Planes and Parking Lots

There's an interesting quote in a recent USA Today article: Airports fast-track rail projects

"We don't want to continue building more and more and more parking"

Tampa Airport executive director Louis Miller

For the past couple of years I've been a "Road Warrior" - travelling almost every week for my job. "Road" is a complete misnomer, because I spend much more time in the air than on the road... heck... I spend more time in airports than I do on the road.

Regardless of the term, We Who Travel A Lot quickly learn that something's not quite right with our transportation system. Flying is really, really fast once you are in the air, but it takes an inordinate amount of time to actually get in the air (and that time seems to be increasing daily). You have to be at the airport an hour early (minimum) to get through security and be there ready to board (even though your plane will turn out to be late). If you're on an outbound trip, you have to drive to the airport. On the way you may experience traffic delays (so you have to leave a little early) and once then you have to find a parking space (so you have to leave even earlier). Once you are parked, you either have to hike to the terminal or catch a shuttle (often it's much faster to hike). On an inbound trip it's much the same, but you also have to allot time to check in your rental car (usually that's quite fast... generally faster than dealing with your own car).

From my home in Austin I can catch a Super Shuttle to the airport... but they always make me leave really, really early... usually at least 2 1/2 hours before my flight even though it's only a 30 minute drive to the airport (in the absurdly early morning when I typically depart). There is a public bus, but it's a joke. It doesn't run on a convenient schedule, and I'd have to transfer twice... Not a great idea.

There is a new proposal to build a "train" to the airport (really a street car), but I hate the specifics of the idea. The proposed train seems more focused at getting tourists from the airport to the convention center rather than for getting me from my home to the airport, and the "new" train isn't compatible with the commuter rail currently under construction here in town. You'd have to transfer from the commuter rail to the streetcar to get from the suburbs to the airport.

Austin's airport is relatively new... so why wasn't there a plan from the very beginning for trains and buses to get folks to and from the airport? Why is it a big surprise that people can't (reliably) get from their homes to their flights without driving their cars (which frequently leads to parking their cars at the airport)?

Call me cynical... but I think it's the most basic of conflicts of interest: The Airport is expensive, and Parking Fees are a great way to offset those expenses. If you don't give folks a viable alternative to parking at the airport, then you give yourself a guaranteed source of income. Add on top of that the Taxi lobby, and you pretty much kill off any incentive to implement mass transit to and from the airport.

Hopefully "the folks in charge" will begin to understand that a full parking lot at the airport isn't a cash cow... It's a sign of failed transportation planning.