Thunder Bay airport partners with ride-share company to alleviate wait times

Residents in Thunder Bay, Ont. now have a new and affordable way to get to and from the airport, thanks to a new partnership with a local ride-share company, URIDE.

"We want to make sure everybody has reliable and affordable rides [because] the last thing you want when you are coming home from a flight is to be waiting a long time to get home," said CEO and Founder of URIDE, Cody Ruberto.

He said he and Ed Schmidtke, the president and CEO of the Thunder Bay International Airport, started meeting at the beginning of 2018 to discuss how they can partner up to provide reliable rides with short wait times for passengers coming to and from the airport.

"There are periods where multiple flights land at the same time and they just see a huge surge in demand, " Ruberto explained, "so during those times, they need other people to come and alleviate ... and make sure wait times are fast."

URIDE drivers will have a designated spot on the curb, right in front of the Air Terminal Building and passengers can also input their flight number to ensure they are picked up or dropped off at the airport on-time to make their flights.

"The Airport Authority is keen to work with new companies to expand the transportation options available to air travelers to and from the airport," Ed Schmidtke stated in a written statement on Friday.

This is the first public-sector partnership for the year-old ride-share company, according to Ruberto and as they continue to hire more drivers, he said they are also working on making sure passengers wait no longer than 5 minutes for their ride.