Originally Posted by
radiowell
I suppose it's better than nothing. I have shown my disgust for LAX O/D travel, and I appreciate them trying anything and any little thing could help.
Having said that, I am not convinced that it will be a dramatic improvement, unless they have a direct train line from the airport proper/terminal to downtown (say). Otherwise, it will probably something like an EWR AirTrain redux, or worse (at least, you can make one transfer to Manhattan at EWR or JFK). If you have luggage, why would you want to make 2 or more transfers?
Or they can just charging the private cars entering/exiting the airport (for those not using the ITF), or something, if they are REALLY serious about the congestion.
Current thinking among city planners is that it's generally not worth the money to build main line rail transit all the way to the airport. Although we air travellers have a bias in that we think transportation to/from the airport is very important, current thinking is that this is really a minor issue that can be handled with a light rail spur. Yes, it is a bit inconvenient for air travellers but by far the transit system should be designed for people going about their daily business -- going to work, shopping, etc. That's by far the larger number of users.
That's why just about all rail transit to airports nowadays is not on the main line, but a spur, with the notable exception of BART to SFO.