Airport Parking News

You might want to take a cab or bum a ride to catch your flight at Tampa International Airport starting this summer.

Parking prices would go up $1 or $2 a day July 1 at all airport parking facilities under a recommendation Thursday from Louis Miller, executive director of the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority.

Drivers using the new remote economy garage would feel the biggest jolt: a $2 increase to $9 per day. The airport would raise the fee to $10 as soon as November 2008 under the proposal.

Daily parking would increase to $20 from $18 in the short-term garage and to $15 from $14 for the long-term parking decks. Hourly parking for the two garages would rise to $3 from $2.50, although the first hour would still be free.

Rapid passenger growth and popularity of the new garage have put seasonal squeezes on airport parking. Design is under way for a second economy garage with 5,600 additional spaces.

Higher parking fees would help pay for the $71.2-million structure and ease demand on the economy garage, said Miller.

The pricier long-term garage handled two-thirds of overnight parking before the new garage opened. Now, slightly less than half the overnight vehicles park there.

"The difference between $7 and $14 was too much, forcing too many people down there to economy parking," said Miller.

Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio pointed out that at the proposed 2008 rate of $10, Tampa International's cheapest daily parking would cost more than economy parking in Orlando ($9) and Miami ($8).

Those airports, however, have remote lots instead of covered parking, said Miller. New rates for Tampa's remote garage would be the same or less expensive than garages at comparable airports in Phoenix. Baltimore and Minneapolis.

Iorio and other agency board members didn't raise other concerns. They will vote on rate changes at meetings in May or June.

Tampa International faces tight parking during the winter holidays and summer months. In addition to just under 20,000 regular spaces, airport officials make room for 4,000 more vehicles by squeezing them into unused spots in the garages and opening overflow grass lots.

This year's Thanksgiving/Christmas season shouldn't be a problem, said operations director Robert Burr.

But summer of 2008 could be a pinch as construction for the garage takes up existing surface parking. "We'll be close to capacity but think we can get by," he said.

If all goes on schedule, the first phase of the new economy garage with 3,700 spaces, will be open just before Thanksgiving 2008. The remaining 1,900 would be finished by May 2009.

Source: Steve Huttel, St. Petersburgh Times

TAMPA - About $1 million separated the top two companies vying to provide parking and shuttle services at Tampa International Airport, even though the ratings of both proposals were practically even.

On Thursday, the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority board did not go with the airport staff's recommendation to choose the current provider, Republic Parking System, which priced the five-year contract at $4.37 million. Instead, the board awarded the contract to Ampco System Parking, which offered to provide the same services for $3.34 million.

"There's such a small difference in the scoring, and there's a $1 million difference in the cost," said Mayor Pam Iorio, a member of the authority board. "They are statistically even."

John Levins, senior vice president of Republic, told the board that Ampco offered a significantly lower price because it underestimated the number of miles logged by the shuttle buses and the cost of maintenance.

"Our number is based on our experience here," Levins said.

The airport staff recommended Republic, whose proposal received a slightly higher rating. But Louis Miller, the airport's executive director, said both companies are capable of doing the job.

The contract runs from July 1 to June 30, 2012.

The board also authorized the airport to study and design a light rail system and rail station serving the airport terminal. The consulting firm of Parsons, Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas will perform the study at a cost of $430,700.

The light rail project would be part of a regional transit system for the Tampa Bay area.

"When the region adopts a regional transit system, we have to make sure we're ready," Miller said. "More importantly, we have to define what won't work."

The study will be completed in September, Miller said.

The decision to move forward with a study is a giant step toward building a comprehensive mass transit system for Tampa, Iorio said.

"It's the first tangible piece of planning we have," she said.

Source: Airport Business