IF you haven’t been down to LAX recently you’re in for a surprise. And not a good one.
Two weeks ago I took an Uber to LAX. It was the first day that changes had been implemented there for drop off/pick up regarding taxis and ride share services.
Over the past couple of years travelers to Los Angeles via its major international airport could count on getting picked up by ride share services like Lyft and Uber, as well as taxis. And even after the airport made the switch to only allow pickups at the departures level at specific points – by blocking off the inside lanes in the arrivals level – it was rarely a hassle except on horrible traffic days. Now, ride shares are banned from curbside pickup and must go to a separate pick up location.
I first noticed how simple it was. We literally breezed up the ramp and was greeted with…absolutely no traffic. No bottlenecking, no honking. Well this certainly worked. Or so I thought.
Once on my United flight I could see the chaos building below in arrivals, I was over looking the newly built pick-up area and what looked like mayhem, I immediately dreaded coming back. I stared scanning my twitter feed and as suspected it seemed like the whole world was complaining.
One frequent traveler I know described the ride share pickup situation as a zoo, with some drivers claiming it takes them longer to travel the six blocks from the holding pen to the pickup location than it takes for jets to travel from San Francisco to Los Angeles.
But guess what? As usual the high rollers are not feeling the pain. If you can afford to call for a limo you can still walk out of your terminal like a celebrity, get curbside pickup and be whisked away in comfort. No shuttle or schlep to the pickup corral. No wasted time. No sweat.
Having traveled quite a lot this year l, I have noticed the different systems at other airports and by far Houston International airport is one of the best. They do have offsite Uber and Lyft but taxis are allowed to enter. But they also have a tram system in place to smoothly transport passengers from their terminals.
When the new metro service arrives in LAX it should help alleviate the situation, but we are still a ways off from that. So Christmas and Thanksgiving are sure to be fun. And for those traveling to the airport, take a pro-tip and try to take Century Boulevard, rather than Lincoln or Sepulveda, because where those two roads meet right by the In N Out it can often take 30 minutes to go 200 yards.
When I arrived back I thought it would be much easier to have a friend pick me up curbside (thanks friend) than having to deal with the commotion. He said it took two hours from Sherman Oaks, and the last quarter of a mile it was absolutely chaotic because of the back up of taxis and Ubers. The bottom line: it’s still a long wait, but with the added nightmare of gridlock at the airport entrance.
At the terminal there was another kind of chaos as the commuters were struggling where to go. The signage for Lyft/Uber and taxis was no where to be seen and the bus and shuttle drivers looked just as confused as the rest of us, apparently they have a designated inner lane and passenger pick up is on the outer one now. It took 20 minutes for my friend to arrive….and we then faced a two-hour trip back to Hollywood.
I’m not too sure of what the answer is yet, but this clearly doesn’t seem to be working. I’m looking forward to it being fixed sometime soon, but in the meantime, don’t put your friends through hell to come and pick you up. Consider one of the super shuttles to get you home or if you are feeling flush, order a limo …..or here’s a novel thought, take the bus. And practice your deep breathing!
Craig Young
