Qian Yi

Airport Access

The definition of Airport Access refers to the methods of transportations for passengers to get to the airport, also the Collection and processing, if necessary, of passengers in the central area of the city and other centers of high demand, movement of passengers, cargo, and service traffic to the airport by surface or air vehicles, and distribution of access traffic and internal circulation traffic to terminals and gate positions. Airport access is mainly made accustomed for Air travellers, senders and greeters, visitors, employees, air cargo access personnel and people who provide service to the airport. The main revenue of an airport is mainly from the demand of travellers, if these travellers do not have easy access to the airport, they may not be able to catch their scheduled flight on time, which will cause delays, and create a snowball effect on other scheduled flights. Hence, airport access holds an importance for airports to function properly.

Importance of Airport Access in SFO

With 4 different terminals, San Francisco International Airport is ranked the seventh busiest airport in the U.S., known for their passenger numbers and has even won awards for its green approach to sustainability and environmental impact, and the advanced facilities that provides the best service for passengers. In such a busy and quick-paced environment, airport access holds a huge significance in the airport. With a growth in demand for air travel, it will generate an increase in problems for airport access facilities. Most passengers use private automobile to access airports, such as their own vehicles, and it is predicted that it will continue to be the most preferred mode of transport for passengers in the long-term. However, with the increase of passenger’s demand, more alternate modes of transport will definitely be necessary to keep up with the growth and demand of the people.

Access modes to SFO

There are various ways to get to San Francisco International Airport.

The first way is through Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART). It is a rapid transit public transportation system serving the San Francisco Bay Area in California. The heavy rail and subway system connects San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose with urban and suburban areas in Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, and San Mateo counties, serving 50 stations along six routes, covering 211 kilometres. It carries an average of 411,000 weekday passengers and 118 million annual passengers, being the fifth-busiest heavy rail rapid transit system in the United States. Besides BART, there is also Caltrain Community Rail, a commuter rail line in the Santa Clara Val and San Francisco Peninsula with 28 stops. Another form of public transport that travellers may opt for will be the SamTrans Public Bus Service. Routes SFO, 292, and 398 stop directly at the Airport terminals. Route 140 stops at the Rental Car Center and can be reached from the terminals by using the AirTrain blue line. Routes 292 and 398 also stop along North McDonnell Road and operate during the day and the evening.

For travellers accessing San Francisco International Airport through their own private vehicles, car parking facilities are put in place to accommodate for them. There are three main forms of car parking facilities built in San Francisco International Airport for passengers, long-term, garage (domestic and international) and valet. Throughout these parking facilities, a contactless system is built in, meaning no tickets and payment machines are needed. Instead, the airport has opt for passengers to prepay for their parking online through a personalised QR code to enter and exit the garage, which also makes things more efficient for travellers. Parking dates and times can be chosen by passengers by entering their details and payment information through booking.

Next, as for travellers who may not have their own private transportation, but would like a much more efficient mode of transport rather than public transport, they can go for car rental services. This service is also mainly for travellers who are travelling in San Francisco, and would like to explore the country after arriving in San Francisco International Airport. The Rental Car Center at San Francisco International Airport allows travellers to pick up and return their rented cars at one convenient centralised location. Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, National and Thrifty car rental counters are located on the fourth floor of the SFO Rental Car Center. Hertz and Fox rental counters are located on the first floor. Off-airport rental car agencies are served by free shuttle service from the SFO Rental Car Center. Shuttles stop at the south curb of the Rental Car Center upon customer request. To access the Rental Car Center from the airport terminals, take the AirTrain Blue Line. The AirTrain is SFO’s fully automated people mover system. It operates 24/7 and provides convenient and frequent service throughout SFO. AirTrain stations are located in all terminals, terminal parking garages, the Rental Car Center, and SFO’s BART station.

Lastly, there are Taxi and freelance hire services at San Francisco International Airport. Taxis in the airport depart from the designated taxi zones located at the roadway center islands, on the Arrivals and Baggage Claim Level of all terminals. Uniformed taxi coordinators are stationed at the taxi zones from 7:00am to 2:15am to assist passengers with questions or concerns. Besides taxi services, ride apps are also greatly encouraged as an alternate way of airport access. The ride apps that are available in San Francisco International Airport are Ryde, Wingz, and Uber. As for travellers who would like to experience a flashier experience, limousines hire services are also available at the airport. However, advanced reservations are required. Limousine operators are not authorized to solicit customers at the terminal building. Service may be pre-arranged with the limousine operator, or arranged upon arrival at SFO via the Lodging, Transportation and Attraction Boards.

Evaluation of 3 key considerations for Airport Access

The three key considerations for Airport Access would be the access time length, the access mode reliability, and the check-in requirements.

The main mode of transport that most travellers choose would be through road access, either through private vehicles, or taxi hire and services. This is as it may be the most convenient and efficient way as the time taken to airport would be shorten and passengers would not have to worry about not being able to catch their scheduled flight on time and getting to the terminal that they have to check-in at would be much easier too, as they would not have to take detours or additional modes of transport to get there. However, as of now, the roads towards San Francisco International Airport are currently going through constructions. Caltrans, the community rail mentioned previously is constructing express lanes on U.S. 101 from Redwood City to I-380 in South San Francisco. During the project, freeway lane and ramp closures will occur on northbound and southbound U.S. 101. At times, lanes and exits at or near SFO will be impacted. Most work is scheduled to take place between 8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., Sunday through Thursday. Closures will be marked by roadway signage, with detour signs posted. Hence, accessing the airport in this current situation may not be as reliable as other modes of access.

The mode of transportation that San Francisco International Airport recommends would be public transportation as there are many options to choose from. For BART, the accessibility for travellers will be easy as the railway reaches the airport directly, easily accessed from any terminal by riding SFO's AirTrain to the Garage G/BART Station stop. The train travels at an average speed of 56km/h and goes up to 110km/h during normal operations. As for the Caltrain, the express train operates during weekday commute hours, travelling at 127km/h, which is faster than BART, however the only inconvenience for passengers would be that they will have to switch to the SamTrans to get to the airport directly. Despite that, SanTrans buss services is timed to meet each Caltrain service to and from the south, 7 days per week, hence making it easy for passengers. As for the SamTrans, the buses routed to the airport stops directly at the Airport terminals, making it convenient for passengers to check-in. Not only that, it is also very accessible for traveller as SamTrans operates 24-hours daily from San Francisco International Airport.

Parking Facilities in SFO

The four types of parking facilities are Short Term Parking, Long Term Parking, Long Term Remote Parking and Parking for other uses. The size of an airport’s parking facilities usually depends on the size and traffic flow of an airport. Smaller airports would require less parking facilities compared to a major airport like San Francisco International Airport.

For long-term parking in the airport, there are six options offered. International Parking Garages A and G, the Long-Term Garage, the ParkFast Garage, and ParkValet. The Long-Term Garage and Lot are north of the airport and charge $25 per day. You can also park for $10 per day at an off-site parking facility that provides shuttle service to the terminals.

Rates for Long-Term Parking in San Francisco International Airport

· Long-Term Off-site with Shuttle – Rates: $10/day

· Domestic Parking Garage – Rates: $36/day

· Long-Term Parking Garage – Rates: $18/day

· Long-Term Surface Lot – Rates: $18/day

· ParkValet – Rates: $45/day

· International Terminal Parking Garage – Rates: $36/day

As for short-term, the San Francisco Airport provides both Hourly and Daily Parking areas near the terminals, including parking facilities such as international lot, domestic lot, long-term garage, and long-term surface lot.

Rates for Short-Term Parking in San Francisco International Airport

· International Parking Lot

· Domestic Lot

· Long-Term Garage

· Long-Term Surface Lot

(All for $2 per 15 minutes)

Potential constraints and limitations of SFO parking facilities.

As mentioned, most of the time, travellers’ preferred mode of transportation would be via roads and private transportation, hence with the increasing growth of travellers choosing private vehicles to access to airports, there will be an increase of demand for more car parking facilities. If there is a sudden increasing surge of air travellers, and more passengers decides to park their vehicles in the parking facilities, it may restrict traffic flow, and the current car parking facilities may not be enough to hold the sudden increased demand. Not only that, travellers may also have to worry about paying a higher fare due to the increasing demand, hence airport management may resort to increasing parking facility fares to reduce the demand, which may create anger from travellers towards the airport. Besides this, it can also create a negative impact for airport flow. If travellers have a hard time trying to find a parking lot, they may have to take time to wait for one, or may even resort to parking at a carpark that is further from the terminal they would like to reach, hence taking even much more time to travel to their terminal to do check-ins, and may lead to missing their scheduled flights, or causing delays.

The airport may also face financial and land limitations if there were to be an increase demand of car parking facilities. Currently, the San Francisco International Airport is already facing a limitation of land due to the constructions for new roads and buildings for other facilities. As for the financial part, the cost of a new parking facility may be too costly, especially with the ongoing situation, airports are not getting as much revenue as before, and not only that it is said that the airport’s debt level is currently high at $8 billion as of end 2020. This may mean that if a new car parking facility were to be built, it will only add on to the financial constraint happening right now in the airport.