Ride-Share Drivers Claim Unfair Treatment At Will Rogers Airport

Uber and Lyft drivers say they are being treated unfairly at Will Rogers World Airport but airport officials claim those drivers are taking advantage of them to get rides.

The issue is the lack of a bathroom at Will Rogers World Airport’s cell phone lot where many ride-share drivers wait for arriving passengers.

“Sometimes you sit out for an hour, two hours because you get a ride,” said Uber driver John Witham.

“When you are an old man and you need to use the restroom, you need to use the restroom,” said Uber driver Joe Storey.

If Uber and Lyft drivers leave airport property to use a restroom, they lose their turn at an airport ride and go to the bottom of the list. The taxicab driver lot has port-a-potties.

“We should be treated the same,” added Witham.

What’s most frustrating for ride-share drivers is that Uber and Lyft pay the airport a $1.50 ride fee per passenger from the airport. The airport says that money covers the cost of the airport and terminal maintenance, not bathroom facilities.

Taxicab drivers pay the airport an additional permit fee.  The airport says that money pays to keep a bathroom at the cab lot. The airport says Uber and Lyft drivers can take advantage of free one-hour parking to use a bathroom inside the terminal.

WRWA has no plans of putting a bathroom on the cell phone lot.

“The intent was never for them to spend long periods of time at the lot,” said WRWA Spokesperson Karen Carney.