remote site. For these reasons (i.e., to avoid such competitive advantages), off-airport rental car companies (1) are not allowed to pick up or drop off their customers at the terminal curbside at airports having a CONRAC or (2) are allocated curbside space separate from and less convenient than the space allocated on-airport rental car companies.

• Security. As noted in Chapter 3, the providers of commercial ground transportation businesses must obtain airport permits for their vehicles and provide identification badges for their drivers. These badges, issued by the employer or by the airport operator, typically involve conducting background checks of criminal history. Background checks are required before airports issue identification badges or, where required, driver permits. For example, regulators conduct background checks of individuals seeking a taxicab drivers license and require that TNCs conduct background checks of their drivers. In contrast, P2P carsharing companies may be required to conduct “trust and safety screenings” of hosts but only conduct criminal background checks if the host is flagged by airport staff for potential criminal or fraudulent activity.
• Enforcement. Most airports require that commercial vehicles display vehicle-mounted decals or company-issued trade dress indicating to airport police and other staff that a vehicle and driver are authorized to operate on the airport. At most airports, P2P carsharing vehicles are not required to display an airport-issued decal or company-issued placard or sign. As a result, it is more difficult for airport staff to identify, cite, and ticket the owners of P2P carsharing vehicles operating in violation of airport regulations.

10.3 Recommended P2P Carsharing Handoff Locations

As a result of effects on security and on perceived competition, most major airport operators require that handoffs between P2P carsharing hosts and customers occur in airport parking areas and explicitly prohibit transfers from occurring at the terminal curbsides. To enforce these requirements, airport operators can review the instructions P2P carsharing businesses provide to hosts and monitor curbsides for hosts attempting to exchange vehicles improperly.

At some airports, such as Salt Lake City International Airport, P2P carsharing companies share curb space with the off-airport rental car companies located adjacent to the CONRAC (see Figure 10-1). The operators of some small hubs and non-hubs experiencing little or no curbside

congestion allow exchanges to occur at terminal curbside roadways. Specific examples of carsharing handoff locations are as follows:

• At Boston Logan International Airport, P2P carsharing drop-offs and pickups occur in 1 of 24 spaces located in a dedicated portion of the economy parking garage. As the economy parking garage is not within walking distance of the terminals, P2P customers and parkers using this garage take a free shuttle service to and from the terminals.
• Denver International Airport allows Turo customers to pick up and return vehicles at the airport’s east and west lots and east and west garages. Customers and hosts are responsible for paying standard parking fees. The airport allows P2P hosts and customers to park anywhere in these parking facilities.
• Salt Lake City International Airport allows Turo customers and hosts to exchange vehicles at a curbside shared with off-airport rental car companies, located adjacent to the rental car ready and return spaces opposite the terminal building.
• Tampa International Airport allows Turo customers to pick up and return a vehicle at a remote curbside or the economy parking garage, which is connected to the terminal building by an automated people mover. Tampa explicitly prohibits use of the terminal curb by P2P hosts and customers.
• Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport lists Turo as an on-airport rental car company with customer pickup and drop-off located on Level 6 of the red parking ramp (which is connected to Terminal 1) and at Terminal 1 upper east curbside (pickup only).

10.4 Facilities Needed to Accommodate P2P Carsharing

Unlike traditional rental car companies, P2P carsharing hosts do not need to store or maintain their vehicles on the airport. In fact, airport staff generally prohibit hosts from washing and maintaining vehicles on airport property and limit how long carsharing vehicles can remain on the airport (e.g., 4 hours or less in an airport parking facility). Therefore, the key facility needed is a location, either in a parking facility or at the terminal curbside, where hosts and customers can pick up and drop off vehicles.

Table 10-1 and Table 10-2 indicate the locations where vehicle exchanges are permitted to occur at large- and medium-hub airports, respectively, as reported by Turo (2024). At the time

these data were gathered, Turo had business agreements with 16 of the 30 large hubs and 13 of the 30 medium hubs.

• Carsharing drop-offs were permitted at curbside at only 1 of the 16 large hubs (Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport), with the exception of those airports having remote curbsides (e.g., Denver, Phoenix Sky Harbor, and Tampa international airports), and 4 of the 13 medium hubs having business agreements with Turo. Generally, drop-offs were required to occur in airport garages or parking lots.
• Carsharing pickups at terminal curbsides are permitted at only 2 of the 16 large-hub airports. None of the 13 medium-hub airports permitted curbside pickups. Airports allowing curbside pickups typically have remote curbsides or have ample curbside capacity and thus experience little curbside congestion.

Table 10-3 and Table 10-4 indicate the locations where P2P vehicle exchanges are permitted to occur at 31 small- and 27 non-hub airports having business agreements with Turo, as reported on Turo’s website.

• Carsharing drop-offs were permitted at the curbsides at only 13 of the 31 small hubs and 13 of the 27 non-hubs having business agreements with Turo. Generally, drop-offs were required to occur in airport garages or parking lots.
• Carsharing pickups were permitted at the curbsides at 6 of the 31 small hubs and 5 of the 27 non-hubs having business agreements with Turo. Most small- and non-hub airport managers require pickups to occur in airport parking lots.

The December 2022 web-based survey of airports having business agreements with P2P carsharing companies determined that the participating airports had the following requirements. These requirements are considered best industry practices:

• Require vehicle exchanges to occur in a designated parking garage or surface lot, not at curbside. Having exchanges occur in airport parking facilities helps to ensure that the transaction is conducted in a safe location and prevents traffic congestion that may occur when exchanges occur on active terminal curbsides. As noted, possible exceptions include airports with remote curbsides (e.g., Phoenix Sky Harbor and Tampa international airports), metered curbsides (e.g., Piedmont Triad International and Bill and Hillary Clinton National airports), and little or no curbside congestion, or where traditional rental car customers must ride a shuttle to individual rental car sites (see Tables 10-1 through 10-4).

Table 10-3. Authorized carsharing drop-off and pickup locations at small-hub airports.

Source: InterVISTAS, based on data reported on Turo’s website, October 2023.

• Require that customer drop-off and pickup exchanges occur at the same location. Most airports require that all exchanges occur at the same location (e.g., in the same parking facility) rather than drop-offs at one location and pickups at another location.
• Allow P2P exchanges to occur anywhere in the designated parking facility. This requirement, sometimes referred to as contactless handoff, improves the customer experience by preventing a shortage of spaces for P2P carsharing operations during peak periods, which could occur if P2P carsharing exchanges were limited to an assigned or reserved area. Allowing exchanges to occur anywhere in the designated parking facility also reduces opportunities for vehicle theft (e.g., when car keys are left in a lock box at an unattended vehicle).
• Require hosts and customers exchanging a vehicle in a parking facility to pay the applicable public parking fees. Requiring payment of parking fees generates additional airport revenue from fees paid by P2P carsharing hosts parking a vehicle before the customer’s arrival, and from the customer parking a vehicle before it is retrieved by the host. Additional revenues may result if the host, when dropping off or picking up a vehicle, is driven to the airport by someone else and the second vehicle is also parked in an airport parking facility.
• Do not require P2P carsharing vehicles to have placards or other identification. Most airports do not require hosts to place placards on the vehicles or display other forms of vehicle identification. This requirement is intended to discourage theft or damage to unattended carsharing vehicles while they are parked on airport property.

Table 10-4. Authorized carsharing drop-off and pickup locations at non-hub airports.

Source: InterVISTAS, based on data reported on Turo’s website, October 2023.

• Do not limit how long a P2P carsharing vehicle may be parked in the airport parking facility. However, Turo suggests that hosts do not park cars at the airport for more than 4 hours.
• Do not limit the number of cars one host may provide. Most airport business agreements do not contain restrictions on the number of cars a host may lease. This allows for improved flexibility and efficiency and prevents the need for airports to interact with individual hosts. However, some airport staff stated that, depending on the success of the current business agreement, they will review this provision and, if needed, may change it to comply with airport goals.

10.5 Estimation of Parking Requirements for P2P Carsharing at Airports

This section presents the approximate number of airport parking spaces needed to accommodate P2P carsharing vehicles being dropped off and picked up at an airport. This estimate is based on

1. Guidelines for determining the number of spaces that traditional rental car companies require to accommodate ready cars (i.e., cars that are ready to be leased to customers) and return cars (i.e., cars that have been recently returned by customers but have not yet been cleaned and fueled).
2. The proportion of originating and terminating airline passengers that typically rent a car, as shown in Table 8-1.

Table 10-5. Approximate number of airport parking spaces needed to accommodate P2P carsharing.

Source: InterVISTAS Consulting, August 2023.

3. The P2P carsharing industry’s share of the overall rental car market, using Table 10-5 as a guideline.
4. P2P carsharing vehicles being parked in an airport parking facility for 4 hours or less.

Table 10-5 is to be used as a guideline to determine the number of parking spaces needed in an airport parking facility for accommodating P2P carsharing vehicles—both vehicles that hosts have dropped off for arriving customers and vehicles driven by returning customers to be picked up by hosts. As shown, the number of required spaces varies on the basis of the number of annual originating airline passengers and the P2P carsharing industry’s share of the total rental car market.

Adjustments to the number of spaces required to accommodate P2P carsharing shown in Table 10-5 are suggested if the proportion of airline passengers renting cars is either much higher than those presented in Table 8-1 (e.g., an airport serving a large proportion of non-resident or non-business passengers) or much lower (e.g., an airport serving primarily local residents or passengers traveling for business purposes or an airport where many passengers use taxicabs, TNCs, or other forms of public transportation).

Requirements for carsharing spaces can serve as guidelines to assist with airport master plans and land use plans. They can also serve as a basis for estimating the costs of providing surface or structured parking for P2P carsharing businesses.

The number of spaces shown in Table 10-5 assumes that the handoffs between hosts and customers occur in an airport parking facility, whether both parties are present or not. The number of spaces shown in Table 10-5 is not intended to be used to estimate the number of curbside spaces needed to accommodate P2P carsharing if curbside handoffs are allowed. This is because vehicles exchanged in parking facilities may remain parked for several hours, whereas those exchanged at the curbsides are allowed to dwell for only a few minutes (e.g., 5 minutes or less).

10.6 Management of P2P Carsharing Operations at an Airport

As stated in prior sections, P2P carsharing vehicles exchanged in airport parking facilities can be left unattended for several hours. In contrast, unattended vehicles at terminal building curbside areas are prohibited by airport and federal security regulations. P2P carsharing exchanges

occurring in conveniently located airport parking facilities are considered to represent best industry practices. Use of airport parking facilities is beneficial for several reasons:

• Reduces the effort required by airport staff to manage P2P carsharing. To properly manage curbside exchanges, airport enforcement staff must ensure that vehicles are not left unattended and do not remain at the curb longer than established time limits. It is difficult for staff to enforce curbside no parking or standing regulations if motorists in private vehicles see that other vehicles (e.g., those of P2P carsharing hosts or customers) are allowed to remain at the curbside for extended periods while not actively loading or unloading.
• Prevents use of capacity-constrained curbsides. Most airports have a limited amount of curb space available, requiring airport managers to use the limited space efficiently and effectively. Allowing hosts (and guests) to leave vehicles at the curbside until exchanges are completed reduces the space available for other motorists and does not represent an efficient use of curbside space.
• Allows airport staff to monitor P2P carsharing transactions. As noted in the following section, it is possible to confirm reported P2P carsharing transactions if the vehicle exchange occurs in a parking facility and if an airport records the license plate numbers of vehicles entering and exiting the parking facility. It is more difficult to monitor curbside transactions.
• Generates airport revenues. As noted in prior sections, airport operators benefit from the parking fees paid by P2P carsharing customers and hosts.

At airports having remote curbsides, metered curbsides, or a general lack of curbside congestion, airport management may choose to allow P2P carsharing exchanges to occur at the curbside. However, requiring P2P carsharing exchanges to occur in airport parking facilities is considered preferable.

10.7 Monitoring and Auditing of P2P Carsharing Operations

Most airports require P2P carsharing businesses to pay a fee calculated as a percentage of their airport-related gross revenues and, as noted in Chapter 7, report their gross revenues and fees due. This process, commonly referred to as self-reporting, is identical to how airports require traditional rental car companies to report their monthly revenues and, if required, monthly transactions.

As noted in Chapter 9, an airport’s business agreement with a traditional rental car company defines, among other details, (1) airport-related revenues, (2) how and when these revenues and transactions are to be reported to the airport, (3) the method for calculating fees to be paid to the airport (i.e., which revenue may be excluded from the calculation), (4) audit procedures, and (5) penalties for misreporting revenues or fees due to the airport. These reports, which must be signed by an officer of the P2P carsharing company, are subject to audit by airport management or its representatives.

An airport’s business agreement with a P2P carsharing business normally contains identical definitions of revenues and provisions for reporting, calculating, and auditing revenues and penalties. Airport operators have extensive experience monitoring and auditing the business operations of traditional rental car companies. Airport staff are aware of the need to confirm that traditional rental car companies report all revenues, including those from customers who may have rented a car at a nearby hotel or parking lot.

Compared with their many years of experience monitoring and auditing traditional rental car companies, airport staff have less experience with P2P carsharing companies or their proprietary software and revenue recording systems. For example, it is important that, like a traditional

rental car company, a P2P carsharing company include in its report any revenues from airport passenger handoffs occurring at a nearby hotel or parking lot. For these reasons, some airport operators are seeking supplemental technologies to support and aid in the monitoring of the airport revenues reported by P2P carsharing companies.

As noted in Chapter 3, airport operators charge a variety of fees to the operators of commercial ground transportation vehicles who do business on airport property (i.e., pick up or drop off airline passengers). One fee charged by many airport operators is a fee calculated per vehicle trip. Airport operators use several technologies to monitor the volume of commercial vehicle trips and to calculate and collect fees:

• Proximity cards. These contactless cards, which can be read without being inserted into a reader, allow authorized commercial vehicle drivers (e.g., the drivers of courtesy vehicles) to activate a gate arm and gain access to a designated passenger pickup or drop-off area. The use of proximity cards requires airport staff to establish a process for identifying and issuing permits to authorized commercial vehicle operators. An equivalent process for issuing proximity cards to P2P carsharing hosts or customers is not practical, as airport staff do not interact directly with the hosts or customers.
• Radio frequency identification (RFID) tags. Also known as automatic vehicle identification (AVI) tags, this technology allows airport staff to monitor each trip made by a vehicle having an RFID tag as the vehicle passes by overhead antennae or detectors. Much like with E-ZPass, FasTrak, and other RFID technologies used to monitor driver use of toll roads and bridges, airport managers can monitor authorized commercial vehicle operators’ use of airport roadways and collect per-trip fees from these operators. The use of AVI tags requires that airport staff issue permits to authorized commercial vehicles and that the tags be mounted on these vehicles by airport staff or others. The use of AVI tags to monitor trips made by P2P carsharing vehicles is not practical, as it would require mounting a tag on every P2P carsharing vehicle that might drop off or pick up customers at an airport. This is impractical given the infrequent use of airport roadways by individual P2P carsharing vehicles and the turnover of these vehicles.
• GPS. Airports require that each TNC company pay fees calculated on the basis of the number of airport trips made by affiliated drivers. An airport trip is defined as a TNC vehicle entering or exiting a geofence (defined by the airport operator) surrounding either the entire airport or portions of the airport. TNC companies rely upon signals from each driver’s mobile phone to monitor the location of a vehicle on a real-time basis. Some airport operators require the TNC companies to share real-time information about driver locations, allowing airport staff to monitor TNC trip volumes. However, these data are generated by TNC companies and do not come directly from the drivers or their vehicles. The use of GPS to monitor P2P carsharing vehicle trips is impractical, as it would require airports (and the P2P carsharing businesses) to have real-time access to the mobile phones of every host and customer.
• LPR. As the accuracy of modern LPR systems improves, airport operators are increasingly using LPR to monitor commercial vehicle trips, with some airport staff anticipating that in the near future the use of LPR will replace the use of RFID and AVI. Already the PARCS at many airports record the license plates of vehicles entering and exiting parking facilities to assist with lost tickets, support security, minimize revenue losses, and perform other tasks. Some of these airports require that P2P carsharing companies report each transaction, as well as the time and date of the transaction (i.e., when the vehicle was dropped off and picked up in an airport parking facility) and the vehicle’s license plate number. Comparing the transaction data reported by a P2P carsharing company with the license plate numbers recorded by the airport’s PARCS allows airport staff to verify the reported transactions, including the time and duration of reported P2P carsharing rentals.

Use of license plate numbers also allows airport staff to verify that P2P carsharing hosts, particularly those who regularly serve the airport, and P2P guests are using the correct parking facilities and not circumventing airport rules by using another parking facility.

• App-based remote vehicle access and location. Turo offers customers access to Turo Go in certain markets. Turo Go enables customers to locate and unlock accessible cars using the Turo app. It is anticipated that Turo Go will become increasingly popular and be available in additional markets because of the convenience it offers. If other companies offer P2P carsharing at airports, these companies might offer similar applications. When this research was conducted, no information was available about airport staff plans to use Turo Go to monitor P2P carsharing activity or business volumes. However, much like airports now require TNC companies to share real-time access to drivers’ location and trip data, it is possible that airport managers will require P2P carsharing companies to share signals or data indicating the location of P2P carsharing vehicles parked or driving on the airport. This information, if available, could assist airports in monitoring P2P carsharing business volumes and activity.
• Self-reported revenues. In the absence of available and reliable technology that airport operators can use to monitor P2P carsharing activity and revenues, airport operators must rely upon self-reported revenues. Reliance on self-reporting can present financial and operational risks to airport operators. For example, in the past, airports discovered that the number of trips and the resulting trip fees self-reported by operators of courtesy shuttles and other ground transportation services were often significantly lower than those recorded by an AVI system, resulting in the underpayment of airport fees (LeighFisher 2015). It is recommended that airport staff confirm and regularly audit revenues that are self-reported.