Los Angeles International Airport officials apologized late Tuesday night for an “unacceptable level of service” after travelers using the new Uber, Lyft and taxi pickup system faced gridlock, packed shuttle buses and long wait times for rides.
Tempers ran high as travelers encountered heavy traffic on the way to the new pickup area and wait times for Uber and Lyft that often exceeded an hour. Some travelers said it took them longer to find a ride home than it did to fly to Los Angeles.
“We really, really apologize for people who got caught in that,” said Michael Christensen, LAX’s deputy executive director of operations and maintenance. The new system began operation Tuesday.
Under the new system, travelers must board a shuttle or walk to the new pickup area east of Terminal 1 to get a taxi or be matched with an Uber or Lyft driver.
The congestion was caused by a number of issues, he said, including a high volume of travelers and confusion on the part of Uber and Lyft drivers who had not used the new pickup system. Some private drivers also accidentally wound up in the lot, causing congestion, he said.
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Uber
and Lyft had some issues, too, Christensen said, including early
problems with efficiently matching riders with drivers. The companies
also activated surge prices, temporarily raising their rates, to address
a shortage of drivers, many of whom work for both companies. Some Uber
drivers switched to Lyft once they were already in the lot, and vice
versa, he said, creating more congestion.
88, a number that represents time
Overnight,
LAX made changes to road striping, signage, traffic routes and
assignments for traffic officers, Christensen said, with more changes
planned later this week.
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The
move was necessary, the airport said, because an increase in passenger
travel and two major construction projects — an overhaul of the aging
airport, and the construction of an airport train — will cause
significant curb and lane closures.
