Uber snubs airport, enters deal with Red Beam Garage

Ridesharing company giant Uber didn’t take long to find a new suitor to cash in on high traffic coming and going from T.F. Green Airport, as they have entered into an agreement with privately-owned Red Beam Garage, located just a short walk from the main terminal, earlier this week.

“We are partnering with ProPark to ensure that Rhode Island residents and visitors can once again get an affordable, reliable ride when leaving the airport,” said Uber spokeswoman Alix Anfang through a statement.

The Rhode Island Airport Corporation (RIAC), which operates T.F. Green, and Uber severed ties in late April following an inability to reach a new agreement amidst rising fees for picking up passengers from outside the terminal – fees that Uber said were unreasonably high and that T.F. Green officials said were in line with most other airports in the nation, especially since the airport did not charge a fee for dropping off fares, only for picking them up.

Regardless, Uber refused to pay either the original $6 fee – which constituted a 100 percent increase from what was originally a $3 fee – or the re-negotiated $4.50 fee offered by the airport. They suspended service from the airport and did not return to the negotiating table.

Now, just a couple months later, Uber has found another willing suitor in ProPark America, which owns and operates the newly reopened Red Beam Garage, located within short walking distance of the airport. Red Beam will allow Uber to pick up passengers from its facility for a fee (paid by the Uber passenger) of just $3.36, of which $3 goes to Red Beam and 36 cents will go to the airport, collected through a 12 percent tax on business conducted by properties that have direct access to the airport.

“Propark is excited to partner with Uber on a program that brings back convenient and affordable ride sharing services to the many customers who utilize T.F. Green Airport for their traveling needs,” said Sean Lampert, Regional Vice President for ProPark, in a statement. “We look forward to providing another avenue of ease and convenience for these travelers at the Red Beam Garage C through this partnership.”

In a conversation on Wednesday, airport spokesman Bill Fischer said that Uber had every right to pursue other options and to enter into the agreement, and that the airport would not try to impede such a deal in any way.

“We wish them well,” Fischer said. “We've negotiated in good faith and they chose to go in a new direction. As far as we're concerned the matter is resolved.”

Ridesharing competitor Lyft still operates out of T.F. Green, and reportedly accepted the airport’s offered $4.50 fee structure.