San Francisco Airport received a patent for a mobile application that helps track ground transportation services such as Uber. Credit: Priscilla Du Preez.

San Francisco International Airport (SFO) in the US has received a patent for a mobile application that can track ground transportation such as Uber and Lyft.

The patent #10,535,021 was issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office to SFO. It can track fitted vehicles that operate inside a GPS ‘geo-fence’ area.

The app is expected to be used for roadway planning and billing verification, along with ensuring that the airport roadway rules and regulations are enforced.

Airport director Ivar C Satero said: “We take pride in being an airport of innovation, and earning our first US patent reinforces our position as an industry leader.

“We also believe in sharing best practices, and we are pleased that so many other airports have found this system to be a valuable tool for managing their own operations. My thanks go out to the entire SFO team who made this milestone achievement possible.”

Through the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE), the airport announced the system licensing to ensure it would be used by other airports in the country.

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To date, 24 US airports monitor and manage Uber and Lyft operations using the system.

In January, SFO confirmed plans to improve and expand the security screening checkpoints at its Mayor Edwin M Lee International Departures Hall.

In December, Telos Identity Management Solutions (Telos ID) received a contract from the City and County of San Francisco to provide designated aviation channelling (DAC) services to process worker background checks at SFO.