In April, the Black Car Assistance Corporation (BCAC) warned its members about upcoming changes to pick-up procedures at JFK’s Terminals 4, 5 and 7, recently provided by the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey (PANYNJ). Last year, JFK airport implemented pick-up changes at Terminal 4 to address the projected volume of travelers during the peak travel season.
At the April meeting, the PANYNJ announced that the changes at Terminal 4 – which have not been in place since the New Year – would begin again in May. This means passengers arriving at JFK Terminal 4 who want to request a for-hire vehicle (FHV) will need to be bused to a remote pick-up lot to meet their driver. This change only affects FHVs, not taxis, green cabs, or private vehicles.
Due to construction at Terminal 6, Terminals 5 and 7 are also seeing altered pick-up procedures. Pick-ups for Terminals 5 and 7 passengers will be at the lot next to the AirTrain station in Howard Beach. Passengers arriving at Terminals 5 or 7 will need to take the AirTrain to the Howard Beach station to meet their FHV driver. Travel times for passengers at Terminal 5 are estimated to be about 32-38 min.
- Walk to AirTrain from T5: 9 minutes
- Average wait time for AirTrain: 2-8 minutes
- Travel Time on AirTrain: 14 minutes
- Walk from AirTrain: 2 minutes
- FHV Request to FHV Arrival: 3 minutes
- FHV Exiting Airport: 2 minutes
- TOTAL: 32-38 minutes
The PANYNJ said these changes are their only option since the current orange and yellow garages would not be able to handle the summer traffic.
At the April meeting, FHV operators expressed frustration with the lack of enforcement of illegal hustling and a general lack of communication. The PANYNJ committed to ramping up enforcement and improving communication by running ads, placing stories in the news, and upgrading signage at area airports. The PANYNJ also said that, based on projections for the upcoming travel season, they are confident that the stated end date to these changes – Labor Day – will hold. However, last year, the changes at Terminal 4 were also supposed to end after Labor Day but were extended to the end of the year.
The BCAC board said they will continue monitoring the situation for updates and report news to members as it becomes available. The BCAC is also providing the PANYNJ’s Power Point presentation to its members.
Source: BCAC
