Forget Uber: Some People are Biking to Airports

Travelers are always looking for creative and money-saving ways to get to their airport and it looks like bikes are slowly becoming a popular alternative to Uber or taxis.

Sharon Feigon, executive director of the Shared-Use Mobility Center, a national public interest organization in Chicago dedicated to affordable transportation, told The New York Times, “Regional and state transportation planners are rethinking airport access and who travels to the airport, and how and why.”

“Airports can facilitate bicycle travel for employees and some travelers,” she added.

The Safe Transportation Research and Education Center at the University of California, Berkely, looked at seven airports – including LAX and Boston Logan – and found that airport operators were using bicycle travel as a means to reduce employee parking spaces.

“One aspect that has changed is the penetration of cargo bikes that can now easily accommodate bags for short airplane trips,” said Offer Grembek, a co-director of the center who was not involved in the study. “Another aspect is electrification of bikes that increase the range and reduce the level of effort needed.”