Traveling to or from Los Angeles International Airport using a ride-hailing or limousine service could be getting more expensive, with city leaders set Tuesday to consider a hike in fees such companies pay for airport access.
The Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners will hold a special meeting Tuesday to consider the increases, which are ultimately aimed at decreasing traffic in the LAX central terminal area and eventually encouraging use of a people-mover system when it opens later this year or next year.
“The fees Los Angeles World Airports charges to FHVs (for-hire vehicles) have not changed in 10 years and no longer reflect the value of the airport market, especially given the multibillion-dollar investments in LAX landside access, terminals, and other facilities and amenities,” according to a LAWA staff report to the commission. “Los Angeles International Airport is the busiest origin-and-destination airport in the world, but its fees are significantly lower than those of its domestic peers like San Francisco International Airport, Boston Logan International Airport, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Chicago O’Hare International Airport, and others. In addition, the current fee structure needs to be adjusted in order to ensure that some providers not currently paying any drop-off fees begin to do so.”
Currently, ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft pay a roughly $4 fee to pick up or drop off passengers at LAX. Taxi companies pay $4 to pick up passengers, while limousines and similar services pay $5. Taxis and limos do not pay any fees for passenger drop-offs.
Under the proposal being considered by the board Tuesday, all companies would pay a base $6 feel for passenger pick-ups and drop-offs at the airport, either within the terminal area or at the LAX-It lot. That fee would jump to $12 for pickups or drop-offs within the central terminal area for all services once the people mover — known as SkyLink — begins operating.
Such fees are traditionally passed on to passengers.
According to LAWA staff, the fee structure is designed to encourage people to use the SkyLink system when it opens, and thus ease traffic within the central terminal area. The board on Tuesday will also be considering a separate proposal that would require taxi and ride-hailing services to limit the percentage of passengers they pick up and drop off within the central terminal area.
“The proposed base access fee establishes a clear, uniform framework under which all low-occupancy FHVs contribute proportionately to the value of operating at one of the world’s most significant aviation gateways,” according to the staff report. “This approach aligns with longstanding airport industry practice and ensures that the financial responsibility for maintaining and enhancing airport access is shared fairly among the private businesses that rely on it.”
The proposed fee hikes not surprisingly are being opposed by the transportation companies.
“A 140% fee hike with no transparency or public process is indefensible,” Danielle Lam, Uber’s head of local California policy, told Southern California News Group in a statement.
Lam said hiking the fee to as high as $12 “would punish travelers, working families, and seniors who depend on affordable, reliable transportation. Uber supports improving LAX, but not on the backs of the people who keep it running.”