ORLANDO, Fla. – During the busiest times of the year at the Orlando International Airport, passengers seeking a rideshare pickup often wait longer than usual.
But Uber drivers who service MCO said the wait is unnecessarily long, because their wait – to get into and out of the airport’s Transportation Network Companies (TNC) waiting lots – is often unnecessarily long, especially at night when so many flights arrive back-to-back.
The two airport rideshare wait lots, the North TNC lot and the South TNC, are the only places within Uber’s geo-mapping that allows drivers to enter the Uber driver app ride que to pick up passengers.
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News 6 first reported in December on the dangerous traffic jam getting into and around the North lot and the underuse of the South lot because of poor cell phone reception. If drivers can’t get a cell phone signal, they can’t use the driver app.
Uber driver and Evolved Media business owner Scott Ellis recorded video of what he called “absolute pandemonium” in the North TNC lot. He said he worried for his safety and the safety of other drivers trying to navigate the near-gridlock.
Six months later, Ellis said the problem is just as bad if not worse. He recorded new video of an even longer traffic jam getting into the North TNC lot. His video showed MCO staff directing traffic throughout the lot.
“In some ways it has gotten even worse, it’s pandemonium on most nights,” Ellis said.
News 6 interviewed Uber drivers sitting at a table playing dominos in the TNC South lot. Several said they had been there for hours because of the weak cell phone signal. Every time they’d lose the connection to their cell phone carrier, their place in the Uber ride pickup que was reset.
What does that do to passengers seeking a ride?
“They have to wait,” an Uber driver named Irvin said. “They have to wait a long time because there’s no way to get out of here. That’s why we chose to park over here [in the South TNC lot] even though we don’t have signal because it’s easier to get out of here. Over there [the North TNC lot] it’s jammed.”
Ellis said one MCO passenger had been waiting at the terminal for 50 minutes until she was picked up.
Nirav, another Uber driver waiting in the South TNC lot, showed News 6 his driver stats: No rides in three hours.
“It [his cell phone] shows 5G but the signal is really bad out here,” Nirav said.
Despite the poor reception, Nirav also prefers the South TNC waiting lot over the overcrowded North TNC lot.
“Because it’s full and it’s always a problem, there is no parking spot,” Nirav said.
Several drivers, including Ellis, said they were forced to switch their cell phone carrier to Verizon because it’s the only one that delivers a somewhat usable signal in the South TNC lot.
Angela Starke, MCO Senior Vice President of Public Affairs & Community Relations, said the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA) continues to work on improving coverage.
“GOAA staff members have been working with cell providers, in conjunction with the Federal Aviation Administration, to improve coverage in the cell phone parking lots,” Starke said. “Simultaneously, in January, our IT team successfully deployed a wi-fi infrastructure by strategically placing four wi-fi access points, effectively covering the TNC lot area in the South. These access points are interconnected, ensuring seamless delivery of wi-fi signals. This improvement should help rideshare drivers with mobile apps and enable wi-fi calling.”
Irvin said he’s noticed the wi-fi repeaters, but the signal keeps dropping and resetting his place in the Uber ride pickup que.
“They placed wi-fi that doesn’t work, it goes on and off all the time,” Irvin said pointing to the repeaters next to him in the South TNC lot. “The wi-fi from MCO doesn’t help. There’s two bars [displayed on his cell phone] and look at the antenna right there!”
Starke said it has agreements in place with two cell phone carriers to improve the signal.
“Currently, and based on our coordination with FAA, we have agreements with two of the three major cell phone providers to improve coverage in the cell phone parking lots,” Starke said. “This would be a combination of small cell poles and antennae in the South and North cell lots. The benefit is that this cell service improvement should extend into the South TNC lot; however, it is not guaranteed. Once the project is complete, we will verify.”
Drivers said there used to be a third option for waiting on MCO property within Uber’s geo-mapping to enter the ride pickup que: A smaller parking lot near the North TNC lot. That lot is now closed.
“The TNCs were notified in March that the extension lot on Bear Road would be closing (in preparation for construction of a hangar in that area),” Starke said. “Please note that this extension lot was always meant to be temporary, and we communicated that in December. The TNC lot near the B-52 memorial park is still active. The Orlando Police department and our operations team monitor the TNC lots as the volume of trips to MCO has significantly increased. Safety is always the priority. "
Uber spokesperson Javi Correoso said Uber drivers are required to “adhere to their rules.”
“We were instructed by MCO in April to not allow any trips from the third lot,” Correoso said. “On our end, we do give drivers information on how many drivers are in the MCO que and the expected wait time so that they make best use of their time and so that they come during slower time periods.”
MCO charges Uber riders $7 per pickup from the airport. Uber claimed the fee is the highest in the country of any airport that is served by Uber, but MCO pointed out the fee is only charged for pick-ups, not drop-offs.
“TNCs made a reported 271,542 pickup trips in May, alone, with Uber garnering the bulk of those trips; the TNCs made a reported 310,185 drop-offs in the same month,” Starke said. “If the $7 fee were divided equally between pickups and drop-offs, GOAA would certainly collect more. As it stands, the $7 fee is not the highest total TNC fee in the country because airports in Florida are not allowed to charge a drop-off fee. Considering this much activity to/from the airport, we have had to increase our traffic enforcement staff to help handle the impact of heavy traffic, especially along the Terminal A & B curbs. The $7 pickup fee helps to offset these costs as we make every effort to continue providing passengers with choices at MCO. Additionally, we are always looking for ways to work with our airport partners and leverage technology that will help to meet our passengers’ expectations.”
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