Uber and Lyft are allowed to continue airport pickups

The state Department of Transportation announced Tuesday that it has amended its rules to allow ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft to pick up passengers at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu.

The amendment makes permanent a ride-hailing pilot program that began Dec. 1 amid outcry from Honolulu’s taxicab companies. The pilot had been slated to end Aug. 31. Instead, the DOT said it used data from the program and feedback from a series of public hearings to modernize its rules, which hadn’t been amended since 2002, before ride-hailing companies existed.

“The pilot program and the public hearings found there is significant support and interest in (transportation network company) services at our airports. The rules are in place to ensure there is a level playing field for all prearranged ground transportation companies,” Jade Butay, state Department of Transportation director, said in a statement.

The new state rules were approved by Gov. David Ige following public hearings in Honolulu, Kahului, Kona and Lihue. The DOT said an “overwhelming majority” of the 160 people who testified during the June hearings expressed support for the changes.

“Gov. Ige’s decision is good news for riders and drivers across the state. We are thankful to the riders, drivers and community members who expressed support for permanent Uber operations at (the Honolulu airport),” said Tabatha Chow, senior operations manager for Uber Hawaii.

But Charley’s Taxi, TheCab and Robert’s Taxi said the rule change favors Uber and Lyft with “unfair, significant economic and competitive advantages.”

Robert Deluze, owner of Robert’s Taxi, said the decision isn’t good for taxicab companies, which also are fighting what looks to be a losing battle at the Honolulu City Council. The Council is considering two measures that would loosen restrictions for ride-hailing and taxicab companies.

“During the state pilot, the airport taxicab drivers lost 50 percent of their income. They went from five to six pickups a day down to two or three,” Deluze said. “Even the biggest companies, Charley’s Taxi and TheCab, have taken hits. If the city’s deregulation bills pass, it’s going to kill us.”

Howard Higa, owner of TheCab, said the state’s decision was not unexpected, but it was “another major blow” on top of the advancing city bills.

“We knew it wasn’t just a pilot. It was just another way to get something passed using smoke and mirrors. We all saw it coming,” Higa said. “It’s sad because the taxi industry already has taken a big hit from Uber and Lyft. The changes will hurt the industry, but it will hurt consumers more — especially if the city decides to deregulate everything. It’s going to be the Wild West.”

Both city bills are in the City Council’s Budget Committee, but the state’s new rules take effect Aug. 24. They allow any ride-hailing driver licensed by the Public Utilities Commission or a county agency to apply for a permit from the state DOT. While the rules also apply to neighbor island airports, DOT spokesman Tim Sakahara said they can’t take effect there until the counties establish ride-hailing licensing regulations.

“The amended rules are statewide, but the process is not yet in place on the neighbor islands to allow airport pickups,” said DOT spokesman Tim Sakahara. “We focused on Honolulu first and will be working with the neighbor islands.”

Sakahara said the rules change continues the provisions that were set during the pilot program. Ride-hailing pickup locations have been established at the Honolulu airport’s second-­level median curb at Term­inal 1 across from Lobby 2 and Terminal 2 across from Lobby 8.

Honolulu ride-hailing drivers have to pay the state 7 percent of their gross airport pickup receipts. Once the program is established on the neighbor islands, ride-hailing drivers there would remit 3 percent of their gross airport pickup receipts to the state.