Introduction to Airport Access

Airport access refers to the various ways and modes that allow visitors, passengers, and employees to enter the airport to enjoy and use the additional facilities. Airport operators must focus on airport accessibility as it prevents people from getting congested when they try to enter the airport. To prevent congestion, it is also essential to have sufficient parking facilities depending on the airport size and its traffic.

The types of access modes connected to an airport are road, railway, water, air and other access modes. Airport operators can use the access system interface to create and improve the access modes of their airports. Airport access is also considered by the length of travel to the airport, the reliability of the access mode, and the check-in requirements.

Importance of Airport Access to San Francisco International Airport

San Francisco International Airport serves both international and domestic traffic. In 2019, they served around 57 million passengers. With such a large number of passengers, it is crucial that the airport ensures that passengers are able to reach to the airport on time to take their flights.

With growing numbers, airport access will be very important for the people as efficiency might not be the same and the time taken to travel to the airport could increase. Hence, information that is provided on their webpage must be specific and correct to ensure that passengers, employees and visitors will be able to find their way to the airport.

Access Modes

Road Access

The types of Road Access includes:

• Bus

• Private-hire vehicles

• Hotel Shuttle Service

• Driving/Biking

Bus

For SamTrans Public Bus Service, only two routes stop directly at the Airport terminals, which are 292 and 398. Whereas Route 140 stops at the Rental Car Center, one can reach the AirTrain blue line's terminals. Timings for buses varies for all the routes and most bus routes start from 0530hrs. The bus stops are present at Terminal 2,3 and the International Terminal. The bus fares costs US$2.25 for adults and $1.10 for teenagers aged below 19. However, if one has the clipper card, a reloadable fare payment card that can be used to store a SamTrans Monthly Pass and cash, it will cost US$2.05 for adults and US$1 for teenagers.

Private-hire vehicles

The Private-hire vehicles include the Coaches, Limousines , the Ride App Pickup, the Shared-Ride Vans, and the Taxis.

Coaches

There are coach services available at the Airport but must be pre-arranged with the service operator.

Some companies that provide this service:

• Bauer's Intelligent Transportation

• Blue Heron Custom Tours & Travel

• Classic Charter

Limousines

There are also limousine services provided and advanced reservations are required for trips to SFO. They are only operated by 1 company:

• Sabet Transportation

Ride App Pickup

There are applications that can be downloaded to book a ride to their destinations. At the International Terminal, Ride App drivers pick up and drop off on the center island of the Departures-level roadway. At the Domestic Terminals, Ride App drivers pick up at Level 5 of the Domestic Parking Garage.

There are 3 companies that provide this service:

• Lyft

• Uber

• Wingz (Pre-scheduled pick-ups & drop-offs)

Shared-Ride Vans

The Shared-Ride Vans provide service between SFO and passenger-specified locations. Depending on the number of passengers, shared ride vans may make multiple stops.

The Company that provide this service is Airport Express.

Taxis

Taxis depart from the designated taxi zones located at the roadway center islands, on the Arrivals or Baggage Claim Level of all terminals. The fares of the Taxi ride ranges from US$47.09 to US$67.09. There are uniformed taxi coordinators stationed at the taxi zones from 7:00 a.m. to 2:15 a.m. to assist passengers with questions or concerns.

Hotel Shuttle Services

Courtesy shuttles to participating airport-area hotels are located at the Hotel Courtesy Shuttle zones on the center island of the Departures/Ticketing Level roadway at all terminals. 50 Hotels provide this Hotel Shuttle Service, and phones to contact the hotels are available in the shelters at each zone. However, they do not provide service to other locations in San Francisco or other regions of the Bay Area so visitors must book other types of transportation if they wish to head elsewhere.

Some Hotels that provide this service are:

• Aloft Hotel

• Best Western Grosvenor

• Four Points Sheraton

Driving/Biking

SFO have attached google maps onto their webpage for people who are driving there and SFO have also included a map that shows the place around SFO where people can park their bicycles.

Rail Access

Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART)

BART operates to the northern San Mateo County, San Francisco and the East Bay directly from SFO. The SFO BART Station is at the International Terminal on the G gates side.

BART is currently running the following service hours:

Weekdays (5:00 am - 9:00 pm)

Saturday (8:00 am - 9:00 pm)

Sunday (8:00 am - 9:00 pm)

It costs US$13.20 for Clipper card holders for a one-way trip from Pittsburg Center to San Francisco International Airport.

Caltrain Commuter Rail

The Caltrain Commuter Rail provides rail service between San Francisco and San Jose. Express trains only operate during weekday commute hours, and some will operate to Morgan Hill and Gilroy. SamTrans Route SFO connected each Airport terminal with Caltrain's Millbrae Station and timed such that each Caltrain service to and from the south meets seven days per week. Most Northbound Caltrain service starts from 0515hrs and ends at 1130hrs. Caltrain fares are based on the number of zones that are partially or wholly traveled through by the passenger.

AirTrain

AirTrain is free to ride and can be boarded from any terminal. SFO’s AirTrain operates 24 hours a day, with station departures as frequent as every four minutes. AirTrain operates two lines: Red Line and Blue Line. The Red Line connects all terminals, terminal garages and the BART Station while the Blue Line connects the Rental Car Center with all terminals, long-term garages and the BART Station. AirTrain stations are located in all terminals, the Domestic Parking Garage, International Garages A and G and the Long-Term Parking Garages

Evaluation of Access Modes based on the 3 Key Considerations

Length of Access Time

According to SFO's website, the time needed to travel to the airport ranges from 11 minutes to 90 minutes. Taking public transit to the airport will require 11 to 82 minutes, depending on the location. Whereas for the shared-ride vans, it will take about 35 minutes to 90 minutes. As for the Ride App Pickup, Limousines and Taxis will take around 21 minutes to reach the airport.

Reliability of Access Mode

Road Access

SamTrans Public Bus intervals are usually around 10-15 minutes on weekdays and 8-10 minutes on weekends, depending on the distance between each stop. In terms of access time, it is less reliable as road congestions tend to occur during the peak period where many vehicles will be headed to the airport concurrently. However, SamTrans Public Buses are reliable to take as there has not been any severe breakdowns that cause significant delays. Thus, passengers can use this as an access mode to travel to the airport when they have time to spare.

For the Private-hire vehicles, the availability is different for every company, and some companies might be fully booked based on their popularity. In contrast, some companies have plenty of slots for passengers to book. Therefore, the rates will also differ based on the time and which company passengers book their rides. However, these types of access modes are usually reliable. They arrive on time to pick up the passengers unless an unforeseeable accident causes delays or a traffic delay, or the service some companies provide is not up to standard. Thus, passengers can take Private-hire vehicles to the airport.

As for the Hotel Shuttle Services, these services tend to be reliable in terms of access time as it is punctual and provides good service. In terms of frequency, it will depend on the distance between the airport and the hotel as well as the frequency of the shuttle.

Rail Access

BART trains typically run every 15 minutes, except at weekends when trains run about every 20 minutes. There have been several delays due to breakdowns in the past years. For instance, in 2018, there were delays as new trains started running from the East Bay to San Francisco and air compressions malfunctioned on two adjacent cars, which caused the other trains to stop. Another breakdown in 2013 caused by two maintenance vehicles collided in the Transbay tube, resulting in track damage and severe delays. Thus, commuters who use BART as their transportation will usually expect some delays to take place. Therefore, BART is unreliable for passengers travelling to the airport as unexpected delays might occur.

Caltrain Commuter Rail provides rail service between San Francisco and San Jose. The access time for Caltrain will be relatively consistent as the trains tend to follow a fixed schedule and it will arrive on time. However, in 2010, two southbound commuter trains breaking down caused an hour-long delay throughout the commute system. This incident shows that the trains are likely to break down at any point in time, which means it is slightly unreliable, and passengers should probably not take the Caltrain if they are rushing to catch a plane ride.

SFO's AirTrain operates 24 hours a day, with station departures as frequent as every 4 minutes. This shows that AirTrain is a reliable access mode to travel around the airport as there are no delays and the frequency of the AirTrain is high.

Check-in Requirements

There are no pre-check-in facilities available for flights in SFO. Hence, passengers will have to allocate sufficient time to take an access mode to the airport. SFO suggests that passengers check with their airline directly for its recommended arrival time. For domestic flights, most airlines suggest arriving two hours before departure. For international flights, most airlines recommend arriving three hours before departure. Most international flights require that passengers arrive at least an hour before departure and close their ticket counters. Therefore, passengers will have to check their flight timings and allocate time accordingly.

Parking Facilities at SFO

Four types of parking facilities available : Short-Term parking, Long-Term parking, Long-Term Remote parking, and other parking.

Parking Facilities Available

Domestic Garage: 2427 Spots

International Garages: 2093 Spots

Long-Term Garage: 1786 Spots

Long-Term Surface Lot: 737 Spots

Valet: 150 Spots

Firstly, at SFO, there is an option of hourly parking, which is available at almost all the airport terminals, including the Domestic Garage, International Garages, Long-Term Garage and Long-Term Surface Lot. Short-term parking is available at those parking facilities mentioned above at US$2 for 15 minutes.

Next, for long-term parking, visitors can park their vehicles at the Domestic and International garages at a rate of US$36 per 24 hours, and these garages are located near the terminals.

As for long-term remote parking, the long-term garage and surface lot are available to the visitors at a rate of a US$18 per 24 hours.

Lastly, for other parking, there are two parking facilities available which is the Valet parking and Cell Phone Waiting Lot. Valet parking for all terminals and airlines is in the Domestic Garage, and it charges US$45 for the first 24 hours and US$2 per 15 minutes after one day, but the subsequent 24 hours fee is still US$45. The Cell Phone Waiting Lot is conveniently located next to the Long-Term Parking facility, just five minutes from the terminals. And, there's no charge to use the lot. However, the maximum waiting time allowed is 60 minutes and the lot is closed from 1am to 5am.

Potential Constraints and Limitations of Parking Facilities

Potential Constraints

The possible constraints are inadequate total parking slots and imbalanced allocation of parking supply. Inadequate total parking slots occurs when the total demand for public parking exceeds the functional capacity of the total available parking slots. For instance, at SFO, the total number of parking slots sums up to 7398, including domestic garages, international garages, long-term garage, long-term surface lot, and valet parking. If more than 7398 vehicles at SFO require a parking slot, it will cause the vehicles to congest and block the parking facilities' entry and exit. Thus, having sufficient parking slots based on the public's demand is required to prevent any congestions that disrupt visitors, employees, and passengers from entering the airport.

Next, imbalanced allocation of parking supply occurs when parking allocated for specific uses does not accommodate demands during certain periods while parking facilities for other uses is underutilized. For instance, the domestic garage at SFO has 2614 parking slots, and there are insufficient slots for the public to park their vehicles, while the long-term garage has 2194 parking slots, and only 500 slots are in use. Thus, this implies that the airport operator did not allocate the amount of parking slot based on the public's demand.

Potential Limitations

Some potential limitations of these parking facilities are land limitations or financial limitations. Land limitations occur when the physical area available for airport parking facilities cannot accommodate parking as other developments might use that area. More parking facilities can be built at the Long-Term Garage if required as it is not surrounded by the terminals. However, there is a lack of space now as it is surrounded by roads and buildings. Thus, this prevents the airport from expanding their parking facilities as there is a lack of physical area.

Financial limits are the limit of the ability of the airport operator to expand the parking supply. Although a new parking facility at an airport will increase the parking revenue, it will also increase the airport's debt if the parking revenues do not cover the costs to build the facility. Thus, some limitations prevent airport operators from expanding their parking facilities.

Conclusion

To conclude, airport access plays an essential part in enabling visitors, passengers, and employees to access the airport. Without the different access modes, they will take a long time to reach the airport. The parking facilities at an airport also plays a significant part in controlling the congestion of the vehicles as the lack of parking facilities will create difficulties for people to access the airport. Thus, the airport operator has an unavoidable vital interest in the whole area of access and availability.

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