Boraxo

Now I'll be the first to admit that traffic is horrendous on century blvd and around the airport loop, but I'm not sure if this is the right solution. If they run the shuttles too infrequently people will simply hire cabs and they will end up with even more polluting vehicles.

LOS ANGELES, CA, December 04, 2006. The Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners today adopted policies to require hotel courtesy shuttles serving Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to reduce the number of shuttle vehicles and trips they make to the airport.

Officials of Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), the City department that owns and operates LAX and three other Southern California airports, said improvements in air quality and traffic congestion can be achieved by mandatory reduction in the number of hotel shuttle trips and by conversion of new or replacement shuttle buses to alternative fuel.

The new program calls for the reduction of the permitted number of trips made by hotel courtesy shuttles in two stages, using the number of trips in 2004 as a benchmark. By May 2007, the number of trips will have to be cut by 15 percent of their 2004 total. By January 2008, trips will have to be cut by 35 percent of the 2004 total. Penalties per trip will be assessed on each trip where the hotel fails to meet the required reduced percentage.

Additionally, courtesy shuttles serving the hotels must convert to alternative-fuel vehicles. Hotels are allowed to sign contracts with consolidators who provide shuttle service to patrons of more than one hotel.

Officials expect 39 of the 46 hotels in the LAX area will be affected by the program. The remaining seven hotels operate less than the minimum of 1,000 annual trips and are exempt from the program's mandatory consolidation and penalties. These smaller hotels still will pay a standard fee per trip unless they reduce their trips by 35 percent and convert to alternative-fuel vehicles.

LAWA is requiring the mandatory program and setting penalties for non-compliance to ensure participating hotels are not at a competitive disadvantage. Hotel patrons using the consolidated courtesy shuttle service do not change vehicles or transfer luggage.

The action followed a successful voluntary effort begun last April, where nine of 46 airport-area hotels consolidated their courtesy shuttle operations by using a single company that transported guests between LAX and two or three hotels on fixed routes. These nine hotels account for 50 percent of the 600,000 annual vehicle trips between LAX and airport-area hotels, primarily along Century and Sepulveda Boulevards. Their voluntary participation cut the number of shuttle trips to and from LAX by 55 percent, well above the program's requirement of 35 percent.

The mandatory hotel shuttle consolidation program implements a provision of the Community Benefits Agreement approved by the Board of Airport Commissioners on Dec. 6, 2004, as part of the LAX Master Plan Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program. The agreement mandates that 50 percent of all operator fleets must be converted to alternative fuel within five years and 100 percent within 10 years.

dbuckho

Depends on how they do the shared shuttles to the ones that have not already consolidated. I wait at the same red zone stops for parking shuttles once a week -- I usually see the shared blue busses a few times before my shuttle gets there. It may just be you are on the bus longer because it stops at more hotels vs. waiting longer (hopefully your hotel will be first!).

yvrguy

My last trip to LAX required me to wait two cycles for a shuttle with space. I was staying at the 4 Points (cough, never again). I believe they were sharing shuttles with the LAX Hilton...I was tired and wanted to get to my room. If they want to reduce traffic..how about starting with the "Wally" shuttles.

Craig6z

Oh don't pick on my WallyPark . Their pick-up service is great!

Actually I am surprised that the City let the parking firms continue in the old manner, although logistically the parking lots are more scattered than the hotels along Century Blvd.

Non-NonRev

Better lobbyists, maybe?

MIKEM

Let's remeber that the new mayor scrapped plans to update LAX. Maybe the old plan was flawed; but nothing new?

The reason the car lot buses are not part of the plan is becuase LA makes a fortune on writing tickets in the public lots.

mbstone

I could not believe this until I actually read it. No public comment or public hearings. Fortunately this latest gem of inanity from LAWA is subject to LA City Council approval. If you don't want to have to wait forever to get to your hotel, write to the Mayor or your city councilperson if you live in the city.

Boraxo

I don't think it would be a bad idea if the plan was to have 4 hotels on the same block share shuttles. They could then double frequency and still have 1/2 as much traffic. Might even work better since more time is spent to/from LAX and stopping at each of the terminals than at the hotels. But I'm sure each hotel wants its own shuttle making it difficult to achieve cooperation, so I bet the only ones that currently share have similar affiliation, i.e. IC, SPG, etc.

Of course, if the boneheads that manage LAX reduce each hotel to one shuttle per hour, then they may have to reconsider...

There are also potential traffic lane improvements, timed lights, etc. but that would require some serious thought rather than just issuing an edict.

IceTrojan

Idiots. The lot of them.