PHOENIX — The Arizona Attorney General's Office says the City of Phoenix has agreed not to implement its increased rideshare fees at Sky Harbor on February 1.
“The City of Phoenix has backed down from enforcing their unconstitutional rideshare fees for now,” said Attorney General Mark Brnovich. “This is a win for consumers but this fight continues at the Arizona Supreme Court. I will always defend the constitutional rights of Arizona voters.”
This comes just hours after Uber threatened to discontinue servicing Sky Harbor on February 1 if the fees were put into place.
Uber's potential move to pull out of Sky Harbor follows a fee increase approved by the Phoenix City Council in October 2019.
The $4 increase would raise the amount riders pay to get picked up from the airport and add an entirely new drop-off fee.
Before the measure passed, the airport charged customers $2.66 to pick-up a rideshare car from the airport and no fee for drop-off.
In December 2019, Uber sent a letter to Valley drivers announcing the drivers would no longer have the option to be able pick-up or drop-off passengers at Sky Harbor.
""We are writing to let you know that Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) recently imposed a new airport rideshare fee of $4 per trip," Uber wrote in a the email. "This fee unfairly penalizes those who rely on ridesharing at PHX by asking them to bear a disproportionate share of costs associated with the Sky Train. On behalf of the drivers and riders who rely on Uber, we cannot accept a partnership that unfairly burdens our shared passengers. As a result, we have made the decision to cease operations at the airport."
The city said the increase was long overdue after Sky Harbor made the decision to cut the fee in recent years. This new fee puts Sky Harbor among the priciest rideshare airports in the country.
The Arizona Attorney General's Office filed a special action with the Arizona Supreme Court recently to declare the City of Phoenix’s rideshare fees unconstitutional. Both sides will be given their opportunity to defend their case to the AZ Supreme Court.
