Everyone is writing about the Olympics, and I’m going to write about Sheremetyevo. Letters have already started coming in from disgruntled citizens: so, Alexei, you got everything started and still haven’t actually finished anything. So here’s a brief progress report. The full backstory is available under the "Sheremetyevo" tag. So. There have been several meetings with the management of Sheremetyevo International Airport (SVO). To their credit, they did not take the path I had expected—bureaucratic stalling (send us a formal request, and we’ll provide the information within a month, if we get approval). At every meeting, the airport director, his deputies in the relevant areas, and the appropriate specialists were present. All necessary information has been provided immediately. Physical access has been granted everywhere, with understandable restrictions: customs, border control, security. We agreed that the focus of our efforts within this project would be: the transport situation at SVO and in the surrounding area; the problem of wayfinding at SVO and in the surrounding area (not air navigation, of course, but navigation in the sense of “how do I find the restroom?” and “how do I figure out how Terminal D differs from Sheremetyevo-2?”); taxi operations at SVO. At my suggestion, the guys from the organization "Moscow Center for Traffic Jam Relief" joined the effort, and many thanks to them—they’re doing everything at this stage free of charge, for the sake of the idea. I spent a long time thinking about bringing in some international consultants specializing in transport logistics for airports, shopping centers, and the like. But first, there is an obvious obstacle: money. SVO could, of course, pay for all of this, but that would take time. And second, it turned out that consultants of this kind had already worked at Sheremetyevo, and as we can see, their efforts were not a success. Most likely because in Russia, the law and the way it is applied are two very different things. Be that as it may, that issue is not closed, although in my opinion the guys from the Traffic Jam Relief Center are working very professionally and, most importantly, with great enthusiasm. So then. Current results: 1. Transport. The Traffic Jam Relief Center was given two weeks and full carte blanche to analyze the situation, prepare preliminary calculations, and present proposals—a minimum plan and a maximum plan. The resulting analytical memo is presented here for everyone to review. In short: the calculated parking-space deficit is 800 spots (interestingly, even this basic data did not exist before). The planned opening of Terminal E in the near future will worsen the transport situation. The proposals include quick, low-cost measures to reorganize traffic, as well as a more complicated move that would fundamentally change everything: converting the area where passenger boarding bridge No. 21 is located into space for parking, pick-up, and drop-off. Graphically, it looks like this:
full size Right now, SVO management has taken a short pause to evaluate the proposals, although the initial reaction has been positive across the board. With one exception: turning the site of boarding bridge No. 21 into parking space. They say that if this is done, the traffic jam will simply move to the runway. That may well be true. Although by the end of the month a new terminal will open and new boarding bridges will appear. We are currently calculating what can be done if the bridge remains where it is. I think that in about a week we’ll announce which proposals are being approved. At the same time, SVO is doing its own work: buying tow trucks and hiring 50 parking attendants (working in three shifts). They are also assessing the possibility of setting up a park-and-ride lot on the approach to the airport. 2. Wayfinding at SVO. I proposed something very simple that, it seems to me, could work: bring in the well-known Artemy Lebedev, tema, to help solve the problem. He would be the one to help everyone figure out how to find the mother-and-child room and which way to go for Terminal F and which way for D—and to make that possible on the first try, without stopping in the middle of the road and scratching your head. Interestingly, the idea was met with enthusiasm by SVO management—they are fed up with complaints on this subject. The complication is that the signage is standardized, but it is possible to combine standard signs with human-friendly ones in a smart way. tema himself said, “the word ‘navigation’ sounds like music to me.” He is ready to work on it. A technical brief is now being prepared. And right away, on the subject of “steering a contract to Lebedev”: I don’t know AT personally at all; I’ve spoken to him on the phone once. His work is widely known, including in the area of navigation/signage. In any case, this will be a public and transparent tender, not simply handing him the job. 3. Taxis. This is the most scandal-prone part of the work. In a month, the contract term for SVO’s official taxis expires, and there will be a new tender. It has been decided to conduct it in a model, exemplary fashion. I’ve even been included on the tender commission. What’s more, after a mild argument with Sheremetyevo’s lawyers, mm_vasilenko agreed that commercial secrecy will not apply at all to contractual relations with taxi companies. This will be a condition of the tender. All amounts, terms, rates, and so on will be disclosed before the tender takes place. As for dealing with the “bombily” (unlicensed gypsy cab drivers), I’ve been asked to propose some kind of document that could regulate their work (so they don’t park wherever they like and get in passengers’ way) without violating antitrust law. If this tentative set of rules—whose authorship is still unclear—gets approval from the FAS (Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service), then SVO will adopt it officially. That’s what I have so far for a brief report. Greetings to everyone.
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