Dawn Gilbertson

The Republic | azcentral.com

Travelers who need a ride from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport have a new option beginning Saturday: ride-sharing services Uber and Lyft.

The popular car services, which are ordered via mobile app and are usually cheaper than a taxi, are allowed to pick up passengers under a new airport ground-transportation policy approved by the Phoenix City Council in May. Drop-offs have always been allowed because they aren’t regulated.

The rapidly growing companies, which operate networks of independent drivers using their own vehicles, have been working for more than a year to add Phoenix to their airport lineup because Sky Harbor is the 10th busiest airport in the country and travelers have come to expect the option. Tucson International Airport also adds the car services this week.

MORE:Which airports allow Uber, Lyft? | Uber, Lyft at Sky Harbor: What you need to know | Arizona Then & Now: Phoenix Sky Harbor Terminal 3

'Folks have just been clamoring for this'

Lyft said 10,000 passengers a month have opened its app at Sky Harbor only to get a message that the service is not available. Uber says 54,000 passengers have opened its app at Sky Harbor in the past year and shut it when its cheapest ride, UberX, wasn’t available. (Pricier Uber rides, including Uber Black and Uber SUV, have been available because those drivers have commercial permits like taxi and limo drivers have.)

“Folks have just been clamoring for this,’’ said Bakari Brock, senior director of business operations and airports for Lyft.

Scottsdale retiree Jackie Rifkin, a frequent traveler who flew to San Francisco for a day last week to see a new museum exhibit, takes Uber to the airport all the time so she doesn’t have to bother her family for a ride. She also uses the service to get home, but not without jumping through hoops.

She and other travelers bent on catching an Uber or Lyft ride instead of a taxi or shuttle from Sky Harbor have been taking the free PHX Sky Train to the 44th Street and Washington station and catching a ride somewhere off airport property.

“We always have to play this game when I come home,’’ she said. “I take the Sky Train, run across Washington and pretend I’m staying at the Crowne Plaza hotel. One time I did the Circle K.’’

Now, she and other travelers can simply step outside baggage claim to the designated ride-sharing pick-up area on the outer curb of each terminal.

“That’s terrific,’’ she said.

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Security issues, background checks

With service starting at Sky Harbor, Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is the only airport among the United States' 10 busiest without the ride-sharing option. Talks with the airport, the busiest in the world by passenger boardings, have stalled over driver background checks.

Some Atlanta officials want to require Uber and Lyft drivers to be fingerprinted, as taxi drivers and others at the airport are required to be. The companies say their name and Social Security-based background checks are just as thorough and often more up to date.

The same issue came up repeatedly in Phoenix, as recently as the city council vote in May. Taxi companies and other critics say Sky Harbor is putting passengers at risk by not requiring fingerprinting. Sky Harbor officials initially insisted on fingerprinting, calling it the industry gold standard, but relented and now accept Uber and Lyft’s third-party background checks.

There was a compromise of sorts. The airport set the pick-up spot for drivers without fingerprint background checks away from the pick-up areas for taxis, shuttles, limos and sedans, which have commercial permits and are required to fingerprint drivers. They are all on the same curb, but the ride-sharing services are on the outer edges and others are more centrally located.

Taxi companies respond

Taxi companies permitted to operate at the airport have already responded to the new competition, at least on rides to downtown Phoenix, a major destination for airport travelers.

They are introducing a new flat rate of $17 on trips downtown. The boundaries: Lincoln Street to Roosevelt Street from Seventh Street to Seventh Avenue.

The $1 airport trip fee on taxi rides has been eliminated, dropping the minimum taxi trip charge from the airport to $15.

Phoenix-based SuperShuttle, which also operates under a contract with the airport, has adjusted prices in other markets in response to new competition from Uber and Lyft.

“We have been going through an overall rate review market by market,’’ Ken Testani, senior vice president of global marketing said via e-mail. “We have not done Phoenix yet, but will be at some point relatively soon.’’

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7 things to know about Uber, Lyft at Sky Harbor

1. The ride-hailing services can start picking up passengers at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, June 18. Uber plans to be available at that time. Lyft says it will start service at 8 a.m..

2. Travelers must download the Uber or Lyft mobile app and request a ride after they get their bags. Look for promotion codes for a free ride for new users. Lyft is offering all users two $10 credits for two airport rides through June 30 using the promo code FLYPHOENIX.

3. Be careful which ride you request on Uber — there are several tiers. The cheapest is UberX, which accommodates up to four passengers. Lyft’s standard Lyft service accommodates up to four passengers, too.

4. The Sky Harbor surcharge for pick-ups is $3.25 per trip. Uber and Lyft will pass that on to passengers. The money goes to the airport.

5. Fare estimates are available through the app or in advance at uber.com/ride or lyft.com/cities/Phoenix. Uber says a trip to downtown Phoenix will cost $9-12; to north Scottsdale, $25-34. Lyft’s estimates: $10 to downtown Phoenix; $28 to north Scottsdale. Lyft has a tip button on its app; Uber does not. Uber says tipping is voluntary but not expected or required. Uber drivers, though, welcome cash tips.

6. The app will tell you where to meet your driver. Pick-up spots are outside the baggage-claim area on the outer curbs of each terminal. At Terminal 4, Sky Harbor'airport’s busiest, look for the new ride-sharing signs outside Door 8 on the south curb and Door 1 on the north curb. In Terminal 3, go to the north curb, outside Door 9. In Terminal 2, head out Door 8.

7. Don’t worry about digging out your wallet when the ride ends. Uber and Lyft bill the ride to your credit card on file.