Performance evaluation of airport taxi services provision

International Journal of Mathematical Modelling and Numerical Optimisation, 2(3) (2011), 297-312
http://dx.doi.org/10.1504/IJMMNO.2011.040794

Airports are important infrastructures of modern life and play a major role in the transportation of passengers for tourism and business. Airport terminal curbsides are the critical interfaces between standing vehicles, moving vehicles and pedestrians, acting as the capacity buffer between the road delivery system and the airport terminal building. A correct design and dimensioning of airport terminal curbsides is a major step for achieving positive passenger experiences, since long pedestrian paths, lack of information or long waiting time for transportation may cause passengers discomfort and bewilderment. In the paper, we analyse the viability of a recent proposal from a consulting company for the taxi service provision on the passenger's arrival curbside at Portela Airport (Lisbon, Portugal). We compare the capacity and performance of the proposed taxi service provision, which is based on a 'spine' parking design for taxis, with those of the solution currently implemented at Portela Airport.