If you're planning to fly to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) after October 29, you will need to be aware that it has announced changes to how passengers access taxis and rideshares.
To help ease congestion at the airport, curbside pickups at terminals by ride-sharing apps like Uber and Lyft will soon be banned as will pickups by taxis. Instead travellers will be taken by shuttle bus to a parking lot next to Terminal 1 via a dedicated lane, where they can book a ride or pick up the taxi or ride-share they pre-booked.
It is planned that the shuttle buses will arrive every three to five minutes during peak hours, and the pick-up lot will include facilities like food trucks and bathrooms. The lot is said to be a twenty-minute walk or less from any terminal for those who fancy the walk. The idea behind the changes is to ease congestion, because LAX is the fourth-biggest airport by passenger count in the world, with 87.5m people passing through it in 2018.
While some people may feel that the new arrangement is an extra hassle after being on a flight, LAX management believes that the new system will make it quicker for passengers to depart the airport. They say that under the current system, it can take up to an hour to get out at times due to congestion. And on a positive note, rideshares and taxis will still be allowed to drop off passengers at terminals.
