After an Uber driver claimed an officer threatened to issue a him ticket at Lubbock’s airport incorrectly, the incident was labeled as a mistake by airport officials.
The driver was dropping a customer off at the airport, when the officer warned he would receive a ticket if he did not leave immediately.
“[The officer] talked to the Uber driver, and told the Uber driver rather bluntly ‘Don’t come back around here or I’m going to give you a ticket,'” said a fellow driver who goes by the name “The Fox.”
“I’m guessing he misunderstood something in his instructions and figured he was going to start ticketing folks that were coming out here as Ubers,” he said.
“It came down from [airport director] Ms. Kelly Campbell that there was no directive to ticket Uber drivers, there was no authority from her office for that officer to be acting that way,” he said.
The discussion about ride-sharing services in Lubbock has not been short-lived.
The Lubbock City Council was in the process of crafting guidelines on how companies like Uber and Lyft should be handled in the city. That topic was discussed at the Mayoral Candidate Forum, which can be viewed by clicking here. A recap of that forum can be accessed by clicking here.
“You just got [sic] to drop them off, get your baggage, and leave,” said David Miller, manager of Budget Rent A Car near the airport.
“I believe that Uber has caused a lot of congestion up at the airport as far as customers parking up there and you can’t get in to pick up your people. And it’s caused traffic to not flow properly. That’s the reason I believe the airport has done what they’ve done up there,” said Miller, who has managed that Budget location for 15 years.
Miller said public safety is paramount.
“You never know where ISIS will attack,” he explained.
Campbell declined an interview request but said the conflict between the officer and the driver had been resolved.
“One of our officers instructed an Uber driver incorrectly,” Campbell said.
“If City Council chooses to address this issue then we’ll deal with it,” Campbell added.
“The Fox” said he hoped for better communication.
“Somewhere there was a breakdown in that communication,” he said. “All I’d ask is better communication, better communication of what the current policies are even though everything’s changing.”
