Parking rates could go higher, lower at Bob Hope Airport

Bob Hope Airport is looking to implement a new parking strategy in an attempt to recoup revenue lost due to the increasing use of transportation network companies like Uber and Lyft.

The operations and development committee of the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority board decided during a meeting Monday to recommend to commissioners a plan that would raise or lower rates at all public lots by no more than $3, depending on the real-time parking needs of the airfield.

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Visitors to the airport could possibly pay as low as $7 in Lot A, $10 in lots B and C, $20 in lots E and G, $28 in the parking structure and $20 using the valet. Alternatively, rates could be as high as $13 to $34 depending on which lot is used.

“It’s a way to entice passengers to park here,” said Lucy Burghdorf, an airport spokeswoman.

Burghdorf added that the proposed system, which would be implemented as a one-year trial should it be approved by the airport authority board, would give the airfield the ability to raise and lower rates to “find a happy medium” between giving passengers a good deal and turning a profit.

Airport officials have reported a decline in parking revenue since the rising popularity of ridesharing companies. The airfield currently charges ridesharing drivers $3 per pickup.

Additionally, officials discussed other short-term and long-term projects that could get more people to park at the airport.

There was a discussion about reviving a parking lot that used to cater to passengers using Terminal B. The lot, which is currently used as a staging area for the valet service, would cost less than $175,000 to convert it back into a public parking facility.

Officials are projecting that it would generate additional revenue for the airfield.

Officials are also looking at a system that would allow passengers to reserve a parking spot at the airport ahead of time. They are also considering using machines that only utilize a passenger’s credit card to check in and out of the parking facilities.

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Anthony Clark Carpio, anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com

Twitter: @acocarpio

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