Dallas Love Field moving rideshare area closer after passengers’ backlash

Dallas Love Field travelers won’t have to journey as far to catch an Uber or Lyft at the airport starting Friday.

Airport officials say they’re moving the rideshare pickup area closer to the terminal, which is expected to cut the walk from baggage claim roughly in half. The move, first announced in the fall, comes after the airport received backlash from travelers when rideshare pickup was relocated from the curb outside of baggage claim to one of the parking garages in September 2023, forcing passengers to walk about 10 minutes to meet their drivers.

Rideshare pick-ups will now be next to the valet pavilion on the terminal’s southeast side. Taxis, limos and other on-demand pickups will be nearby in Level 1 of Garage C. Passengers with disabilities will still be able to be picked up curbside at the terminal’s lower level.

A little more than a year ago, officials at the city-owned airport announced plans to move rideshare and other pick-ups further from the terminal to decrease curbside congestion. But plans to revise that move were announced in October after Love Field passenger complaints and officials admitting to using old metrics to estimate the amount of space and demand needed for the pickups.

“During this time, feedback has continuously indicated extreme dissatisfaction despite valiant customer service efforts and way-finding resources implemented by (Dallas’ Department of Aviation),” assistant city manager Dev Rastogi told the Dallas City Council in an Oct. 4 memo. She said the relocation to Garage B was based on demand capacity analysis done before the 2020 pandemic.

Airport officials say the new pickup spot has retrofitted curbs, new road striping, more signs and other improvements hoped to improve people’s experience.