Moderator's Note
 

Folks,

This thread is about using rideshare services and taxis when arriving at LAX after the implementation of LAX-it.

While some natural deviation from the subject matter of the thread is perfectly acceptable, please let's keep the focus of the discussion on getting your ride after arriving at LAX.

Suggestions for alternatives to parking at Park One should be discussed in the The Consolidated LAX Parking Thread (2015 - Date) thread.

Thank you for understanding and your anticipated cooperation,

TWA884
Moderator

LAX-it: Curbside pickup with kids & car seats?
 

I live about 12 miles from LAX and fly out pretty regularly, usually American (Terminal 4). Sometimes I am doing it with family (wife, 3 year old, 1 year old). The recent changes to curbside pickup represent a huge headache and I'm trying to see if anybody knows good strategies that I am missing.

First, here were the old strategies:

1. Shuttles: Usually paying per-seat, could install car seats and be on our way. This has started to get expensive, when you get to 3 and soon 4 people paying per-seat.
2. Uber XL/Large Taxi: More recently, I tried Uber XL and it worked well. Most of the cars are mini-vans, so the drivers have kids, can help install a car seat, and are reasonably patient. The rates are competitive, even factoring in that I'm usually tipping at close to 40-50% of the fare for their trouble.

Option B seems totally dead for anyone with young kids. Walking or taking the shuttle to the rideshare lot seems like a bridge too far. Having to move 2 car seats, 1 stroller, 1 large checked bag, carry-ons, and two kids in pretty much any non-enclosed environment is madness. We often just keep the kids in the terminal as long as possible while I shuffle gear to the curb. Plus, with respect to the shuttles, I have to imagine LAX has multiple accidents per day so taking an infant onto the shuttle without any car seat doesn't sound like a great idea, even if it may be legal. Finally, when you get there, you're minding the kids for an indeterminate amount of time in a busy parking lot.

Anyone know better options that are out there?

• What can pick up on the inner curb? Is it just LAX-IT shuttles or are they having other shuttles in there too?
• Barring that, who is able to pick up on the outer curb? Sounds like flat rate cars, Uber Black/SUV, and... ?
• Maybe there are other options that I am missing?

Moving car seats around is nearly impossible while also wrangling small kids, so minimizing distance is important. I have to imagine these considerations are also highly relevant if you're transporting someone who is elderly and unwell (e.g., used to have to bring my grandmother places), who may well have both a wheelchair plus a bunch of gear that isn't easy to push at the same time.

I will also note that for the record I have checked their website, hit their twitter feed, and emailed the address given. <crickets> would be a charitable way to describe their response. So crowdsourcing this info is my best guess at how to game plan.

I believe private car pick-ups can still go to the curb - have you looked at Execucar? It’s an offshoot of Super Shuttle. I used them in the past before Uber/Lyft became commonplace. Or, alternatively, have you considered parking long term? Then you would have your own car. You could drop off the spouse and kids and then park. Upon return, go grab your own car, park in short term (free for 15 min) and then help spouse with kids to your own car. You’d always have your car seats in place/installed.

Since taxi/TNC dropoffs are allowed at the terminal (and since I haven't been to the LAX-it lot yet), is it possible to board a bus from there and take it back to the terminals?

Also, somewhat ironically for car-centric LA, I'm sure this lot is leading to the most walking traffic that these sidewalks have ever seen! (Saying this as someone who in recent years has been walking from T1/2/3 down to the Hyatt across Sepulveda to get picked up by friends & family to spare them going through the horseshoe traffic - usually it'd be a fine, but rather lonely walk. At least now I can probably get picked up/dropped off in the horseshoe a lot more easily than I used to be able to).

Based on the Google map layout, it looks like the expanded version of the lot for Lyft has its entry on Century (which maybe will ease some of the traffic into the taxi/Uber side), and has exits out to 96th & Sky Way for north-bound traffic, and out to Sepulveda for south-bound traffic. But I guess we'll find out for sure in a few days.

Uber Black shouldn't be that expensive with a 12 mile ride. I'd just use that and get curb side pick up.

Alternatively, use the bus... I'm not kidding, I think you live close enough to LAX that this should be an option. When my son was younger and still using car seats, we just walked 1/2 mile to the bus stop on Lincoln Blvd and took the Big Blue Bus to the airport and transfer to the LAX shuttle to the terminal. We must have done this 6 or 7 times and it was very easy and the most painless way to travel with very young kids. Return trip is the same, just need to time your arrival flight while bus is still running frequently. Never had to worry about car seats.

I don't know which direction you live but 12 miles will put you roughly in Westwood or North Santa Monica. If you live in the Westside, use Big Blue Bus or Culver City Bus to LAX. Both very easy to do and both runs fairly frequently throughout the day. The only time bus option wouldn't really work is early morning or late night.

We went back to using Uber once my son was in booster seats (he is 7 now) so it was much easier to install and take out of the back seat.

That's what showed up in my facebook feed from LAX.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...0b437cb3c3.png

All LAWA operated buses pick up at the inner curb and use the bus-only lanes. That includes the FlyAway bus, Airline Connections, LA City Bus Center, Lot E bus, and bus to the green line. The pickup locations for everything are listed in the Wiki at the top of the LAXit thread. The lot E bus also goes to the off-airport rental car center as its first stop before Lot E.

Outer curb (islands) lower level is personal vehicles, TCP vehicles (including Uber Black and Lyft Lux), and rental car shuttles, and various limo services.

In the short term I would just use the LUX options of rideshare if you must use LAX. LAX will eventually figure this out and it will be better, I hope.

Saying that I changed my next 8 flights to BUR because of this issue. If your 12 miles away is closer to BUR another option might be just using BUR for the next few months until this gets sorted.

Cheers, I did lots of traveling with kids. Its hard but worth it.

A quick follow up + why LAWA still won't be able to get this right
 

Uh, told ya:

Yup, no more LAX PNF/Park One...

David

p.s. And, why LAX/LAWA still can't get this set up for Uber/Lyft/taxis to work right: They didn't take into account the impact of re-routing all of the traffic onto even smaller LAX side streets.. They will need to a) breach fences, cut new driveway curbs, etc., b) widen the small stretch of World Way North where the vehicles are turning in/trying to drive straight just south of the lot, c) potentially add light(s) onto Sepulveda south and north bound, d) put some of this traffic back onto other roads.

Good luck! We're all going to need it as they sort this out. And they won't want to admit that they goofed.

I arrived at LAX a few minutes ago. Not sure if this was the intent (probably was), but this is a huge gift to taxis. I took the shuttle and arrived at “Laxit” to a line of dozens of taxis. Uber and Lyft were both 15 minutes away in various parking lots. In a taxi to downtown LA now. If they allow Uber / Lyft to also wait in the lot, it would work way better

More details - it took me about 10 minutes to find a shuttle, and another 10 minute ride. My biggest issue is that Uber doesn’t get seem to know how to let you request a ride from the LAXIT lot right when you leave the airport terminal. I much prefer Uber when traveling for business due to ease of record keeping

Were you trying to do an Uber Pool/Lyft Line?

No - I was trying to do Uber Black. Maybe I made a mistake in my request and should have done Uber X

If you do Uber Black you can still get picked up curbside downstairs. Same as it used to be, no getting on any shuttles. If you tried to get the Uber Black from the LAX-it lot, that was probably why they were all showing as 15 minutes away.

when I did a shared lyft the first week it let me order at the terminal and arrived within 5 min after I did at the pickup lot. I got a bus from T7 as soon as I walked out of the terminal.

So, if one was arriving at T4 and planning on a taking a cab or an uber to leave LAX, could the quickest way now be to go to the arrivals level, grab the very first hotel shuttle that comes along, then either arrange an uber from that hotel, or grab a taxi from there? You'd avoid LAXit, and airport fees...

Does anyone see a problem with this method?

In all the hotel shuttles I've taken around the world, I've never been asked to show reservation details...

Edited after my post was moved from a thread about Hotel Shuttles to this one, and after the post I quoted and was replying to was deleted:

I had initially quoted a post that said the traffic on the upper level was now very light, and it was that data point that led me to consider the use of hotel shuttles