Boston Logan International Airport (Worcester: rental car, rental, mover)

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by robr2

I think geoffd's idea is to have a terminus for Logan car traffic on the other side of the tunnel and have passengers travel the last miles to the airport via multi-passenger vehicles. It really doesn't make sense to have 60 cars (private, limo, or ride share) travel through the tunnel when one bus can do the job.

Logan's long term vision is to limit single user car trips as they can't easily increase capacity in the tunnels.

I'm not sure that would play out so well. I think by adding on that extra leg of the trip, many if not most will say "screw it" and just drive their personal vehicles in (and giving Massport more leverage to gouge us even more). What does that solve?

[Dm84]

Originally Posted by robr2

I think geoffd's idea is to have a terminus for Logan car traffic on the other side of the tunnel and have passengers travel the last miles to the airport via multi-passenger vehicles. It really doesn't make sense to have 60 cars (private, limo, or ride share) travel through the tunnel when one bus can do the job.

Logan's long term vision is to limit single user car trips as they can't easily increase capacity in the tunnels.

The problem of course is that the tunnels go to places other than the airport, so people would figure out a way to circumvent this hypothetical traffic pattern.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by robr2

I think geoffd's idea is to have a terminus for Logan car traffic on the other side of the tunnel and have passengers travel the last miles to the airport via multi-passenger vehicles. It really doesn't make sense to have 60 cars (private, limo, or ride share) travel through the tunnel when one bus can do the job.

Logan's long term vision is to limit single user car trips as they can't easily increase capacity in the tunnels.

Originally Posted by Dm84

The problem of course is that the tunnels go to places other than the airport, so people would figure out a way to circumvent this hypothetical traffic pattern.

Only way to stop cars is to make it expensive enough to encourage people to seek other options. Some airports charge pick up/ drop off tolls. That would deter some trips if the fees exceeded the cost of alternate modes of transportation. Separate surcharges/fees are leveraged on ride shares at some airports. These encourage transit use.

[Dm84]

Originally Posted by lrfox

Only way to stop cars is to make it expensive enough to encourage people to seek other options. Some airports charge pick up/ drop off tolls. That would deter some trips if the fees exceeded the cost of alternate modes of transportation. Separate surcharges/fees are leveraged on ride shares at some airports. These encourage transit use.

They already do that by extorting people from the burbs with the cost of parking. There really is no viable transit option for a family coming from the suburbs.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by lrfox

Separate surcharges/fees are leveraged on ride shares at some airports. These encourage transit use.

Massport has done this with taxi cabs forever, I'd be shocked if they haven't gone after ride shares in the same fashion.

[htfdcolt]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

I really don’t care about the aesthetics of the terminals. I care about airport access, security queues, and passport control queues. I think Lyft and Uber should be banned from the tunnels and the airport. Put a dedicated bus lane on the TWT and keep all the Logan car traffic on the Boston side.

You may not care about aesthetics but the current situation is in dire need of an upgrade. Logan is often the first point of entry for visitors, and first impressions are formed quickly. Coming out of the Delta gates, to baggage claim and/or ground transport, feels like walking through NYC Port Authority circa 1978.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by htfdcolt

You may not care about aesthetics but the current situation is in dire need of an upgrade. Logan is often the first point of entry for visitors, and first impressions are formed quickly. Coming out of the Delta gates, to baggage claim and/or ground transport, feels like walking through NYC Port Authority circa 1978.

Come on it's not that bad.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by massnative71

Come on it's not that bad.

It's not even remotely that bad. I last flew Delta in September and I've always used the satellite terminal Southwest gates a lot since they moved from Terminal E. It's not even close to the LGA pre-remodel bus station ambiance. The TSA Pre line has never been bad in Terminal A in my experience. You might snake back & forth 3 or 4 times before getting to the humans looking at your drivers license. I don't recall ever waiting more than 5 minutes. The restroom near the base of the escalator from central parking and the ones behind security are clean.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by lrfox

Only way to stop cars is to make it expensive enough to encourage people to seek other options. Some airports charge pick up/ drop off tolls. That would deter some trips if the fees exceeded the cost of alternate modes of transportation. Separate surcharges/fees are leveraged on ride shares at some airports. These encourage transit use.

The way you stop cars is to deny them access to the airport. EZ Pass takes a photo of every license plate going through the tunnels. Put up a gate for passenger cars at the airport entrance and match license plates. You want cars driving in from the 'burbs to park or wait west of the tunnels. Start building huge parking garages and dedicate a bus lane so very frequent bus service can get through quickly. Logan Express on steroids.

[robr2]

Massport's plan is to limit traffic congestion around the airport, East Boston, and the tunnels to meet it's agreement with the Conservation Law Foundation of 40% of passengers using public transit by 2027. It's around 30% now which is one of the highest in the country.

Long term, only high capacity vehicles will be allowed to drop off at the curb. If one takes Logan Express (from additional suburban stations), the proposed monorail, or the silver line, one goes right to the door. Drive yourself in, expect to pay higher parking rates. Get a ride, take Uber/Lyft share or taxi, or call a town car and you will probably have to go to a dedicated spot in the garages which I believe the ride shares are already doing.

Flight traffic is growing at Logan with passenger counts up by 30% in 3 years. In 2018, ride share and taxi pickups were up by 30% from 2017. Since 2013, tunnel traffic at Sumner/Callahan is up 35% and 21% at the Williams. Now the latter isn't all due to the airport but it's a signal that the infrastructure ins't going to be able to handle the expected vehicle traffic. Again, it's all in the planning.

Basically, we are going to have to change our thinking of how to get to Logan. Trust me, I love having my wife or kids drive me to and from the terminal door. When I do take public transport, it involves a little planning. I can Uber to Logan Express but it adds 30 minutes to my trip on either side for the ride share. I can take the orange line from my wife's office or the commuter rail but it takes longer.

Here is the article noting the expected changes: https://www.bostonglobe.com/business...7NO/story.html