(The Center Square) – An increase in fees for thousands of ride shares, black cars and limos at LAX was approved Tuesday afternoon.
Transportation network companies like Uber and Lyft currently pay $4 in pickup and drop-off fees at Los Angeles International Airport. Transportation charter parties such as limousines and black cars pay $5.
These fees will increase to $6 for all of the vehicles when Skylink becomes operational. The $6 fee will be the pickup/drop-off fee at Skylink curbs at the airport. Skylink is an elevated train project under construction. It will connect terminals, parking and a rental car facility. According to media reports, Skylink will open this summer.
Meanwhile, future Central Terminal Area fees for pick up and drop off for all private vehicles, carrying passengers who are skipping Skylink and going directly to their terminal, will be $12 once Skylink is operational.
The Board of Airport Commissioners governs Los Angeles World Airports and approved the fee increases Tuesday in a 7-0 vote. The decision came despite the public opposition during the meeting from several ride-share drivers, who said costs could be passed on to customers.
“Airports are among the most complex transportation hubs in the world, and nowhere is that complexity more visible than in LAX’s own central terminal area,” David Reich, LAWA’s deputy executive director for mobile strategy told the board. “Every day 80,000 to 100,000 private vehicles, ride-share trips, taxis, shuttles, and buses compete for limited curb space designed decades ago for a very different travel environment.”
Reich added that concentrating all this activity in a single two-level terminal loop is no longer sustainable.
“The reason we built the Skylink and associated infrastructure was to solve this problem, but we need corresponding policies to take full advantage of those assets,” said Reich.
He explained that has been the vision since improvements were started for ground travel to and from the airport. "And this is the same vision we've shared in monthly meetings and site visits with ride-share companies, taxis, community groups, courtesy shuttle operators, taxis and scheduled service operations.”
By distributing traffic across multiple locations rather than funneling it into the Central Terminal Area, Reich said LAWA can reduce gridlock, improve safety and give passengers better options on how to get to LAX.
“These policies are not about limiting access. They're about organizing access so that the system works better for everyone,” said Reich. “We're balancing demand across the network, and that will result in the smoother flow of traffic, faster curb turnover, a more reliable journey for our employees and our guests.”
The changes are intended to help reduce terminal congestion and support Skylink.
In its report ahead of Tuesday’s vote, LAWA said commercial for-hire vehicles (FHVs) are private businesses that access the airport market to generate revenue.
“For many years, airports including LAX have required these operators to obtain permits and operating agreements, as well as pay access fees to conduct business at the airport,” said the LAWA report. “The fees LAWA charges to FHVs have not changed in ten years and no longer reflect the value of the airport market, especially given the multi-billion-dollar investments in LAX.”
LAWA added that “LAX is the busiest origin-and-destination airport in the world, but its fees are significantly lower than those of its domestic peers.”
Not everyone who attended Tuesday’s meeting was a fan of the fee increases. Ride-share drivers expressed concern that fees will be passed on to ride-share customers and could reduce the number of people using ride-shares.
Driver Margarita Penalosa told the board that she's had to take on more passengers to afford Los Angeles' high cost of living.
“I already take on the cost of maintaining my vehicles,” said Penelosa. “Please find a way to make sure that drivers like myself can continue providing rides to and from LAX without taking a hit on our pockets.”
BOAC members said they think companies could just absorb the fees and don't need to pass on the costs to customers.
Meanwhile, BOAC President Matthew Johnson sought to clear the air on whether travelers already pay for things through tax dollars.
“There are no tax dollars used to run or operate the airport,” said Johnson. “The only money that’s used to run and operate the airport are revenues that are generated by and at the airport.”
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