Ride-hailing passengers may need to dig deeper into their pockets come 2025 at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport. In a move to increase revenue as part of County Executive David Crowley's budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year, there are plans on the table to implement a $3 fee for every Uber and Lyft dropoff starting in 2025. This information comes straight from a WISN report, noting that the airport which operates sans tax dollars from Milwaukee County, finances its day-to-day functions entirely through user fees.
"The Airport receives no tax dollars from Milwaukee County, and our day-to-day operations are entirely funded by user fees. This fee is an example of how only the users of the Airport pay for the Airport," Harold Mester, director of public affairs and marketing at the airport, told WISN. The airport currently charges similar fees for pickups and for other commercial vehicles like taxis and shuttles. Yet passengers have expressed concerns that the additional fees could affect their choice of transportation, potentially driving them back to alternatives used before the rise of app-based ride services.
The airport's 2025 budget proposal, outlined by Crowley, also anticipates raising parking fees, as covered by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The suggested budget allows for a $5 million increase from the previous year, bringing the total proposed budget to $104.5 million, with expected revenue jumping from $710,000 to $1.68 million. This fee hike is just one aspect of the strategy to support the airport's financial health.
Amidst these financial changes, the airport also expects to see a return to its pre-pandemic passenger traffic levels. Officials are optimistic that by the close of 2025, the number of travelers through Milwaukee Mitchell will match or even surpass 2019's figures. This projection is based on current growth trends and industry-wide passenger data from the start of the year, according to the airport’s budget narrative detailed in Urban Milwaukee. It's an outlook eagerly awaited since the 62% plummet in passenger traffic in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the airport acknowledges that airlines are still grappling with staffing and equipment shortages, which have thus far hindered a full return to pre-pandemic service offerings.
As the airport gears up for a potential resurgence in traffic and weathers the socioeconomic aftereffects of the pandemic, these fee adjustments may be an inevitable step towards financial resilience. With the 2025 budget still under consideration and a vote pending by mid-November, the public has time to weigh the costs and benefits of such changes on their future travel through Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport. The increased revenue from parking and rideshare surcharges plays a critical part in the airport's plan to sustain and enhance its operations, ultimately aiming to facilitate a more robust travel experience for passengers in the years to come.
