Curb appeal: Houston Airports slashes traffic, streamlines Uber and Lyft pickups

For most travelers, the airport experience begins in a car, often in traffic, inching toward a terminal under stress and a deadline. In Houston, that narrative quietly changed this summer. Without the fanfare of a ribbon-cutting or a press conference, George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) pulled off a rare feat in modern airport management: a 75% drop in curbside congestion from April to June when compared to the same time last year. It wasn’t magic. It was infrastructure. Houston Airports opened permanent Terminal E Departures and Arrivals curbs in late 2024.

Freshly painted columns and 4,500 square feet of anti-slip epoxy along the Departures Curb now welcome passengers to Terminal A, Bush Airport's oldest terminal. A vestibule with two rows of sliding glass doors insulates the Terminal A Ticketing Lobby and provides airport guests another layer of safety and protection.

These subtle, smart improvements are not limited to Bush Airport. At William P. Hobby Airport (HOU), a new ride share pickup area within Zone 5 now gives Uber and Lyft passengers a more intuitive, shaded, organized space. The areas also feature comfortable benches.

At the same time, Houston Airports completed the full rollout of a new cashless parking system at IAH’s A/B Garage, marking the final milestone in a system-wide upgrade across all Houston Airports parking facilities at IAH and HOU. The new system simplifies the parking experience with faster entry and exit and more digital payment options.

The public noticed. In April, satisfaction with the A/B Garage hit a low of -20 as exit lanes were temporarily closed while the technology was installed. Two months later, in June, satisfaction rates jumped to +47, a 67-point upswing in traveler sentiment.

Behind the scenes, 36 new ecopark shuttles were deployed, and rental car shuttle operations were restructured to match peak passenger times.

RELATED | More rides, better experience: Upgrades to shuttle service and infrastructure at IAH

These changes reflect a larger philosophy for Houston Airports: that world-class infrastructure isn’t always shiny or loud. Sometimes it’s the paint on a column, the texture of the pavement or a sign that finally points to the right place.