ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Officials at Orlando International Airport want to spend nearly $1 million on a plan partially aimed at avoiding more tram delay troubles.
Several times last spring, Channel 9's Field Sutton reported how trams broke down, stranding flyers for hours and forcing the airport to pay for missed flights involving American, United and Spirit.
Airport officials will vote Tuesday on a plan to dedicate more bus drivers to the fleet that transports passengers when one of the trams breaks down. They’d be on standby around the clock and, crucially, in place in time for a November cutover which will see a single, new tram on the tracks to the gates serving JetBlue, Frontier and others through spring of 2018.
It was at that point during a previous tram replacement project that the new tram broke down and caused delays.
Having drivers on constant standby is a change from plans in place during previous tram construction involving parking shuttle drivers who had to get called in during a breakdown situation, show up, go through security and then start moving people to the gates.
But the drivers will not prevent the unavoidable daily delays during peak times resulting from having half the usual tram capacity available while tracks are rehabilitated.
“I flew in here on Friday and I had to wait for quite a while for that tram,” said traveler Gary Winthorpe.
Ultimately, money for the bus drivers is supposed to save OIA from paying for another round of missed flights. Part of the approximately $1 million proposed would go to expanding shuttle service to the airport’s remote parking lots, which have seen a 20% increase in traffic since 2015.
The airport is undergoing a multi-million dollar reconstruction project. By Mach 2018, the north terminal ticket lobbies will have been expanded and renovated, carpet will be replaced with terrazzo, and checked baggage systems will be overhauled. A new train station south of the airport has been added and an accompanying parking garage are about to go into service.
Construction to the airport’s new south terminal is underway, adding 16 new gates to the airport around 2020.
Cox Media Group
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