the guy I got had just gotten off work at his regular job and turned on his Lyft on his way home. He got a nice tip and an easy drive on nearly empty roads (no traffic at all at that hour-- maybe 35-40 minutes each way). If the mileage he puts on his car is tax deductible on top of that, that's not too bad. If it's not, then it's not that great-- he got about what I get for the round trip when I drive myself, and since he lives near the airport he was putting on those kind of miles.

There are also often people up in my neighborhood who need to get to the airport for early flights and don't want to drive themselves. I'd asked about it on the neighborhood email list and a bunch of people have used Uber and Lyft at ~3-4 am to get to LAX for 5:30 and 6 am flights. The easiest way to get to LAX from here without driving during normal hours is to get a ride to the gold line and do gold line to Flyaway bus (skips a lot of gnarly traffic that you'd face in a cab - flyaway adjusts their route based on traffic), but at 3 am there's no gold line and flyaways are once/hour, so quite a few seem to use Uber and Lyft. I've checked a few times at that hour and there are always cars cruising the area for pickups.

I had Lyft pick me up at LAX at 12:45am on 12/29 and it was a bit of a cluster. First, I went to the departure level in front of AA...there are no pick up signs like the one in the photo a few pages back. I finally got a driver to respond & it took quite a while and about 3 phone calls back & forth for us to connect. After that it went smoothly. He said there has been a lot of confusion about pick up location etc and lots of drivers have gotten tickets (gotta love those LAX cops they must get carpal tunnel syndrome from writing so many tickets) for picking people up in the wrong spot. With Lyft you have to decide your own tip amount....one thing I like about Uber is it's included.

It's not included with Uber, they just don't get a tip unless you hand them cash. With Lyft you have the option to tip but it's not required. Lyft drivers get to keep 100% of the tips too. I always tip on airport runs, even if I take a taxi, unless they long haul me.

Edit, you guys can quote Uber all you want. Tips are not included with Uber or Lyft. It's just that Lyft gives you the option to tip within the app. I'm not saying anyone has to tip BTW but don't delude yourselves into thinking "tips are included." They make $1/mile now in LA which is not much money when you pay for gas, depreciation, maintenance and dead mile to your next fare.

That's not how Uber describes their service. Cut/paste directly from the Uber website:

"Do I need to tip my driver?

You don't need cash when you ride with Uber. Once you arrive at your destination, your fare is automatically charged to your credit card on file � there's no need to tip."

Source: https://help.uber.com/h/1be144ab-609...5-b9c7de5ec073

With Uber, there is no expectation to tip. Everything you owe the driver is included in the fare.

We all know what happens when you are given the "option" to tip. Pretty soon, it becomes a requirement. Tipping at restaurants started off as an option, and soon became expected, and is now practically required. Same with tipping the bellhop and the barista.

One of the best things about Uber is that it eliminates this tipping nonsense. I would use it over Lyft or a taxi just for that reason, even if the price is a bit higher.

Moderator's Note:

Took Lyft home last week from Terminal 4. ~50 dollars for 40 miles, no traffic.

There is no sign at Terminal 4, all the other terminals have the sign on the departure level, driver said no one knows why T4 does not have it.

It takes them 5-10 minutes to get over from the waiting area.

No other issues.

UberX starts at 8 am Thursday 1/21/16 from LAX per all the media in Los Angeles.

^

Confirmed by the Los Angeles Times:

Just got an email from Uber

"WELCOME TO LAX


Starting tomorrow at 8:00am, uberX is fully available to pick you up at Los Angeles International Airport.

You've always had access to uberX drop-offs at LAX. Now, when your flight arrives, you can count on the same reliable and affordable ride to your final destination."

SuperShuttle is fighting back:
It's going to take a lot more than a 10% discount to entice me to ever use SuperShuttle again.

In descending order of preference:

-Family member or friend
-Uber
-Suck it up and park at the airport
-Taxi
-SuperShuttle

And there's a big gap before Taxi.

That article mentions a $4 drop off fee. What a ridiculous idea.

Would it be possible to set my destination for a hotel close to LAX and then tell the driver to keep driving to LAX to avoid the drop off fee?

Was at LAX this morning... news vans lined up in the area between T1 and T2, stopping drivers for interviews. Also there... lots of LAXPD cops watching the comings and goings of said drivers. Inbound vehicle inspection also activated.

He'd have to end the ride at that point, which ends "insurance" coverage for either of you. Driver could also be fined for trying to avoid that fee... not sure a driver with half a brain would risk a fine do you a $4 solid.

In bound vehicle inspection usually only happens on the lower level and they are supposed to pick up on the upper level.