Angry Travelers Face Long Lines at LAX's New Rideshare Pickup
Travelers at Los Angeles International Airport endured wait times of over an hour for Uber, Lyft, and taxi rides. Airport officials have banned curbside pickups so travelers must board a shuttle or walk to the new pickup area.

For most travelers, wait times for Uber and Lyft rides exceeded an hour.
Photo via Brendan C/Flickr.
Travelers at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) faced packed shuttle buses and long wait times using the new Uber, Lyft, and taxi pickup system, according to a report by the Los Angeles Times.
For most travelers, wait times for Uber and Lyft rides exceeded an hour. On Tuesday night, LAX officials apologized to travelers for an “unacceptable level of service,” says the report.
Under this new system, travelers board a shuttle or walk to the new pickup area (LAX-it lot) – east of Terminal 1 – to get a taxi or to find their Uber or Lyft driver. Airport officials banned Uber, Lyft, and taxi curbside pickups to try to mitigate airport congestion, especially with construction beginning on several projects at the airport.
“Construction of the Automated People Mover train and stations is beginning in the Central Terminal Area, and LAX-it is needed to relieve the pressure of construction impacts that would make traffic unbearable if nothing were done,” said Keith Wilschetz, deputy executive director for operations and emergency management at the Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA).
The congestion was caused by several issues, including large numbers of travelers and Uber and Lyft drivers who were confused by the new pickup system, according to the LA Times report. Uber and Lyft also had problems with matching riders with drivers.
As of Wednesday, the airport started making changes to signage, road striping, traffic patterns, and adding more traffic officers, according to a press release by LAWA.
Other changes that will occur during this first week of operation, include adding and redeploying staff to assist with LAX-it guests at the curb and at the LAX-it lot, adding video messages to the shuttles to inform guests about how to use LAX-it, and sending the Airport Response Team to provide more staff at certain locations to help travelers.
More Rental Operations

Brazilian Executive MBA Targets Growing Domestic Rental Car Industry
Rental car companies face a unique combination of challenges that are rarely addressed in traditional programs.
Read More →
Green Motion Expands Into Japan With Master Franchise Agreement
Japan's tourism industry, business travel market, and demand for vehicle rental services are reasons the country represents an important market for the company.
Read More →
ACRA Carrying Fuller Industry Load As AI and EVs Lurk In Future
The leading car rental professional business group details an active legislative, regulatory, and macro-trends agenda affecting car rental operators.
Read More →
World Cup Travel Data Shows Longer Car Rentals and More One-Ways
A recent analysis of FIFA bookings found varied demand patterns that influenced rental car pricing.
Read More →
A Leveling Force: AI Morphs Into A Rental Car Profit-Seeker
Revenue managers can’t match the emerging AI tools gobbling lots of data that could counter the competitive race to the rate bottom.
Read More →Stop Losing Money On Rental Tolls
Regardless of your rental fleet size and structure, fleet managers, executives, and owners can gain valuable insights into an often-overlooked area of fleet operations.
Read More →
Rethink The Future To Avert A Race To The Bottom
Rental car operators heard a sobering industry message and a stern challenge at the close of the International Car Rental Show.
Read More →
DriveItAway, Free2move Plan Shared Fleet Program for Independent Rental Fleet Operators
Vehicles would be placed with participating rental operations to support car renter demand and provide additional fleet capacity.
Read More →
Stellantis Recalls 1.3 Million Jeep Vehicles Worldwide Over Fire Risk
Stellantis is recalling more than 1.3 million Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator models worldwide over a fire risk linked to power steering pump wiring.
Read More →
Green Motion And U-Save Open Rental Operations In Guatemala
The brands will open their first rental car outlets in the country at La Aurora International Airport in Guatemala City.
Read More →
