San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has been awarded a patent for a mobile application that tracks application-based ground transportation, such as those operated by Uber and Lyft.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office awarded patent #10,535,021 to SFO for the system, which tracks properly-equipped vehicles operating within a GPS geo-fence area.
The software solution was created in-house by airport officials and is now used for roadway planning, billing verification, and the enforcement of airport roadway rules and regulations.
“We take pride in being an airport of innovation, and earning our first U.S. patent reinforces our position as an industry leader,” says Ivar Satero, SFO director. “We also believe in sharing best practices, and we are pleased that so many other airports have found this system to be a valuable tool for managing their own operations. My thanks go out to the entire SFO team who made this milestone achievement possible.”
In 2015, SFO began licensing the app through the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) and 24 U.S. airports now use the system to manage their own Uber and Lyft operations.
