BILLINGS— Billings rideshare drivers are asking Billings-Logan International Airport officials for cameras in an airport parking lot after they discovered nails on the ground and in their car tires.
The airport moved rideshare drivers to the viewing area parking lot in March, where multiple drivers have reported seeing nails positioned upright near the entrance.
Watch the report below:
“They're a piece of rubber and some staples. It looks like someone's been throwing them out,” said Uber and Lyft driver Sean Nichols.
“Construction screws are embedded in a piece of, it looks like a tire or something, and spread out here,” said driver Larry Herzog.
Another driver for Uber and Lyft, Kristi Donnot, said nails and screws in the parking lot have punctured three of her tires this year.
“I don't know about the public. I'm sure if we're getting hit by these nails, they are as well,” said Donnot, who showed MTN several screws and nails she collected from the parking lot two months ago.
She and other drivers have expressed concerns for public safety, urging the airport to install cameras and lights in the parking lot.
“At night, you can barely see your hand in front of your face,” said Donnot. “It's so dark. There are no cameras. We've requested cameras. They refuse to put cameras up here.”
Donnot said she met with airport officials in June about these concerns.
“They have just basically said, ‘This is your problem, not ours,’” said Donnot.
Other drivers say cameras could be the solution, helping to identify where these nails and screws are coming from.
“They had agreed to put up video surveillance, but they say they don't have the money to do that now,” said Herzog.
“I just wish they would put cameras up here,” said Nichols. “It would solve a lot of problems.”
The drivers told MTN they suspect the nails and screws could have been placed on purpose.
“I think it's another Uber driver,” said Nichols. “Because the less people that are on the road, the more chance you have of getting all the rides.”
“There's some speculation the other forms of transportation may be doing it,” said Herzog. “But I don't know... I'm not going to accuse anybody of it.”
Airport director of aviation and transit Jeff Roach gave MTN a written statement Wednesday, confirming he had met with Donnot, and the area is being monitored.
“Road hazards exist anywhere vehicles operate, and nothing we have found indicates intentional activity,” Roach said in the written statement to MTN.
MTN showed pictures of the nails to a Billings tire specialist, who said the configuration of the nails looked “malicious” and unusual to find in tires.
Donnot told MTN the airport and rideshare drivers have an unfriendly history.
“There has been, I would say, a hostility between the airport and drivers for quite a while,” she said.
She told MTN she has experienced feeling less favored over taxi service drivers, finding that taxis can stay parked at the airport curb longer.
“We have heard from passengers that the airport police is handing out business cards for Billings Ride Company, which is a taxi service, which I feel is completely inappropriate,” said Donnot.
