Lyft and Uber sign deals to pick up and drop off at SFO

The on-demand services follow Sidecar, which inked a deal with the airport last week

As much as someone can love an airport, I love San Francisco International Airport.

Every time I fly back home to JFK I am reminded just how efficient and quick the lines are over there. And how nice the terminals are. And how, relatively, friendly the people are. You want to see people who absolutely hate their jobs? Talk to someone who works security at JFK. Or, rather, don't.

SFO is probably one of the best airports I've ever been to. But getting there is a huge pain. Taking a shuttle costs around $70. A taxi? Forget it; it'll be $100, at least. So I'm stuck with public transportation, which, in the Bay Area, is lacking to say the least. It takes me nearly two hours on Bart to go right across the bridge!

So imagine my happiness that now I'll have two more options to get myself over there, now that both Lyft and Uber both announced (on the same day!) that they have signed agreements to operate at SFO.

The deal between Lyft and SFO was signed last week, the company revealed via a blog post on Monday. 

"We first began this process with the airport several months ago, and have jointly agreed to a unique framework that upholds Lyft’s highest safety standards and SFO’s dedication to providing innovative options to travelers," it said.

Lyft will be available throughout all SFO terminals, allowing for both pick up and drop off.

This is second airport that Lyft has made a deal with; last month it revealed that it had gotten permission to operate at Nashville International as well.

For Uber, this is a bit less of a big deal, simply because it was already operating at the airport, but only had permission to do with its high-end services, UberBlack and UberSUV. Now, though, all Uber services, including uberX and uberXL will be able to pick up and drop off passengers, it was announced in a blog post. 

"Uber is committed to connecting thousands of travelers across SFO with the quality, seamless, and convenient service that people across the world have come to know and love," Uber wrote.

"And with this first-of-its-kind partnership that we are announcing today with San Francisco International Airport (SFO), all Uber services will be available to riders with the touch of a button, from the moment they step off the plane."

Uber and Lyft are joining Sidecar, which just last week became the first on-demand taxi service to ink such a deal with SFO. 

Obviously all of these companies are hoping to prove through these deals that other airports around the country should also allow them to operate. Considering how much hassle local transportation and taxi commissions have given them, though, I expect that roll out to be awfully slow.

(Image source: airporttaxicabservices.com)