Introducing Airport Access

Airport access refers to the means through which the airport is accessed by the entire airport population, which is comprised of the passengers, the employees, and the visitors to the airport. Passengers consist of the originating, terminating, transit and transfer passengers. The employees are classified as airline, airport, government, and concessionaire staff.

Airports are accessed by transportation means known as the access modes – road, rail, water, and air access. These forms are usually not operated or managed by the airport management or operators. The airport operators mainly control the access interface system, while the main transport systems serving the airports are usually not within the various airport department controls.

The importance of airport access to San Francisco International Airport (SFO)

Airport access is important to San Francisco International Airport (SFO), as this provides the airport population with various transportation means to reach the airport, mainly through rail and road access forms. A growth in the demand for air travel is likely to increase the problems for the landside facilities at every commercial airport. As passenger demands increase, more transportation options are needed to ensure an efficient utilisation of access facilities on and around San Francisco Airport.

Access and accessibility are two of the most difficult areas for an airport to manage. If there is difficulty in reaching San Francisco Airport, there might be resulting implications that may hinder the airport’s operations.

Airport access modes at San Francisco International Airport (SFO)

San Francisco International Airport, located in California in the United States, has two main forms of access modes – road and rail access. Access to SFO by road can be through private car, taxi and freelance car hire, charter buses, shuttle buses, SamTrans Public Bus Service, as well as limousines, to name a few. For the SamTrans Public Bus Service, SamTrans bus routes 292, 397 and 398 offer links between San Francisco Airport and destinations such as San Mateo County, San Francisco City and Palo Alto. The San Mateo County Transit District provides the SamTrans bus service connecting the airport to San Mateo County and downtown San Francisco City.

Road access modes to San Francisco Airport consist of taxi and freelance car hire, SamTrans Public Bus Services, private car and private car hire, limousines and shuttle buses. Rail access modes to SFO comprise of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Rapid Rail and the Caltrain Commuter Rail.

The Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Rapid Rail offers direct rail service connections between San Francisco International Airport and northern San Mateo County, downtown San Francisco, Millbrae and Antioch Stations, Oakland, and the East Bay. Trains to Millbrae Station offer connections to the Caltrain Commuter Rail. At San Francisco Airport, the BART train station is located within the international terminal. The three domestic terminals at SFO are connected to the train station via AirTrain.

The Caltrain Commuter Rail provides rail service between San Francisco Airport and the cities of San Francisco to the north and San Jose to the south. During some weekday commute hours, express trains operate to Morgan Hill and Gilroy.

In collaboration with BART and SamTrans, San Francisco Airport offers a convenient and environmentally-friendly option to reach the airport by bicycle. Bicyclists choosing to access the airport via the roadways must comply with applicable California Vehicle Code (CVC) Laws related to Bicycle Use. Bicycles are prohibited from operating on the main inbound and outbound airport roadways. However, North and South McDonnell Road offer good bicycle access with a marked route into the airport beginning at San Bruno Avenue from the north, and Millbrae Avenue from the south. In the interest of public safety, bicycle riding is also prohibited on the AirTrain system and inside terminal buildings and garages.

Evaluation of the 3 key considerations for airport access at San Francisco Airport

San Francisco International Airport is located in unincorporated San Mateo Country, at a distance of 13 miles or 21 kilometres, south of downtown San Francisco city. Since the airport is positioned at some distance away from the main city centre, as such, the predominant mode of accessing SFO would most likely be by road. The airport served a total of 57.6 million passengers in the year 2019.

The length of access time is the time taken for people to travel to the airport, from the location of origin. This time taken will differ depending on the distance that each passenger has to travel to reach San Francisco Airport from their own location. This might also be dependent on the reliability of the access modes. For those who take public transportation to get to the airport, their total length of access time would be longer than those who take private car or taxi as they would come quicker, faster and more directly to the airport as compared to rail access. A bus ride from downtown San Francisco on SamTrans bus route 292 or 398 which operate daily would take around 75 minutes to get to San Francisco Airport. Taxis and private shuttles operate 24/7 from San Francisco airport and the journey time to get to the San Francisco city centre is around 35 minutes.

The reliability of the access modes refers to the availability, frequency, and dependability of the various forms of transportation access to the airport.

San Francisco Airport serves a wide area. The two types of trains would likely serve different groups of people, depending on their needs. The Bay Area Rapid Transit Rail is likely to be more popular with the general passenger group at the airport, with the station at SFO offering connections to all airport terminals, through connections with the AirTrain at the international terminal. Presently, the Bay Area Rapid Transit Rail operates to SFO station from 5am - 9pm on weekdays, and 8am - 9pm on weekends. Every hour, 3 to 4 BART Trains arrive and depart from the station at San Francisco Airport, and the time taken to reach downtown San Francisco City is approximately 30 minutes.

The Caltrain Commuter Rail is more likely to serve the SFO airport workers as there are some express train services which operate during weekday commute hours. SamTrans and BART provide service from Caltrain to the San Francisco International Airport. Samtrans Route SFO picks up Caltrain customers on the southbound platform and transport them to all the terminals at San Francisco Airport. Commuters can also board the BART Rail at the Millbrae station and ride to the San Bruno BART Station, where they will need to board another BART train headed to the airport.

The reliability of the access modes will affect the length of access time for people travelling to the airport. If the mode of transportation is less frequent, this would result in a longer length of access time. Conversely, if the mode of transportation is rather frequent, the length of access time would be reduced. Generally, those taking the Bay Area Rapid Transit, the Caltrain Commuter Rail, or the SamTrans Public Bus Service would take longer to reach San Francisco Airport, as compared to those taking private car, taxi or freelance car hire modes. To have little or no delay, cycling to SFO is an option which is unlikely to be affected by the traffic conditions. However, this is unlikely to be a feasible method of reaching the airport if the traveller is carrying substantial baggage.

As for the check-in counter requirements, not all airlines and flights have the same stipulated requirements. For the international departures at San Francisco Airport, airlines require travellers to arrive at the airport check-in counters at least three hours before the scheduled departure time of the flight. As for domestic flights at SFO, most airlines recommend passengers to arrive two hours before the scheduled departure time of the flight. For some domestic airlines, passengers without baggage can arrive at SFO at least 60 minutes before the stipulated flight departure time. Alternative check-in methods which are offered by most airlines at SFO include online and mobile check-in, as well as, self check-in kiosks. Curbside check-in assistance is also available to passengers' upon their arrival at San Francisco Airport.

Parking facilities available at San Francisco Airport

San Francisco International Airport offers three main categories of parking facilities – long-term parking, garage parking and valet service. These forms cater to the different needs of the customers. At SFO, garage parking consists of both domestic and international forms.

There are six options for long-term parking at San Francisco Airport: the Domestic Parking Garage, 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 US$25 per day. Parking is also available at US$10 per day at an off-site parking facility that includes shuttle service to the airport terminals.

The long-term garage and surface lot parking facilities are located north of San Francisco Airport and are priced at US$2 for every 15 minutes or capped at $18 for 24 hours.

ParkValet is San Francisco Airport’s most convenient parking option. The parking facilities for this method is found on Level 4 of the Domestic Garage, between SFO Terminals 1 and 2. Fees are charged at US$45 for the first 24 hours and $2 for each subsequent 15 minutes or capped at a further $45 for an additional 24 hours.

Parking garages that accommodate short-term public parking are located in the terminal core (Central Parking Garage) and adjacent to the International Terminal Building (Garages A and G). Long-term public parking is provided in Long Term Parking Garage #1 in Lots DD and surface parking in Lots D and DD. Alternatively, private parking facilities located off the airport premises are also available.

At San Francisco Airport, a total of 15,200 public parking spaces are provided on-airport for short-term and long-term parking. Long Term Parking Garage #2 added a further 3,600 parking spaces for public parking. There are also plans for a third Long Term Parking Garage to be built to increase the number of parking lots available at SFO.

Evaluation of the potential constraints and limitations of the parking facilities at San Francisco Airport

One of the potential limitations of the parking facilities at San Francisco Airport is the capacity of each type of parking facility available. Should there be a high demand for a certain type of parking, then there might be difficulty in managing the demands. For instance, if there is an overwhelming need for the valet parking option, there might be insufficient parking lots to go around to cater to the demands.

Another possible constraint of the parking facilities may arise from the locations of the parking facilities. Should the parking facilities at the airport be located at a significant distance away from the airport terminals, the passengers' might opt to do kerbside vehicle drop-off or use the various public transportation methods to access San Francisco Airport.

A third restriction could be the financial resources required for each form of parking facility. Some forms of the parking facilities require less maintenance and costs as compared to others. In addition, should the airport operators want to expand the capacity of a certain type of parking, they may need to factor in the finances involved when considering the potential expansion works.