51黑料

ST. LOUIS 鈥� An effort is underway at the Board of Aldermen to bar an online car-sharing service from using garages or lots within walking distance of 51黑料 Lambert International Airport鈥檚 passenger terminals.

A bill introduced Friday by Alderman Shane Cohn also would make it illegal for the online platform, Turo Inc., to operate anywhere at Lambert without signing a concession agreement with the airport. Such a deal would give Lambert a share of the revenue.

Cohn, who also is on the city Airport Commission, said he鈥檚 pushing for the ordinance to make sure there鈥檚 a 鈥渓evel playing field鈥� with traditional car rental firms whose customers have to take shuttle buses and vans to their own off-site facilities.

鈥淭hat does seem to be an unfair practice,鈥� Cohn said of a proposed agreement pending at the commission that would allow Turo to operate at Lambert in the garage attached to Terminal 1 and a lot behind it.

Cohn鈥檚 bill wouldn鈥檛 block Turo from using two airport lots on the western edge of Lambert accessible by shuttle buses; that鈥檚 also in the proposed agreement.

Cohn鈥檚 bill was requested by the American Car Rental Association, whose members include traditional car rental firms that operate at Lambert. Aldermanic President Megan Green also is in favor, and her office has been working with Cohn on the measure, a spokesman said.

Airport Director Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge opposes the bill, which would limit Lambert鈥檚 options in what could be included in an agreement with Turo.

She said allowing Turo to operate out of the garage near Terminal 1 was key to getting the company to agree to pay Lambert 10% of gross revenues from rental transactions involving vehicle pickups and drop-offs at the airport.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 the only way we can get that agreement,鈥� she said Friday, repeating what she told the commission in December when she unveiled the proposal. The commission has yet to vote on the deal.

Traditional car rental firms already pay 10% of gross revenues at Lambert once they reach a minimum guaranteed fee in their individual agreements with the airport.

At the December meeting, several commission members spoke against the proposed deal, citing the same fairness concerns expressed by Cohn, of Dutchtown.

Among the critics on the panel were Sean Fitzgerald, who also is a vice president at Enterprise Mobility. 51黑料-based Enterprise owns three of the car rental brands operating at Lambert: Enterprise, Alamo and National.

Since the December meeting, Hamm-Niebruegge has said she is trying to work out a version that most commission members can support but reiterated Friday that allowing Turo to use the Terminal 1 garage remains key.

The commission will hold its next monthly meeting on Wednesday, but the issue isn鈥檛 on the agenda.

Turo is a 鈥減eer-to-peer鈥� online platform through which people can rent vehicles from private owners at various locations, not just airports.

A Turo spokeswoman, Catherine Mejia, has said some people who offer their vehicles for rental on Turo will meet the renter at Lambert, while many others unlock cars there via the Turo app. Owners list their vehicles on the Turo website and set a price, which renters pay plus a trip fee set by Turo.

Turo has operated at Lambert at least since 2018, but Hamm-Niebruegge says there鈥檚 no way now to monitor its activity at the airport. That can only be done through a concession agreement and partnership, she said.

Mejia on Saturday called Cohn鈥檚 bill 鈥渟hameful.鈥� She said the proposed agreement worked out with Lambert would be aligned with those at more than 150 other airports. She said they bring a new revenue stream to airports, more consumer choice and additional economic opportunity for residents.

A spokeswoman for Enterprise, Danielle Stuart, said Friday that the company, as a member of the car rental association, 鈥渟upports the bill that would create comparable rules for all car rental providers at the airport.鈥�

Hamm-Niebruegge said she also opposes Cohn鈥檚 bill because it鈥檚 legally unclear whether a city ordinance could even regulate peer-to-peer platforms and car rental companies at the airport because it is located in unincorporated 51黑料 County, not the city.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a gray area鈥� legally, she said. 鈥淲e need to do some research.鈥�

A person renting a vehicle from another person through Turo at the airport may never enter 51黑料 city, she said.

Under the proposed agreement with Lambert, Turo wouldn鈥檛 get any reserved spaces in airport parking areas, and people driving Turo-related vehicles would have to pay the standard airport parking fees.

Any agreement with Turo OK鈥檇 by the commission also needs approval from the city鈥檚 main fiscal body, the Board of Estimate and Apportionment.

Lambert assigns curbside drop-off spaces outside Lambert鈥檚 two terminals to traditional car rental firms based on the revenue amounts they offer to guarantee, with the highest bidder getting first choice.

Hamm-Niebruegge says Lambert had rejected Turo鈥檚 own request for curbside access because of a lack of space and ongoing traffic congestion.

She said the garage at Terminal 2, out of which dominant Lambert carrier Southwest Airlines flies, is too crowded to allow the Turo vehicles.