ORLANDO, Fla. – If it’s too good to be true, it usually is — and that adage applies to ride pick-ups at the Orlando International Airport (MCO).
Advertisements for transportation from MCO to Central Florida’s resort hotels are all over the web, and posted on social media and message boards.
And many of those ads show wildly different ride pricing.
Why is that?
Properly insured, registered, inspected, certified, and licensed Vehicle-for-Hire (VFH) operators are regulated and must charge more to cover their operating costs.
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Drivers who circumvent the regulation can charge much less.
Simone Cerasa, owner of the Genie Transportation Services, said carrying commercial liability insurance alone costs him as much as $10,000 per vehicle per year.
“For every passenger we pick up at OIA [MCO] we pay the airport anywhere between $7 and $13 depending on how long we are parked at the terminal waiting for our customers to claim their luggage,” Cerasa said.
Legitimate drivers — taxis, shuttles, limos, bus drivers:
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Are registered with the City of Orlando and MCO
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Have purchased permits that cost hundreds of dollars
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Have passed vehicle safety inspections
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Must carry commercial liability insurance
MCO has proposed raising Vehicle-for-Hire pickup fees by 26% for 2024, 56% higher than the beginning of last year and among the highest in the country, according to Cerasa.
“The biggest risk here for the general public is that these individuals who operate without permits almost always don’t have the required insurance,” Cerasa said. “They have regular personal insurance on their car but passengers aren’t covered if something happens while you’re conducting for-hire operations with your vehicle. So the risk is that a family visiting Orlando chooses one of these other guys that undercuts us by 50% and then get in an accident and find out they have a $40-50k hospital bill to pay because they’re not covered by the guy drove them.”
An unnamed Orlando Police Department spokesperson said in an email to News 6 OPD’s Vehicles-for-Hire Unit “conducts enforcement activities in conjunction with GOAA Ground Enforcement for Non-Permitted Solicitors.”
Angela Starke, MCO Senior Vice President of Public Affairs and Community Relations, said the airport is well aware of “nonpermitted drivers soliciting passengers for rides.”
“We have always discouraged this activity through GOAA and the Orlando Police Department’s Ground Transportation Enforcement,” Starke said. “Some of these offenders work with rideshare companies but choose to go outside of the established rules in GOAA’s Transportation Network Company (TNC) agreement. These drivers receive a trespass notice and the company is notified to deactivate the offender’s account. Others are drivers who do not have a GOAA permit to do business and directly solicit passengers onsite.”
Starke said airport staff and OPD officers monitor and enforce and have issued more than 25 trespass warnings and made four arrests related to the warnings.
“Many times staff are unable to issue a trespass directly because the party leaves the premises when spotted,” Starke said. “For any driver affiliated with a TNC, a deactivation request is sent to the company. We have sent 17 deactivation requests this year.”
Starke said passengers should avoid offers for rides “to ensure their safety.”
“Legitimate and permitted ground transportation providers are listed on the GOAA website and will not approach and solicit you for a ride. “
MCO’s website has an entire section dedicated to safe and legitimate ground transportation, including pricing and a list of permitted operators.
Starke said, “Passengers should follow this advice regarding ground transportation services at MCO:”
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Transportation Network Companies (rideshares such as Uber and Lyft): Please use the company’s rideshare app, which will provide detailed car information and the location to meet your ride.
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Taxis: All taxi services are located on Level 1 of Terminals A&B and Level 6 of Terminal C
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Vehicle for Hire: Mears Destination Services (MDS) is the Aviation Authority’s Ground Transportation Concessionaire. Additional companies are listed on our website
The City of Orlando proposed hiring two new Vehicle-for-Hire civilians to provide enforcement at MCO. Orlando City Council is expected to adopt the proposal at its Oct. 1 meeting.
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