(Sarah A. Miller/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

Changes are coming to how rental car companies do business in the Tyler Pounds Regional Airport.

On Wednesday, the Tyler City Council approved a list of changes to the city’s airport ordinance, all of which came after the airport bid out and approved contracts for three on-site rental car companies.

They include an increased fee per parking spot to house ready-to-drive vehicles, the addition of a fee for rental companies doing business off site and changes in signage requirements for the companies. There also were some minor changes to make verbiage in those contracts match the ordinance.

Currently, the airport has three rental companies – Enterprise, Hertz and National.

The airport formally had Avis, too, but the company did not bid for a space inside the airport, and has indicated it wishes to do business offsite, Airport Manager Davis Dickson said.

The contracts are bid out every three years.

In 2015, rental car companies reported $2.56 million in revenue. In 2016, excluding December numbers, the facility brought in $2.4 million.

Dickson said most of the changes were made as cleanup items or to keep pace with what other airports charge for services.

The changes do not affect taxis or Uber services. Both are allowed to do business at the airport, but are governed by transportation ordinances, and are not under airport regulations.

PARKING SPACES

The fees for rental companies to utilize parking spaces will double from $15 for each space a month to $30 a month, beginning Feb. 1.

Those fees will incrementally increase over the next few years, to $45 in 2018 and $60 per space in 2019.

By comparison to customer’s daily rates, the rental car companies still are getting a deal.

The public pays $6 per day for long-term parking and $10 per day for short term. That equates to $180 per month for short term, and $300 per month for long term.

OFFSITE CHARGE

The airport also will increase an offsite rental car charge. This is for companies that use the airport to rent cars, but do not physically have a desk inside.

The company would pay a $250 annual fee, and then 10 percent of the revenue from whatever business was generated at the airport.

That fee has increased from 8 to 10 percent in the updated ordinance.

Dickson said the fees now match fees charged to companies that have an inside counter.  

Avis has inquired about utilizing the offsite service, but has not signed paperwork, Dickson said. If Avis opted to, the company would likely shuttle customers from the airport to another site to where the cars are kept.

Twitter: @TMTFaith