PHOENIX — The Arizona Supreme Court has upheld a Phoenix city ordinance that applies an additional fee to rideshare services to and from Sky Harbor Airport.
City officials and the Arizona Attorney General's Office had previously agreed not to implement the rideshare fee on February 1 when it was proposed to go into effect.
Uber had threatened to pull out of Sky Harbor following the announcement of the 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 for pick-up from a rideshare car at the airport and no fee for drop-off.
In December 2019, Uber sent a letter to Valley drivers announcing they would no longer have the option to be able to 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.
