Planned fee change will raise the cost of many taxi rides to Kelowna’s airport

Expect to pay slightly more for a ride to the Kelowna International Airport starting this summer.

YLW is planning to change its fee structure for taxis and ride-hailing services.

It will mean a new $2.00 fee per trip for many travellers.

Right now taxis and ridesharing vehicles are charged an annual per-vehicle fee of more than $638 to pick up passengers from the airport.

However, starting July 1, that annual airport fee for professional vehicles is expected to drop to $50.

But passengers will make up the difference by paying a new $2.00 charge for any airport taxi or ride-hailing trip longer than three kilometres.

The senior manager of airport operations, Phillip Elchitz, said YLW surveyed passengers about the new fee, finding travellers had no issue with it.

The $2.00 charge will be billed directly to taxi and ride-hailing passengers and show up in the starting price of taxi meters.

The airport is changing its fee structure to accommodate the different business models of ride-hailing companies.

Elchitz explained that ride-hailing companies typically have many more company vehicles and vehicles that are used only part-time so it wouldn’t be practical to charge all the ride-hailing vehicles the current $638 fee.

The change may also help ensure it remains easy to find a ride at the airport.

A Kelowna Cabs spokesperson, Roy Paulson, said the lower per vehicle fee will likely help airport taxi drivers who have struggled during the pandemic.

“So in a way, it will be more economical for them to be able to afford to sit there instead of paying the $600 per year.

Mandeep Rana, CEO of ride-hailing company Lucky to Go, said the change may also mean more of his drivers can pick up from the airport.

“It is going to be a weight off the shoulders for drivers,” Rana said.

The new fee structure with user fee for taxi and ride-hailing passengers is expected to generate more revenue for the airport than the former system.

Elchitz said that helps the airport keep fees charged to airlines low and helps attract more air services to the airport.

The changes to the airport fees still need to go before Kelowna City Council one final time, but are expected to be implemented at the beginning of July.