Letters to the Editor: ‘Dangerous and exhausting’ — seniors on using the clunky LAX-it system
To the editor: We have traveled the world, both in developing and fully developed countries. In our experience, LAX, with its off-site ride-hail lot called LAX-it, is the worst airport. In New York, you simply get in line for a taxi that takes you wherever you need. (“The trek from your plane to LAX’s ride-share lot can be a nightmare. Will it be fixed?” July 31)
When the system was put in place in 2019, it was like a computer upgrade: more complicated and much worse than the issue it was intended to solve.
Before, we could get in and out of LAX. Now we (ages 77 and 83) arrive, get our bags, then check an app. We then load onto a bus from a stop not clearly marked or easily found.
Those waiting for the bus don’t queue; instead it’s a mob entrance. Drivers don’t help us lift our bags; we must instead rely on the kindness of younger travelers. Few seats are available; instead we hang onto straps and swing erratically for 20 minutes. Then we pile off and run.
It’s dangerous and exhausting.
The answer is simple: Let people who need transportation design this system. When you exit the terminal, there should be signs every 50 to 100 feet that indicate where to queue for taxis or ride-share services. Provide unimpeded roads out of the airport to all thoroughfares — no apps or phones needed.
Cheryl Younger and Allan Harris, Los Angeles
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To the editor: We are long past time for a comprehensive redefinition of access to air travel in Los Angeles.
Driving to the airport and parking near the gate is no longer a viable concept of connectivity. The central garages in the LAX “horseshoe” roadway are not only past their prime from a structural standpoint, but they also stand in the way of an opportunity to redefine arrivals and departures.
Somebody thought it was a good idea to stop the major transit system short of the airport so we could switch to a people mover accessible by escalators high in the air — and also at the same time have all the ride-share connections in that parking lot. That is exactly wrong.
It’s time to abandon that concept, move the ride-share facilities into the center of the airport, move private cars outside the airport and even look carefully at bringing transit right through the middle to an airport station.
Richard Keating, San Marino
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To the editor: Interesting that the front-page article on getting transportation from LAX makes no mention of the excellent, always on time, still cheap Flyaway bus.
Wherever you’re going — whether it’s the Van Nuys stop or Union Station in downtown Los Angeles — the Flyaway will get you to a place where, if you need to, you can easily hail a cab or call an Uber or Lyft.
We never travel to or from LAX without taking that bus.
Ellen Butterfield, Studio City
