half hour before the first flight arrival and a half hour after the arrival of the last aircraft, even if that flight is late. And he has to have taxis there in all kinds of weather.

Capitaland has even made long-distance trips to Newark's airport if the local flight has been canceled or delayed, an airport spokesman said.

"Our guys have real background checks and real insurance," he said. "Insurance companies will tell (their customers), if you're caught ride-hailing, you will not be covered."

However, Lyft does provide group coverage for its drivers in New York state, a spokesman for the state Department of Financial Services said and a Lyft official confirmed.

But Peek's big concern isn't Lyft. It's Uber.

He mentioned a taxi operator at the airport in Syracuse who lost 60 percent of his business with the arrival of Uber.

"As long as Uber doesn't decide to sign a contract, we're OK," Peek said Thursday afternoon. "If they do, all bets are off."