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SALT LAKE CITY — After four months of being barred from the Salt Lake City International Airport, cars with glowing, pink mustaches can now legally pick up and drop off airport passengers.
Lyft, a ridesharing transportation network company known to mark its vehicles with the pink mustaches, has now been welcomed into the airport's "family of ground transportation providers," airport director Maureen Riley said Thursday.
"Our goal is to provide the best customer service for all of our passengers, and Lyft will play a big part in providing a variety of transportation options for passengers at the Salt Lake City International Airport," Riley said.
Prior to Thursday's announcement, transportation network companies like Lyft and its competitor, Uber, could not legally serve airport passengers because the city lacked a permitting process to regulate the companies.
They differ from other ground transportation providers, like taxis, because of their unique business models: they typically employ part-time, freelance drivers who use their own vehicles.
"I remember Lyft and (Uber) first started showing up in Salt Lake City, and we were saying, 'What do we do? This is not part of our regulatory system for ground transportation,'" said Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker. "So we conferred real quickly that the direction was we just needed to figure out how to accommodate them."
Although Lyft did serve airport travelers earlier this year, it pulled its operations from the airport four months ago while it worked with airport officials to devise a new permitting process. Uber's commercial drivers can legally access the airport — by obtaining the same permits as taxi cabs — but its noncommercial drivers were pulled from the airport.
While Lyft recently completed its permit requirements, Uber is still in the process for its noncommercial drivers, airport and Uber officials said Thursday.
Bakari Brock, Lyft's director of business development, said he is grateful that Lyft could come to an agreement with the airport.
"It wasn't any type of hard, head-knocking negotiation," he said. "It was clear that we both had the same goal, which was to allow ridesharing to come to the airport. We just had to figure out the how and when."
Eric Schroeder, general manager of Uber Utah, responded to media requests with a prepared statement:
"It's great that the Salt Lake City airport is now allowing ridesharing," he said. "Uber has been providing safe, reliable and affordable transportation options to and from the airport since May, and we look forward to continuing to serve residents and visitors arriving at the airport."
Like other ground transportation providers, transportation network company drivers must register with the state, which requires background checks, inspections and a minimum of $1 million in liability insurance.
To receive an airport permit, the company's drivers must also complete airport driving training, have approved vehicle identification (like the mustaches or a decal), and have a system to help keep track of how many trips they take to the airport, which helps the airport charge the drivers the same fee that taxi drivers are required to pay per trip.
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Lyft's app-based rider sharing program allows people who need a ride to pick a driver in their area then pay with their credit card in the app.While cabs that pay the fee to use the airport have an electronic tag that is scanned each time they arrive at the airport to count their trips, Lyft needed a new system because it operates without the tags and outside regular cab areas.
Airport officials decided to trust Lyft with an "honor system," Riley said. The companies will be in charge of providing monthly reports counting their airport trips, so the airport knows how much to charge. Lyft's fee is $1.05 per trip.
When asked if an honor system could create concerns, Riley said it has not proven to be problematic with other airports that have already implemented an honor system with ridesharing companies.
The mayor called the new permitting process a way to "level the playing field" for all ground transportation providers.
"We're not only supporting the options that our residents and visitors want to engage, but we're also continuing to cultivate a community that embraces innovative thinking and new ways of doing business," Becker said.
However, Mark Hatch, president of Yellow Cab Utah, disagrees that the new permit will "level the playing field" in the industry.
While taxis and limos remain required to pick up passengers in designated lanes, ridesharing vehicles have reserved spaces right at the curbs of the first two terminals, directly outside of baggage claims.
The transportation network companies also do not need to adhere to the airport's maximum fair rates, since they're regulated by the state. The airport caps taxi rates at $25 for taking passengers downtown and $30 for destinations east of 500 East.
"I think that's preferential treatment, and I don't think it's justified," Hatch said. "We'll be discussing it with the city and the airport."
Contributing: Alex Cabrero 
