Passengers leaving Tampa International Airport in an Uber or Lyft could soon face higher fares under proposed agreements that would increase the airport’s rideshare pickup fee by 30%, from $5 to $6.50 per trip, beginning Dec. 1.
The additional $1.50 would be charged to the rideshare companies for each vehicle pickup, leaving Uber and Lyft to determine whether to recover the higher cost from passengers. Tampa International currently lists a $5 airport service fee added to rideshare fares, although the proposed contracts do not require the companies to pass the increase along to customers.
The increase would be the airport’s first adjustment to the $5 fee since October 2019, when Tampa International completed a series of scheduled increases that began with a $3 charge in 2017.
The Hillsborough County Aviation Authority scheduled the new agreements for consideration Thursday, Nov. 5, with contracts that would keep both companies operating at the airport through September 2029 and guarantee at least $1.71 million in combined annual payments.
Uber would guarantee a minimum of $996,448 annually, while Lyft would guarantee $717,767. Those amounts establish the minimum each company must pay, with additional revenue collected if the number of pickups exceeds the level covered by its annual guarantee.
The airport’s financial disclosures provide a sense of the business behind those agreements. Tampa International collected nearly $6.9 million from transportation network companies during fiscal 2023, when the existing $5 pickup charge was in effect, considerably more than the combined minimum payments contemplated under the proposed contracts.
Under the proposed Lyft agreement, the company could recover the $6.50 fee from passengers but would not be required to do so. The charge would apply to each vehicle pickup, regardless of how many people share the ride, and neither company’s plans for passing along the additional expense have been confirmed.
Uber and Lyft have continued operating at Tampa International since their previous agreements expired Sept. 30, while negotiations over replacement contracts extended into November. Airport management recommended approval of both agreements at Thursday’s Aviation Authority meeting.