New Kid on the Curb Sparks Airport Feud

Shuttle Express International’s success at Lindbergh Field has spilled over to other transportation companies, but it has also led to airport confrontations with competing drivers, who charge that Shuttle Express’ curbside coordinators constitute favoritism, airport officials say.

“We’ve heard from the other shuttle companies who say we’re giving (Shuttle Express) preferential treatment,” said Jerry Reas, transportation specialist for the San Diego Unified Port District. “We try to set up operating rules to give everybody a reasonable chance to have access to customers.”

Reas said most complaints against Shuttle Express have had to do with the company’s curbside coordinators, who direct passengers to the shuttle and help load baggage, but said that all companies are allowed to use such coordinators if they want to.

However, Shuttle Express is the only one that does, and the company is frequently accused of soliciting passengers, which is against airport regulations, Reas said.

“We’ve had our enforcement officers watching them very closely and have cautioned Shuttle Express a couple of times about questionable activity. But we haven’t seen any blatant cases of solicitation,” he said.

Shuttle Express officials denied that their coordinators solicit passengers.

“The curbside coordinator is a standard part of our service. Our employees are trained in courtesy, hospitality and airport regulations. They know not to solicit, and anyone caught doing it will be disciplined,” said Roselyn Smith, spokeswoman for Shuttle Express.

She said her company’s employees have also complained about drivers from other companies who solicit passengers.

On Tuesday, Shuttle Express registered a complaint with airport officials over a “verbal assault” against a company driver by an employee of another shuttle company, Smith said, adding that Shuttle Express drivers have also been cut off many times times and prevented from picking up passengers at the curb.

Airport officials confirmed the incidents but said they were not serious or violent.

“We have seen some upset drivers and some drivers bordering on dangerous maneuvers, like cutting in in front of others. But we have not seen any serious problems,” Reas said.

He downplayed several incidents in the past month between other shuttle drivers and Shuttle Express. Instead, he said that Shuttle Express’ aggressive advertising campaign has also benefited other shuttle companies and taxi firms by making consumers aware of transportation alternatives at the airport.

Smith said the company expected strong resistance from the local cab companies--who said Tuesday that it is still too early to assess the effect Shuttle Express has had on them--when the firm began transporting passengers, but it was surprised when other shuttle drivers became the opposition.

Shuttle Express is a licensee of Super Shuttle, a national company that provides transportation to several airports throughout California and the nation. The company began operating in San Diego in November and uses 35 vans, making it the largest shuttle company at the airport.

Reas said other shuttle owners, especially the ones who have been at Lindbergh for several years, were resentful when Shuttle Express began its airport operations.

“They were beginning to get a foothold in the marketplace when (Shuttle Express) came in,” he said. “It’s a case where the incumbents in the marketplace resent the entry of a larger, new operator.”

However, Reas said Shuttle Express’ advertising campaign has helped all cab and shuttle drivers at the airport. The company is the only shuttle service that advertises in the media.

“We don’t have any hard and fast numbers, but our estimates based on cab trips and load factors indicate that the market for shuttle travel has been increased by (Shuttle Express’) advertising. This is particularly true for other shuttle companies,” Reas said.

In July, Reas estimated that only 5% of the estimated 11 million travelers who pass through Lindbergh Field each year use public transportation. In addition to the cab companies, there are 13 shuttle companies that use about 105 vans to transport passengers at the airport.

” . . . People pick up on the word shuttle. . . . All (shuttle) operators are seeing an increase in their load factors; they’re sort of riding along on Shuttle Express’ coattails,” Reas said.

Robert Hillis, operations manager for Airporter Express, agreed. His company, which has been operating at Lindbergh for eight years, was the biggest shuttle operator before the arrival of Shuttle Express.

“I’ve seen no decrease in revenue since Shuttle Express got to town. They arrived after the Yellow Pages were printed, so they had to advertise,” Hillis said. “The general public hears ‘shuttle’ in the ads, and they don’t care about a name. We get many phone calls from people who ask us if we’re the shuttle company that advertises. I’m not going to deny that, so I tell them ‘yes.’ Hey, I’ll ride the wave as long as I can, as long as they continue to advertise.”

Hillis said he has heard about the “bickering” among shuttle drivers at the airport. But, like Reas, he said the incidents have been minor.

“It means nothing, because if the drivers take any action independently, they know they will be disciplined or fired. Someone is always watching them,” Hillis said.