Passenger wait time reaches 60 minutes in new 'LAX-it' airport lot
It hasn't even been a week for Los Angeles International Airport's new taxi and ride-hailing pickup lot, "LAX-it," and already things have gone from bad to worse.
Tweets from the program's account show some pretty astronomical wait times since the launch of the initiative. Passengers hoping to jump in a Lyft faced wait times of 60 minutes, while Uber and taxi services were running at 30 minutes and 25 minutes, respectively:
As of Sunday night, things were better, but not certainly not ideal. To grab an Uber, passengers still had a 30-minute wait in front of them, while Lyft had come down to eight minutes, and taxis to 16 minutes.
For someone who's just flown a long trans-con flight or has significant traffic to sit in on the way to their destination in L.A. an extra 30 minutes is a killer.
If you don't feel like waiting around, you have options. Black car services like GroundLink continue to pick passengers up from the terminal curb front. According to GroundLink's site, passengers will be picked up at the Lower Level Outer Commercial Island at LAX, which is one crosswalk over from the original curbside location. The company also created and launched new airport pickup instructions via SMS text message to "ensure a smooth transition to the new LAX curbside pickup requirements." Before receiving pickup instructions, passengers will be connected with their driver. Passengers can also order an Uber Black or Uber Black SUV for curbside pickup at the outer island curb on the arrivals level.
LAX shuttle buses, including those to the LAX-it lot and regional services like the FlyAway, are also available, as reported by TPG's Edward Russell. The buses, in addition to the new dedicated lanes at the airport, can drive in the network of carpool and toll lanes on the Los Angeles area's freeways, bypassing traffic in many places.
For the unfamiliar, the new LAX-it lot is a dedicated pickup space adjacent to Terminal 1 at the LAX airport. Passengers have the choice between taking a dedicated shuttle bus from the arrivals level of each terminal, or walking to the new lot to catch their rides.
LAX-it is only planned as a temporary solution to reducing congestion in front of the terminals at LAX. The airport will re-evaluate where it locates taxi and ride-hailing pick ups once the under-construction automated people mover — which will stop in front of the terminals as well as at a new transportation center and Metro station — opens in 2023.
For those destined to end up in the LAX-it, follow @flyLAXairport on Twitter for real time updates. LAX-it also recommends requesting your ride while on the shuttle to the lot for a quicker experience. Also, keep in mind that taxis and ride-hailing services continue to drop departing passengers off in front of their respective terminal.
Stay tuned for our full LAX-it report this week. In the meantime, check out 18 timesaving travel hacks for Los Angeles International Airport.
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