Aug. 19--Flying to Oakland International Airport? Easy. Getting out of Oakland International Airport? Now also easy, thanks to new regulations allowing Uber and Lyft.
And, if you haven't flown recently into the little airport that could, you may have missed the newish BART station, which has eliminated the need for the bus ride to the Coliseum stop.
Under an eight-month-long pilot program, Uber and Lyft drivers can now pick up and drop off passengers at the airport. At the end of the test period, the ride-sharing services will be assessed to see if they can become permanent parts of solving the facility's transportation puzzle.
Safety and customer response to the services will be assessed, said Dania Frink, interim media relations officer for the airport, which served more than 10 million passengers last year.
The average fare from the airport to downtown Oakland is $18, Uber said in a statement heralding the service.
That's significantly less expensive than Super Shuttle service, whose cheapest rate in an online search showed a charge of $75 for two for nonstop van service from the airport to downtown.
But that average Uber fare is more expensive than my recent trip from the airport to the 12th Street/Oakland City Center stop, which was $7.85 on BART.
You don't need a ticket to get on a BART train from the airport station, which opened in November, but you do need to buy a ticket when you disembark after the eight-minute trip to the Coliseum.
You'll find ticket machines at the end of the airport line, and after you buy one, you can be on your way to the proper platform.
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