SuperShuttle adds RDU to passenger list

Shared rides to begin Jan. 3

Need a lift to the airport? You'll soon have an option beyond taxis and friends.

Beginning Jan. 3, SuperShuttle International will start a "shared ride" van service to and from Raleigh-Durham International Airport. The service will pick you up and take you back to your home or office, as well as area hotels and other destinations, usually with several fellow passengers.

SuperShuttle has been in expansion mode -- it added service at two airports this year. It currently operates at 28 airports nationwide.

RDU was a logical place to expand given recent developments such as the opening of the Raleigh Convention Center and Terminal 2 at RDU, said company spokesman Ken Testani. "There was definitely a need in the market," he said.

Still, the struggling economy is depressing the need for airport transportation. The number of airport taxi trips declined 8.6 percent in September compared with a year earlier, according to RDU; passenger volume also was down.

Testani said that SuperShuttle will service the region within a 25-mile radius of the airport. Down the road, the service also may expand to military bases and golf resorts farther out.

Prices for RDU haven't been set, but in other areas where the service operates it is cheaper than a taxi. The average taxi ride from RDU covers 14 miles and costs $30.80 under higher rates that went into effect in April.

SuperShuttle will increase competition for taxi drivers, but there's enough business for both services, said Charlie King, president of RDU Taxi Inc., which manages the taxi stands at the airport.

"Shared ride service is a service that exists at many airports," King said. "We certainly understand RDU wanting to make it available to their clientele."

King also runs a taxi service that serves Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C., where SuperShuttle also operates. "I know the two can coexist," he said.

Although SuperShuttle service elsewhere is cheaper than a taxi, it's also less convenient, King said. SuperShuttle rides are longer, for example, if other passengers are picked up after you or dropped off before you. "There is some level of competition, but it's not entirely duplicative," King said.

SuperShuttle plans to hire 40 workers locally, including 25 drivers as independent contractors.

The company will lease office space and counter space in the airport terminals from the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority, said spokesman Andrew Sawyer.

The local convention and visitors bureaus encouraged the authority to attract SuperShuttle, Sawyer said.

"We have a number of groups coming in that are somewhat budget conscious," said Dennis Edwards, president and CEO of the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau. "We felt it was good to have another alternative, and affordable, transportation."