Lyft became the first legal rideshare service for the Salt Lake International Airport last week.
The rideshare service launched in Salt Lake City in April 2014, after controversy over business licensing for this type of ground transportation within the Salt Lake City Council.
“Residents and visitors have embraced Lyft’s safe, affordable rides,” said Mary Caroline Pruitt from Lyft communications.
Originally, the city was unable to regulate any rideshare company that served airport travelers because the municipality lacked a proper permitting process.
Earlier this year, Lyft pulled its services from the Salt Lake City International Airport to focus on working with airport officials to obtain proper licensing and to create a permitting process.
Uber, another rideshare company, is also working to become a legal transportation service at the international airport.
The newly created requirements for drivers from Lyft to be considered for permits at the Salt Lake Airport include airport driving training, local vehicle identification and following the requirement of paying drop-off fees charged to taxi drivers when dropping off and picking up passengers from the airport.
Salt Lake officials hope that the 10 year, $1.8 million terminal redevelopment project, will accommodate new modes of travel quicker and more efficiently than the current airport system, making it easier and quicker for new transportation companies, like Lyft, to legally serve airport passengers.
“The terminal redevelopment project, when completed, will bring an entirely new, more efficient and user-friendly gateway to Salt Lake City and the region and lay the groundwork for the flexibility to continue to adapt to an ever-changing world of travel,” Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker said during a press conference.
Adapting to advances in transportation and communicative technologies is a priority that Salt Lake City is developing according to Becker, developments in technology have “fundamentally changed how we think about and engage the options to get us where we need to go.”
Lyft provides college students with an affordable way home, as well as presenting a flexible economic opportunity for students to make money, according to Pruitt. The spokeswoman also said the company allows students from across the country to live car-free and feel safe getting a ride.
Drivers for Lyft in Provo can make up to $100 for driving five hours a week, according to the company’s website.
Ridesharing allows students across the country to live car-free and still feel safe getting a ride Pruitt said.
