Airport "public transport" tax

[JonathanH]

Bournemouth Airport has a similar sign right at the entrance saying no pedestrian access, despite their being a path not far before or after. Complete cash grab to get people to pay the drop-off/pick-up fee, especially as there's no public transport at all

Is there a penalty shown?

Of course, what many people do is ignore the signs at Ingliston P&R which say "no pedestrian route to airport", which there clearly is, and walk the final km.

I always thought that was just about not using the direct access to Eastfield Road (which has no pavement past the car park gates), and instead forcing people to go via Loverose Way, from where there is a continuous pavement to the airport. There is a continuous pavement to the bus stops at "Airport Junction" on the A8 also.

 

[OscarH]

Is there a penalty shown?

Not as I recall, or that it shows on street view

 

[Kite159]

Bournemouth Airport has a similar sign right at the entrance saying no pedestrian access, despite their being a path not far before or after. Complete cash grab to get people to pay the drop-off/pick-up fee, especially as there's no public transport at all

Isn't there still a token More Bus route which serves the airport with something like 2 buses to the airport early morning and 3 buses away from the airport in the afternoon (buses run empty on the other flows).

Didn't Bournemouth once try and rip up the pavement giving access for the airport, placing things in the way to try and prevent people from wanting into the airport?

 

[melon68]

At Newcastle Airport the Metro station is in Zone 3 despite geographically belonging in Zone 2, but it is possible to get off at Callerton Parkway and walk along the old airport road. There is a gate that allows access to the Premier Inn from the terminal that can be used without big bags to access the main concourse. The main airport entrance actively discourages pedestrians presumably to force them to use airport taxis instead of private hire firms stopping outside the charged zone.

 

[OscarH]

Isn't there still a token More Bus route which serves the airport with something like 2 buses to the airport early morning and 3 buses away from the airport in the afternoon (buses run empty on the other flows).

Didn't Bournemouth once try and rip up the pavement giving access for the airport, placing things in the way to try and prevent people from wanting into the airport?

Yeah, there is that pitiful bus which isn't much use unless your flight happens to be timed to line up. No use for the vast majority though

The pavement does turn into walking on a mud/grass bank for a little bit then back to a path presumably to try and disuade you

 

[DanNCL]

Newcastle Airport has this for the Metro, the Airport is on its own in Zone C whilst the next stop along is in Zone B. Stations the same distance out of Newcastle on other lines are in Zone B with Zone C otherwise being reserved for the coastal parts of the network.

Similar used to apply on local buses, a Newcastle Day Rider on Stagecoach wasn’t valid to the airport and passengers for there (and beyond it Ponteland) had to pay more. That changed some time ago and a Newcastle Day Rider now is valid to the airport.

Heathrow certainly seem to charge a fee but is it that high as other bus companies have kept Heathrow in the normal fare zones for a while and not charged a much higher fee. The exception to that being intercity coaches who do seem to happily charge a lot extra for using Heathrow and attempt to refuse to let you alight early if you buy a cheaper ticket to Victoria.

Same applies to the railway. Heathrow charges a fee (which is passed to the customer) for the Heathrow Express and Crossrail which run on airport owned infrastructure. The Piccadilly line isn’t owned by Heathrow but rather by TFL and so isn’t subject to inflated fares and is in the same zone as non-airport stations a comparable distance out from London.

 

[neilmc]

I spent most of my adult life in Manchester living not far from the airport, and on the local bus services Manchester Airport was just another stop in the normal fare stage structure, until I began to travel more I didn't realise the extent to which the British public, and especially tourists, were being ripped off elsewhere. Travelled from Gatwick recently, did research and stayed at a guest house overnight on a local bus route and got to and from the airport free with my ENCTS pass.

We've been to Budapest a few times and local bus plus metro can be used via standard fare tickets to the city centre if you're in no hurry. In fact, it would be FREE as it is for all EU pensioners if it hadn't been for that wretched Brexit scam

 

[Towers]

Yeah, there is that pitiful bus which isn't much use unless your flight happens to be timed to line up. No use for the vast majority though

The pavement does turn into walking on a mud/grass bank for a little bit then back to a path presumably to try and disuade you

Presumably Bournemouth Airport will eventually disappear as a commercial entity with the runway extension and associated upgrades to Southampton, it seems overkill having two so close together and So’ton is far superior in terms of accessibility and a far more attractive prospect for airline customers. I imagine charging any sort of premium on rail fares to So’ton Airport Parkway is a non starter given that the station and airport are completely separate, and the airport serves other purposes in the area? Likewise it would be all but impossible to hinder access as a pedestrian given that this is necessary when arriving by train, or impose any sort of premium for doing so.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Arlanda airport in Sweden has a horrendous surcharge if you use the railway, which can be totally avoided by using the bus. I understand it's levied by the private owners of the airport station.
I was absolutely gobsmacked the first (and last) time I ever arrived there by train. IIRC, it's about the equivalent of £10 per passenger!

You can get the local bus to Marsta, and pick up the regular SL trains there.
All within the Stockholm ticketing network.

Sydney Airport has an AUD16.68 station access fee added to the train fare, there’s also a weekly cap of AUD33.84. If you use the bus there’s no access fee added

Sydney Trains has separate airport stations for international and domestic services, both privately built.
So you have to pay the access fee just to transfer terminals (though there is a less frequent free bus I think).

 

[zero]

The Piccadilly line isn’t owned by Heathrow but rather by TFL and so isn’t subject to inflated fares and is in the same zone as non-airport stations a comparable distance out from London.

Although all journeys between Heathrow and Zone 1 or passing through Zone 1 are charged the peak fare all the time, but that's a TfL thing.

You can get the local bus to Marsta, and pick up the regular SL trains there.
All within the Stockholm ticketing network.

That's what he said...

Sydney Trains has separate airport stations for international and domestic services, both privately built.
So you have to pay the access fee just to transfer terminals (though there is a less frequent free bus I think).

The access fee for transferring terminals is only $4.50 (so the total fare would be $7.30 or $8.50 depending on the time you entered). There are often 8 tph, but not evenly spread out.

The access fee is also lower if taking the train between the Airport stations and Mascot or Green Square.

The free bus is 4bph. There is also a paid bus which is $3.20 or $2.24 depending on boarding time, up to 4bph but not always reliable.


Melbourne Airport is served mainly by premium buses, for $22 single/$36 two-journey to the city centre. It is possible to use local public transport, but extremely inconvenient except to a minority of destinations. It seems that public transport is capped at $10 per day to anywhere in Victoria.

Brisbane Airport has a premium fare for its train service, about $35 return, but slightly cheaper online which gives you a PDF with barcode that gets scanned at the airport, but you must show manually to enter/exit at a barriered station. There is no local public transport at the airport but there is a free airport-operated bus to a nearby shopping centre which is served by a local bus. The only way to pay for the bus is by local smartcard, which has to be purchased at the airport. Therefore, you must pay the amount of the premium train fare even if you are not going to use the train. Fortunately, the card and deposit is fully refundable (you can buy with cash or card, but only refund to card).

Perth Airport was previously mainly served by local buses at the regular fare, but for a city which has become hostile to cash, the only way for a visitor to pay was by cash with no change. That was not too difficult when the fare was $5, but then they increased it to $5.10. Last year, a new airport train service commenced, though only to one of the two terminal complexes (there have been talks about closing the other complex at some point). It now appears to be possible to buy the local smartcard at the airport, I am not sure what other ticket options are offered for the train.

In New Zealand, Christchurch Airport is served mainly by many local buses, but it is not possible to buy the local smartcard at the airport so you must pay $4 by cash only (change given) for a 2 hour ticket. With the smartcard, it's $4 for a day ticket. Personal registration is mandatory for the smartcard, which also expires after 3 years of non-use, so anyone visiting less frequently would need to do this every time.

 

[Tester]

Melbourne Airport is served mainly by premium buses, for $22 single/$36 two-journey to the city centre. It is possible to use local public transport, but extremely inconvenient except to a minority of destinations. It seems that public transport is capped at $10 per day to anywhere in Victoria.

'Extremely inconvenient' is subjective.

Its about 15 minutes by 901 bus (2/4bph) from the airport to Broadmeadows station, then about 30 minutes by train to the city (generally 3tph) - total cost $5.

Public transport is indeed capped at $10 per day ($7.20 at weekends) anywhere in Victoria. That includes 4 hour plus each way train journeys, as well as an extensive coach network.

A different world!

 

[zero]

'Extremely inconvenient' is subjective.

Its about 15 minutes by 901 bus (2/4bph) from the airport to Broadmeadows station, then about 30 minutes by train to the city (generally 3tph) - total cost $5.

Public transport is indeed capped at $10 per day ($7.20 at weekends) anywhere in Victoria. That includes 4 hour plus each way train journeys, as well as an extensive coach network.

A different world!

Yeah I guess you're right. Just seen the cap will rise to $10.60 in the New Year (I'm here now) But 80%+ of the population live in the area covered by "metro" trains and I suspect that the metro area may represent 95%+ of journeys, so while it might be a big subsidy per journey the total cost may be quite low overall.

The most egregious airport rip off is probably Vienna where I think the CAT is priced double or more of the S-Bahn but provides effectively the same service, arguably worse - last I checked it was 2tph for a 15 min journey

Oslo is similar but at least the premium train usually runs twice as often as the commuter route - if you're going to use public transport in the city anyway, it's only a bit extra for a 24hr ticket to and from the airport. A bit like HEx and Crossrail

 

[island]

Although all journeys between Heathrow and Zone 1 or passing through Zone 1 are charged the peak fare all the time, but that's a TfL thing.

Not all journeys. Mixed-mode and certain journeys outside the zones still have peak and off-peak. And Railcard discounts still apply when they normally do.

 

[ac6000cw]

I think airport surcharges are quite common around the world. Transport operators seem to work on the basis that if they are travelling to or from an airport, the passengers can pay more. Sometimes, there is an enhanced service such as Gatwick Express but not always.

Yes, they are (in my experience).

The the airport facilities have to paid for somehow, so airports just juggle the mix of landing and handling charges to airlines, income from shops/food/drink outlets, parking charges, drop-off/pick-up/taxi surcharges, car rental surcharges, public transport 'terminal' surcharges etc.

As the airline fares model has moved towards low headline prices over the recent decades, that's put downward pressure on the landing and handling fees they can charge, so airports have to raise more revenue from other sources instead.

 

[island]

There's long been a move towards fees that are presented after the customer is committed so that they don't get an opportunity to decide not to pay and to do something else instead.

 

[Tetchytyke]

There's long been a move towards fees that are presented after the customer is committed so that they don't get an opportunity to decide not to pay and to do something else instead.

I’m not sure this applies in this context, though. Airport public transport fares are usually pretty easy to find, as are drop-off or pick-up charges levied on car users.

Bristol Airport is often used as an example of price-gouging but the fares are clearly listed on the airport’s website.

 

[island]

I’m not sure this applies in this context, though. Airport public transport fares are usually pretty easy to find, as are drop-off or pick-up charges levied on car users.

Bristol Airport is often used as an example of price-gouging but the fares are clearly listed on the airport’s website.

Easy to find maybe. Presented as part of the flow to making the decision to purchase the flight? No.

 

[Tetchytyke]

Presented as part of the flow to making the decision to purchase the flight? No.

Perhaps not, but your arrangements for getting to an airport is not the airlines' concern.

 

[AlastairFraser]

Presumably Bournemouth Airport will eventually disappear as a commercial entity with the runway extension and associated upgrades to Southampton, it seems overkill having two so close together and So’ton is far superior in terms of accessibility and a far more attractive prospect for airline customers.

I doubt it, I think Bournemouth's fees for airlines are considerably lower, hence Ryanair's large presence there.

It also helps TUI that Bournemouth Airport is the same time driving wise as Bristol/Southampton for the whole of Dorset, some of southern Somerset, the western New Forest and places like Salisbury (all of these areas having a combined population of near a million).
Exeter will be closer for some parts of western Dorset, but has a very limited selection of year round holiday destinations.

 

[Towers]

I doubt it, I think Bournemouth's fees for airlines are considerably lower, hence Ryanair's large presence there.

It also helps TUI that Bournemouth Airport is the same time driving wise as Bristol/Southampton for the whole of Dorset, some of southern Somerset, the western New Forest and places like Salisbury (all of these areas having a combined population of near a million).
Exeter will be closer for some parts of western Dorset, but has a very limited selection of year round holiday destinations.

Southampton must be considerably less of a ballache though I’d have thought, even if the driving time might be broadly similar? Straight off of the M27 (or straight off of the train) must be more appealing then trekking to the middle of nowhere. So’ton must be able to boast substantially better ‘green’ credentials than Bomo with it’s near 100% dependence on customers arriving by car, for those who are concerned with such things.

It’s an interesting conversation, but for me personally I’d always favour somewhere with decent facilities that provides much better hospitality in the event of delays or problems, and just feels ‘proper’. It’s a bit like sailing from the Poole vs Portsmouth; the former offers essentially a portacabin (or it did the last time I was there, admittedly a while ago!), while the latter has the ample facilities you would expect of a major port. Equally I suppose some would just opt for whatever is nearest, or of course in many cases have no real choice depending on the journey they require.

 

[AlastairFraser]

Southampton must be considerably less of a ballache though I’d have thought, even if the driving time might be broadly similar? Straight off of the M27 (or straight off of the train) must be more appealing then trekking to the middle of nowhere. So’ton must be able to boast substantially better ‘green’ credentials than Bomo with it’s near 100% dependence on customers arriving by car, for those who are concerned with such things.

It’s an interesting conversation, but for me personally I’d always favour somewhere with decent facilities that provides much better hospitality in the event of delays or problems, and just feels ‘proper’. It’s a bit like sailing from the Poole vs Portsmouth; the former offers essentially a portacabin (or it did the last time I was there, admittedly a while ago!), while the latter has the ample facilities you would expect of a major port. Equally I suppose some would just opt for whatever is nearest, or of course in many cases have no real choice depending on the journey they require.

It depends on which direction you're coming from, and the M27 can be rammed in peak.
I'm not sure the average LCC passenger really cares about the environment massively.

As for your latter point - I do sometimes prefer a larger port with proper facilities like you say, but it depends on the price difference and a lot of the better connected airports take the piss on pricing of certain utilities e.g. fast track security can be a necessity at certain times of day in Manchester Airport and it's extortionate there.

 

[WestCoast]

Are there any examples of the opposite case, so when flying from an airport makes public transport cheaper?

The main one I can think of is that Prestwick actually gives a 50 percent discount on rail tickets from anywhere in Scotland when a flight reservation is shown. It is substantially cheaper to get to Prestwick Airport on the train from the centre of Glasgow than it is to get the 500 airport express bus to Glasgow Airport.

Train - Glasgow Prestwick Airport

Situated on the Glasgow Central to Ayr railway line, Glasgow Prestwick Airport is served by its own railway stationRead more...

www.glasgowprestwick.com

Unfortunately, the Prestwick offer is most likely of limited use these days as there are no early morning trains which get you there in time for the first departures and the airport schedule is far less with only a half dozen routes to holiday resorts nowadays.

 

[GoneSouth]

In my experience in mainland Europe, the “punitively priced” service (be it train or bus) is an “extra” dedicated shuttle (like the Gatwick Express in its initial form), whereas “normal” services attract no premium.

Oh don’t, everything annoys me at Gatwick (although the new rail station extension is a big improvement). The pick up/drop off charge for people using trains but not using the airport is irritating. The Gatwick Express surcharge for the 1 minute faster journey is absurd!

Given the bad publicity surrounding climate change/carbon emissions from flying, you’d think the airports might take the opportunity for a spot of Green Washing by publicising more environmentally friendly routes to the airport and then NOT surcharging those passengers for doing the right thing by using trains/buses/trams.

 

[route101]

They've changed this over the years, when the 35 ran to the airport there was a supplement which they even took away briefly so you could pay normal fares to the airport at one point IIRC.

Personally I don't mind the airport supplement/price of a return ticket as I have had the convenience of the 400 running directly to the airport for the past few years otherwise I will just have my bus pass topped up.

Thinking of English examples the 199 to Manchester Airport also seemed really good value a few years ago, something like £7.30 open return from Whaley Bridge IIRC.

Yes I remember paying normal Lothian fare on the 35 out to the airport.

Isn't there still a token More Bus route which serves the airport with something like 2 buses to the airport early morning and 3 buses away from the airport in the afternoon (buses run empty on the other flows).

Didn't Bournemouth once try and rip up the pavement giving access for the airport, placing things in the way to try and prevent people from wanting into the airport?

Yes, the 737 service which only runs Monday to Friday. I flew out of BOH on a Saturday and had to get a taxi out to airport. The taxi driver dropped me off on the main road to avoid the drop off charge. It wasn't a long walk to the airport. I do find it strange that smaller and quieter airports have these charges.

 

[island]

I do find it strange that smaller and quieter airports have these charges.

I don’t think it’s anything to do with size or busyness, it’s just airports trying to extract every last penny from people.

 

[Kite159]

I don’t think it’s anything to do with size or busyness, it’s just airports trying to extract every last penny from people.

And in the case of Bournemouth to recover the money spent on upgrading the airport terminal as before the works they used to give you 30 minutes free parking (going back a few years now)

 

[stadler]

Although all journeys between Heathrow and Zone 1 or passing through Zone 1 are charged the peak fare all the time, but that's a TfL thing.


That's what he said...


The access fee for transferring terminals is only $4.50 (so the total fare would be $7.30 or $8.50 depending on the time you entered). There are often 8 tph, but not evenly spread out.

The access fee is also lower if taking the train between the Airport stations and Mascot or Green Square.

The free bus is 4bph. There is also a paid bus which is $3.20 or $2.24 depending on boarding time, up to 4bph but not always reliable.


Melbourne Airport is served mainly by premium buses, for $22 single/$36 two-journey to the city centre. It is possible to use local public transport, but extremely inconvenient except to a minority of destinations. It seems that public transport is capped at $10 per day to anywhere in Victoria.

Brisbane Airport has a premium fare for its train service, about $35 return, but slightly cheaper online which gives you a PDF with barcode that gets scanned at the airport, but you must show manually to enter/exit at a barriered station. There is no local public transport at the airport but there is a free airport-operated bus to a nearby shopping centre which is served by a local bus. The only way to pay for the bus is by local smartcard, which has to be purchased at the airport. Therefore, you must pay the amount of the premium train fare even if you are not going to use the train. Fortunately, the card and deposit is fully refundable (you can buy with cash or card, but only refund to card).

Perth Airport was previously mainly served by local buses at the regular fare, but for a city which has become hostile to cash, the only way for a visitor to pay was by cash with no change. That was not too difficult when the fare was $5, but then they increased it to $5.10. Last year, a new airport train service commenced, though only to one of the two terminal complexes (there have been talks about closing the other complex at some point). It now appears to be possible to buy the local smartcard at the airport, I am not sure what other ticket options are offered for the train.

In New Zealand, Christchurch Airport is served mainly by many local buses, but it is not possible to buy the local smartcard at the airport so you must pay $4 by cash only (change given) for a 2 hour ticket. With the smartcard, it's $4 for a day ticket. Personal registration is mandatory for the smartcard, which also expires after 3 years of non-use, so anyone visiting less frequently would need to do this every time.

In regards to Christchurch Airport up until 2022 all of the local buses charged an extortionate cash fare of NZD8.50 Single or NZD15.00 Return for any journey where you boarded or alighted at the airport. But yet you could walk to or from the first bus stop outside of the airport which is only about a three or four minute walk from the terminal and pay the standard cash fare of only NZD4.00 for your journey. But those using a Metro Card only paid the ordinary NZD2.00 even if they travelled to or from the airport. So the surcharge only applied to cash users. Thankfully in 2022 they got rid of this and all journeys to and from the airport charge ordinary NZD4.00 cash or NZD2.00 Metro Card fares now.

However at Queenstown Airport they still use this practice. Any journey on the local Queenstown bus network costs NZD4.00 cash or NZD2.00 Bee Card fares. This includes if you walk five minutes to or from the first stop outside of the airport. But for any bus journey boarding or alighting at the airport you pay NZD10.00 cash or NZD2.00 Bee Card fares. So only those with cash are given an extortionate surcharge for using the bus to or from the airport. Unfortunately unlike Christchurch they have not gotten rid of this practice.

 

[johncrossley]

To get to the Premier Inn or Holiday Inn Express at Stansted, instead of paying for the £4 shuttle bus, you can walk to the Mid Stay car park and get the free bus.

 

[route101]

To get to the Premier Inn or Holiday Inn Express at Stansted, instead of paying for the £4 shuttle bus, you can walk to the Mid Stay car park and get the free bus.

How often are the free buses?

 

[johncrossley]

How often are the free buses?

Official Mid Stay Parking | London Stansted Airport

Official Mid Stay parking at London Stansted Airport. Safe, secure and close to the terminal. Free cancellation. Book your airport parking online today!

www.stanstedairport.com

doesn't say.

Stansted Mid Stay Parking - Formerly E Parking Stansted

Stansted Mid-Stay parking is the closest airport car park to the terminal building. Book your space with BCP today for the best in value and convenience.

www.parkbcp.co.uk

says "every 10 minutes"

Transfers run every 10 minutes, 24 hours a day. The bus takes just a few minutes to cover the short distance to the terminal.