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Will a ban on using fees to pay for airport bike parking fly?
One of the hurdles to passage of the next transportation bill is the even-longer overdue reauthorization of the Federal aviation program – this was being debated in the Senate today. In the last Congress, we were disappointed to learn that Senator McCain (R-AZ) proposed an amendment to the bill to prohibit the use of Passenger Facility Charges to provide bike parking at airports, which seemed like a singularly mean-spirited and unnecessary thing to do.
The PFC (oh yes, we know the aviation lingo as well) allows the collection of up to $4.50 for every passenger at commercial airports to be used for projects that enhance safety, security or capacity at airports as well as noise reduction, etc. Intermodal projects are funded with this levy at airport terminals and on access roads – and it’s no trivial sum of money. In FY2009, close to $2.5billion was collected through PFCs.
Bike parking at Portland Airport; Photo: BikeMontclair via Picasa
Lo and behold, Senate Bill 223 in the 112th Congress, Section 207(b), contains the language proposed last time by McCain. For some reason, either McCain or someone else has decided that bike parking at airports is worth singling out for exclusion; that it doesn’t somehow count as an “intermodal” facility; that it should never be part of the airport experience. One can only speculate as to why.
Source: Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia
Bicycling to the airport may never be a major means of access given the nature of air travel and the trips people make by air (but it does happen — including by airport employees). Even cycling meccas like Copenhagen (CPH) and Amsterdam (AMS) airports have a limited number of people riding to and from them – but it certainly isn’t precluded or deliberately made more difficult, and nor should that happen at US airports. Demand may only require a few bike racks and maybe a locker or two for longer term storage in more accessible airports – not exactly the kind of volume that would eat deeply into the $2.5billion fund.
Hopefully, as the bill progresses we can find a way to strip this provision from the bill and restore equity to the funding of landside airport facilities.
Andy Clarke
League President
Andy Clarke was appointed to the position of Executive Director in April of 2004 after successfully leading efforts to create, interpret and implement the various transportation programs that are available to improve conditions for bicycling and walking as the League’s State and Local Advocacy Director. Before joining the League in February 2003, Clarke was on contract to provide technical assistance to the highly regarded Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center on site at the Federal Highway Administration. He is on the Board of Directors for America Bikes, and a member of the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycling Professionals.
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February 1st, 2011 at 7:07 pm
Well, for the record: I do bike to our airport (ITH). A cab costs 16 dollars for a 6 minute drive, the bus takes forever and has limited hours — thus for short trips with only carry-on baggage I usually bike. The bike facilities at the airport are not exactly great: one little wavy rack, no roof, not in CCTV range. Ithaca is a low crime area, so I’m not too worried, but I’d love to see improvements.
February 2nd, 2011 at 11:55 am
Well-put, Andy. It’s amazing to me that politicians who are always extolling local and states rights never hesitate to get in the way of local authorities (ie airports) if they should choose to use a fee for a purpose they deem worthy (ie bike lanes or bike parking). BTW, Senator McCain has supported biking before — at least for the Marines. Here’s a video he did in support of a bike event for Marines. Semper Fi! http://vimeo.com/12451599
February 2nd, 2011 at 11:59 am
[...] breaking the bank building state-of-the-art bike parking facilities. Andy Clarke, president of the League of American Bicyclists, wonders why bikes, of all things, are so deserving of [...]
February 2nd, 2011 at 12:56 pm
We have an impolite phrase we use at work regarding people who are so utterly myopic, which I will not repeat here.
So I have to agree completely on this one. Biking to the airport may not be a major trip generator, but neither should it be made impossible for folks like Harold, given the minor cost involved.
When we visited Calgary, Alberta in 2005, that city provided a bicycling facility to its airport. When I visited Amsterdam, I unpacked my bike in the airport lobby, easily arranged storage for my bike box, packed everything else into my panniers, took the bike onto the train towards the city, and then rode the rest of the way to my hotel. Seamless.
Given the money we spend on parking structures for cars at airports, I don’t see how providing cycling facilities can be even a microblip on the radar. This prohibition is both penny AND pound foolish.