Los Angeles International Airport plans to ban taxis from boarding passengers near its terminals. Starting October 29, all passengers wishing to leave the airport by taxi (including Uber, Lyft, and similar services) will first have to walk or take a bus to a designated taxi terminal, reports Travel.ru.
The airport explained the need for this measure by citing congestion in the car lanes near its nine terminals and frequent, lengthy traffic jams at the entrances and exits. Los Angeles International Airport, one of the largest in the country, still lacks a metro station, forcing all passengers to travel by road, even though all nine terminals are accessed via the same ring road. The situation will worsen in the coming years, when some of the terminal lanes are closed for renovation. The creation of a taxi terminal will eliminate taxis from the airport's internal traffic lanes, preventing them from using the ring road at the terminals altogether.
The taxi terminal, known as LAX-it, is located near Terminal 1, a couple of minutes' walk away. The walk from nearby Terminals 2, 7, and 8 takes approximately 8 minutes, while from further away it takes 10 to 20 minutes. Alternatively, special shuttle buses will run to LAX-it every 3-5 minutes from all terminals along dedicated lanes, taking 8 to 15 minutes.
The LAX-it taxi terminal will have restrooms, food outlets, and other amenities available. The airport claims that some passengers will even save time by avoiding unnecessary transfers due to reduced congestion. The new policy, which will be implemented on October 29, will remain in effect until at least 2023, when the airport's internal mini-metro is expected to open for connections between terminals and other transportation options. Passengers traveling from the city to the airport are not affected by the new policy—they will still be able to exit taxis on the upper level directly at the terminals.
Source: travel.ru