BlueIndy cars to land at airport

The BlueIndy electric car-sharing service will have space for 20 electric vehicles at Indianapolis International Airport, four times as much as its standard stations.

The electric plug-ins will be on the fifth floor of the parking garage, across from the terminal. Traditional rental cars are parked on the first floor of the garage.

Airport officials said BlueIndy also will pay airport fees, just as Enterprise, Hertz and other rental companies do.

The city and BlueIndy will formally roll out its $50 million program at a Downtown ceremony Wednesday. Twenty-five stations will immediately open, but BlueIndy eventually plans to provide 500 cars at 200 charging/parking stations across the city. All of the other stations will provide spaces for five cars.

Airport executive director Mario Rodriguez hailed the addition of BlueIndy as a convenient transportation choice for airport travelers.

“This exciting partnership with BlueIndy will allow us to provide a new transportation option to our customers, while doing so in a sustainable and economical way,” Rodriguez said in a prepared statement.

The BlueIndy proposal has not moved forward without controversy. Earlier this month, the City-County Council backed off on an unusual threat to tow five BlueIndy demo vehicles from a Downtown site. The council also says the BlueIndy funding proposal was never properly vetted and allege it has been rolled out in violation of city procedures, a charge the mayor’s office denies.

In April, Uber and Lyft also began serving the airport. The app-based, ride-sharing companies pay a fee to the airport just as taxis do.

The BlueIndy cars allow renters to check them out at a kiosk with a credit card and driver’s license.

For those with a $120 yearly membership, the cost for a BlueIndy vehicle is $4 for every 20 minutes. The airport also charges $6 per rental, so a 20-minute trip Downtown would cost $10 and a 25-minute trip, $12. The car needs to be locked up to a charging station for the meter to stop running, but the parking is free.

There is no airport assessment for driving up and locking a BlueIndy vehicle there, so a 20-minute drive from Downtown to the airport would only cost $4.

However, a single trip in a taxi from the airport to Downtown, or vice versa, costs $30 to $35.

Customers also can buy daily, weekly or monthly memberships to BlueIndy, but the rates per rental would be higher than if they had an annual membership.

“It is really good for trips to the airport,” said Hervé Muller, BlueIndy president. “When we were out talking to people in the community, they often mentioned how much cheaper transportation to the airport was needed.”

Muller said depending on the success at the airport, more spaces could be added in the future.

“We are taking that site and others one step at a time,” Muller said.

Sharon Faulkner, executive director of the American Car Rental Association in Long Lake, N.Y., said she was aware of the BlueIndy program, but the association had not taken a position on its placement at the airport.

Representatives of Enterprise Holdings, which owns the Enterprise, National and Alamo car-rental companies, could not be reached for comment.

The Indianapolis Taxicab Operators Association, which has opposed alternative transportation services, including gypsy cabs and Uber, also could not be reached for comment. A spokeswoman for Uber in Chicago said she was not familiar with BlueIndy and could not comment.

The airport BlueIndy stations should be ready in October.

Call Star reporter John Tuohy at (317) 444-6418 and follow him on Twitter @john_tuohy.