Uber's letter to MWAA

UBER DC — UBER TECHNOLOGIES, INC. 1875 Connecticut Ave NW Washington, DC 20009

Mr. Frank W. Conner, III Chairman Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority 1 Aviation Circle Washington, DC 20001 Dear Mr. Chairman: I am writing in regards to the proposed amendments to the Metropolitan Wash-ington Airports Authority (“MWAA”) commercial ground transportation service regulations at Ronald Reagan National and Dulles International Airports (the “Airports”) that the Board is scheduled to consider for final adoption at its Sep-tember 16th MWAA Board meeting. Over the last several months, we have worked with MWAA staff on a number of complex issues related to our driver-partners’ operations at the Airports. While we applaud staff’s efforts to work with the industry to create a forward-thinking regulatory framework that, in some respects, will set a precedent for airports around the country, we remain concerned about two issues. First, we are con-cerned that the proposed fees for trips conducted by transportation network com-pany (TNC) drivers - $4 per pick up and $4 per drop off - are too high. Second, we are concerned about a technical issue related to the manifest requirements for sedan drivers, which could make the experience for Airport customers who use the UberBLACK product more cumbersome.

1. Fees If finalized as proposed, MWAA would impose a $4 fee each time a driver affiliat-ed with a TNC picks up or drops off a passenger at the Airports. We believe this fee is too high for several reasons and we urge the Board to either (i) impose a fee that is equivalent to taxi service ($3 per pick up), or (ii) consider alternative fee structures, including one that we propose below. MWAA’s proposed TNC fee is more than twice the fee imposed on taxis at Na-tional Airport, which pay $3 per pick-up and nothing for drop offs. While we rec-ognize that MWAA and its ground transportation staff need revenue to operate, MWAA’s proposed fee structure for TNCs would artificially inflate the cost of trips arranged through our low-cost uberX product. Indeed, we estimate that MWAA’s fees will lead to a 20-25% increase in fares for trips to or from National Airport arranged through the uberX product and a 10-15% increase for trips to or from Dulles Airport. Hundreds of thousands of residents and visitors in the region de-pend on the reliability and affordability of TNC services. In our view, there is no

sound policy reason why these individuals should be required to pay so much more to access this service for trips to and from the Airports than they would have to pay for a trip in a taxicab. Moreover, MWAA’s proposed fee is extremely high when compared to the fees imposed on TNC services by other airports around the country. To date, twenty-four airports around the country have imposed a per-trip fee on TNC services. The average fee at these airports is approximately $2.50 per pick up. We have attached to this letter a chart showing the fees at airports around the country. As the chart shows, MWAA’s proposed fees far exceed the fees at a number of comparably sized airports in major metropolitan areas, including Denver Interna-tional Airport ($2.15 per pick up and drop off), Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston ($1.25 per pick up), and San Diego International Airport ($1.62 per pick up). And the vast majority of airports - about 75% - do not charge for drop offs. The only airports with TNC fees similar to MWAA’s proposed fees are San Fran-cisco International Airport (“SFO”) ($3.85 per pick up and drop off) and Los Ange-les International Airport (“LAX”) ($4.00 per pick up and drop off). While SFO and LAX impose higher fees on TNC service than taxi service (similar to MWAA’s proposal), their fee structures are outliers and should not be replicated. We urge MWAA to better align its proposed TNC fees with the taxi fee and the fees charged by other airports around the country. We appreciate that MWAA imposes a $100 per-driver fee on taxi drivers and is not proposing to impose a similar fee on TNC drivers—a concept with which we strongly agree given that the vast majority of driver-partners on a TNC platform are not full-time commer-cial drivers. MWAA’s decision to forego a per-driver TNC fee is offset, at least in part, by the high permit fee ($5,000) it would impose on each TNC. Given the growing volume of TNC trips at the Airports, a $3 pick-up fee (consistent with the taxi fee), along with the $5,000 blanket permit fee, should provide MWAA with the revenue it needs to administer and enforce its TNC regulations. In the alternative, we encourage the Board to consider alternative fee structures that will prevent such a dramatic price increase in TNC prices for airport trips. One option is to implement a fee structure that combines a per-trip fee with a minimum annual guarantee. Under this structure, TNCs would pay a per-pick-up fee and, if a TNC fee does not generate a predetermined amount of revenue that corresponds to the amount MWAA needs to administer and enforce its TNC regulations, that TNC would be required to pay the difference. This type of struc-ture - which the Oakland International Airport recently implemented - would be especially prudent given that there are so many unknown variables related to MWAA’s proposed TNC fee structure, including how much revenue it will gener-ate.

2. Manifest Issue We are also concerned about staff’s proposal to require limousine drivers - a cat-egory that includes sedan drivers who accept trip requests via UberBLACK – to maintain in a written or electronic manifest a passenger’s or prospective passen-ger’s flight number and the name of the airline providing the flight. I have at-tached to this letter a copy of a letter we recently sent MWAA staff explaining our concerns about this proposed requirement. As further explained in the attached letter, this proposed requirement does not appear to further a public safety or consumer protection purpose (at least for rides arranged in connection with the Uber platform and other similar on-demand digital platforms). However, it could be difficult for sedan drivers who accept trip requests via UberBLACK to comply with this requirement. Moreover, requiring a rider to communicate flight infor-mation to a driver for a trip requested through an app would be cumbersome and would undermine one of the reasons consumers love the Uber app, i.e., the abil-ity to seamlessly request a ride with the push of a button. To the extent that a public policy rationale exists for drivers to be able to collect and demonstrate evi-dence of a prearranged trip while servicing the airport, that objective is fulfilled through other means in the Uber app. We are hopeful that staff will address this issue before it presents its proposed regulations to the Board. If staff does not, we request that the Board either strike this proposed requirement or modify it so that it does not apply to trips arranged through on-demand digital platforms, such as the Uber platform. Thank you in advance for your consideration of our requests. If you have any questions or would like to further discuss these issues, I would welcome the op-portunity to speak with you. Sincerely,

Zuhairah Washington General Manager Uber DC Encl. cc: MWAA Board of Directors