I landed at LAX after a flight from LHR at 6:15pm on Tuesday, October 29. I must have just missed a shuttle, because only 2 other people were waiting. I waited 15 minutes at T-7 for a shuttle. Two completely full shuttles passed by. Meanwhile, a crowd had gathered. There was no organized queuing system, so the people waiting the longest had no advantage when the next shuttle arrived. The only solution offered by the employee manning the stop was to walk to the lot.
Finally, a minivan marked for LAX-it stopped. It was half full. Luckily, I was able to get on it by reacting quickly. Only about 10 of the waiting people were able to board.
I was only going about 6 miles, so I got into the taxi queue. I waited about 10 minutes. The line was long, but it moved quickly and efficiently.
I cannot even imagine what this will be like in the blazing sun or pouring rain. The umbrellas on the side are useless. They are not positioned in the areas where people queue. And they are simply deck umbrellas. One woman with a lot of luggage and using a cane was just dumped in the taxi queue and left to fend for herself. Everyone was complaining.
The traffic pattern to exit the lot was a disaster. Coming out of T-7, you shoot right out.
Whomever planned and executed this should be fired. This is what it will take to be quasi-acceptable:
Shuttles need to be lined up at every terminal. Fill em up and go. Next one pulls up, etc. The supply must exceed the demand.
There should be plenty of personnel at all locations to assist with luggage.
The lot should be covered throughout its span. Customers should not be exposed to the elements.
Taxis should move back to LAX. Geez, you’re paying that nasty $4 surcharge for a reason, and that surcharge did not go away in this new system. This will enable Uber/Lyft to spread out and make their pickups more efficient.
The traffic patterns need to be fixed if they have not been already. It should be a straight shot to get onto Sepulveda North. We had to go all the way around.
I didn’t experience the Uber or Lyft areas, so I cannot comment on those.
No amount of improvement will make the process faster than simply hopping into a hired ride and slogging through the terminals.
