Logan parking revenue down after tunnel problems

Planes the same, trains way up, and automobiles way down.

That was the latest report from Logan International Airport yesterday, as officials gear up for the fourth week of traffic disruptions since the Interstate 90 tunnel ceiling collapse that killed Milena Del Valle of Jamaica Plain.

Parking business at Logan was down 9 percent this week compared to a year ago, Logan spokesman Phil Orlandella said. ``We actually need to get the word out that there's plenty of parking available at Logan," Orlandella said.

Ridership has increased on every mode of mass transit, including the MBTA Blue and Silver Lines and the three main Logan Express suburban buses, which have been up from 15 to 37 percent depending on route, according to Thomas J. Kinton Jr. , acting chief executive of the Massachusetts Port Authority, which runs Logan.

Although it may take motorists an extra half-hour to get there because of I-90 tunnel closings in coming days, Logan is likely to have hundreds of available spaces.

It's not yet any financial crisis, but the loss of Logan parking revenue could become a problem for Massport. Parking normally represents nearly 20 percent of Massport's total revenue, or more than $250,000 a day.

Massport has seen no indication that airline business has dropped, and ``we have not seen a spike in the number of passengers missing flights" because of traffic delays, Kinton said.

Planes are continuing to take off heavily loaded, with 90 percent of available seats filled yesterday, US Transportation Security Agency figures showed.

``We won't know for sure until the numbers come out next month, but all indications are that passenger volume is probably about the same compared to last year," Orlandella said. ``The same numbers of people seem to be coming. They're just not coming by their own car."

In addition to mass transit options, airport taxi and limousine business appears to be up also, he said.

Another apparent beneficiary of the Logan transportation hassle is LimoLiner, which runs a small fleet of luxury 28-seat motor coaches with amenities like leather seats and wireless Internet access from Boston to New York, with a stop in Framingham.

LimoLiner ridership has jumped 15 percent this month, according to company spokeswoman Kathy Wilson.

Compared to the first 10 days of the month, before the tunnel closings, the company's Web traffic has soared 67 percent, much of it coming from surfers clicking on ads next to stories about Boston traffic and tunnel problems, Wilson said.

Peter J. Howe can be reached at howe@globe.com.