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Uber and Lyft today launched a new feature at the Portland International Airport aimed at speeding up pickup times. Portland is the first U.S. airport to try out the pickup system.
The system models first-come-first-serve airport taxi pickups. Rather than order an Uber or Lyft and try to connect with the right car, users now wait in line at a designated area and are assigned an in-app PIN that they give to the first available driver.
Uber and Lyft both announced the new feature on company blogs today, TechCrunch first reported.
"Starting now, when you request a standard Lyft ride from PDX," Lyft wrote, "expect less confusion for both you and your Lyft driver."
While Portland is the first U.S. airport with the system, Uber tested the feature in Bangalore, India last year.
The announcement comes less than a week after an international Uber strike, where drivers protested low wages following the company's move to become a publicly traded company. Data show that in Portland—following the #deleteUber campaign and the company's attempt to evade city regulators in 2014—Lyft is more popular than its competitor.
Related: Uber Commands the National Ride-Sharing Market. But Lyft Rules Portland.
A spokesperson for Uber could not immediately be reached for comment on why Portland was selected as the first pilot city. The company wrote in its blog that the PIN matching will be tested here "over the next several months."
"We see enormous potential for this solution to make a positive impact at airports, but we also know from previous testing that not every venue is a fit," it wrote. "At some locations, it's far more efficient to retain existing pickup models due to capacity constraints and curb space availability."