Rides to and from Los Angeles International Airport are set to get more expensive, with the board of the airport voting to increase the fees it charges ride-hailing and taxi services.
Currently, Uber, Lyft and other rideshare companies are charged around $4 per trip, whether that’s a pick-up or drop-off. Under the new proposal, higher fees of $6 will be levied, with up to $12 charged for trips that start or end directly outside the terminals.
The new policy also closes a loophole that gave taxis and limos an advantage. At present, they are both exempt from drop-off fees, with taxis paying $4 for pick-ups and limos $5. The new scheme, however, covers all for-hire commercial vehicles, so they will both face the same charges as rideshare firms.
It’s highly likely that these extra costs will be passed on to passengers. At the majority of airports, fees like this typically appear in fare breakdowns.
The new policy is designed to ease congestion and encourage passengers to use the new automated people mover, called SkyLink, which is slated to launch late 2026.
SkyLink runs along a 2.25-mile-long elevated “guideway” with six stations — three inside the Central Terminal Area and three outside of it.
The system’s four-car sets will serve the airport’s Economy Parking, the Airport Connector station and the Consolidated Rent-A-Car facility.
The 47mph trains can carry 200 people and their baggage and will arrive at stations every two minutes during peak hours, with a total travel time of 10 minutes end to end.
Approximately 30 million passengers per year are anticipated to use SkyLink when it opens, with an estimated result of 117,000 fewer vehicle miles traveled per day.
Some will no doubt feel that SkyLink can't come soon enough.
Travel expert Georgia Fowkes, from Pittsburgh, told The Independent: "Los Angeles International Airport and 'stress-free' don't belong in the same sentence.
"It's old, bloated, always under construction. Nine terminals shaped like a horseshoe, with constant detours and endless people."
Uber, meanwhile, is focused on drawing attention to where the new fee levels have been set, claiming that they will punish both travelers and drivers.
It said that according to its internal modeling, the fee-hike proposal will lead to approximately $1,000 in lost earnings for drivers per quarter and that the cost will “pass directly onto all travelers.”
A spokesperson said: “A $12 pickup fee, besides being the most expensive in the world, also makes LAX an extreme outlier of U.S. airports today — nearly triple the average of $4.24 across major airports and far above today’s highest fee of $6.50.”
A Lyft spokesperson said: "Lyft supports goals to reduce congestion... however, this fee was publicly introduced and passed on the same day and should have included the voices of rideshare drivers and riders from the beginning.
“We remain focused on keeping rideshare accessible and affordable for Angelenos and protecting earning opportunities for drivers. We'll continue advocating for riders and drivers as this process moves toward implementation."
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