Passengers arriving at Los Angeles International Airport will have to take a shuttle to catch their Uber, Lyft or taxi beginning later this month.
According to the Los Angeles Times, curbside pickup will end on October 29. From then on travelers will be required to hop aboard a shuttle to a designated parking lot next to Terminal 1. The change will not affect dropoffs at LAX.
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The move is aimed at easing congestion at the airport, which is the nation’s second-busiest by total passenger boardings. New routes and airlines/inside-laxs-14-billion-makeover.html” target=”_self” rel=”nofollow noopener noreferrer”>ongoing construction as part of a $14 billion overhaul have contributed to the headaches.
“We understand that trying to get into the central terminal area is a challenge and has been for a long time, and we’ve been working to make that much better,” Keith Wilschetz, deputy executive director of the Operations and Emergency Management Division at Los Angeles World Airports, told The Times. “This is a way we can do that.”
Passengers can expect to wait approximately three to five minutes for the shuttle, with the trip to the ride-hailing parking lot taking about 15 minutes. Arriving travelers can also walk to the lot if they choose.
Naturally, the news was met by plenty of complaints and jeers on social media.
LAX will no longer allow ride share pick ups. They say there will br shuttle areas within walking distance of airport. But what about folks with accessibility issues? Airports are already a nightmare and now this? I’m so tired.
— Yesika Salgado (@YesikaStarr) October 4, 2019
The better #LAX solution is what they do at Vegas airport. Passengers cross to the parking lot where the Ubers swoop in and out. No one is gonna go for this shuttle bs, they’d rather leave the car at parking lot C. https://t.co/sZ41EbktNJ
— Jeff Maysh (@jeffmaysh) October 4, 2019
The change at LAX follows similar efforts at San Francisco International Airport and other airports where passengers are directed to a central garage for pickup.
