Palm Springs airport commission reviews EV charger rollout, escalator closure and taxi dispatch update

Palm Springs International Airport has finished installing 80 electric vehicle chargers in parking Lot B, a project staff said will make it the third-largest airport EV charging array in Southern California behind Los Angeles International and San Diego International airports.

The chargers will open to the public once final testing and commissioning are complete, staff told the Airport Commission at its last meeting before an August break. Drivers will pay for electricity used plus a $1 flat fee per session through the ChargePoint app, with an estimated cost of $10 to $20 per use, or as much as $30 during peak hours between 5 and 9 p.m. Standard parking rates of $26 a day apply in addition to charging costs.

Staff said they are still determining how many of the spaces to dedicate to EV charging, with plans to monitor usage daily and adjust as needed. Signs will designate the spaces for EV charging only, which staff said allows for citations under California law, though other Southern California airports with EV chargers typically do not enforce those violations.

The commission also discussed the coming closure of escalators at the Bono courtyard, with mobilization on the replacement project expected earlier this month.

Both escalators will be down during construction, though elevators and stairways will remain open. Signage went up ahead of the closure, and the project remains on schedule for completion in September. Commissioners asked staff to monitor the performance of customer service staff stationed near the closure after receiving feedback that some had not been actively assisting travelers.

A new remote taxi dispatch system has also gone live at the airport, allowing drivers to join the pickup queue from anywhere in the valley instead of waiting on airport grounds. An airport operations manager said the system has run smoothly so far and can be adjusted as passenger demand increases.

Design work is complete on a restroom expansion that would increase capacity from 34 to 43 stalls between the Bono terminal and the courtyard, but the roughly $8.7 million project remains unfunded after the airport did not receive a competitive Federal Aviation Administration grant it sought last year.

Staff said they continue to pursue other FAA and state grant opportunities, and one commissioner suggested the airport explore short-term funding options to keep the project moving while long-term funding is secured.

In other news:

• Noise complaints dropped 82% in the second quarter, from 306 in the first quarter to 55, with staff attributing the decline in part to seasonal population shifts. More than 90% of complaints involved commercial flights rather than general aviation, military or helicopter traffic. Two commissioners were added to the panel’s noise committee, including one representing Riverside County, to address concerns tied to ongoing FAA discussions in the Indio area.
• On finances, staff reported passenger facility charge revenue running about 2% below budget, tied to changes in how many flight legs travelers are booking. Revenue in the airport’s operations and maintenance fund is running 8% above budget, driven partly by new food and beverage concessions and parking rate increases approved by the Palm Springs City Council, including a daily parking rate that rose from $20 to $26.

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