LAX will try 2 new taxi pickup spots

LAX will test two new taxi pickup locations beginning 8 a.m. Tuesday, March 10.

A pilot program will add two taxi pickup spots, one near the Tom Bradley International Terminal and Terminal 3, the other near Terminals 7 and 8, in addition to the LAX-it pickup lot near Terminal 1, officials said.

Ride-hail and taxi pickups have been concentrated at LAX-it since being relocated from the Central Terminal Area in October to make room for construction and to compensate for an increasing number of ride-hailing vehicles at LAX.

The pilot program doesn’t change anything for ride-hail users, and taxi users can continue to use LAX-it. But they will have two new options:

• The new taxi pickup site aimed at arriving passengers from the Bradley International Terminal and Terminal 3 will be in Parking Structure 3. LAX officials said the location would be the lane closest to the Bradley International Terminal on the ground floor of Parking Structure 3.

“Passenger queuing will occur on the curb nearest the taxi lanes,” LAX officials said in a statement.

• The Terminal 7 and 8 taxi pickup spot will be on the Lower/Arrivals level of the Central Terminal Area, just east of the easternmost entrance to Terminal 8. Passengers will queue on the curb by the taxi stand, east of the area where buses and shuttles exit the inner lanes.

“The fundamentals behind LAX-it do not change,” said Heath Montgomery, airport spokesman.

LAX officials first said the change would come in late March, then on Monday decided to begin on March 10, Montgomery said. Airport officials plan to try the pilot program fort 90 days before a decision is made on whether to continue it, Montgomery said.

The October move from curbside terminal pickups to LAX-it brought a flurry of delays and complaints in early weeks, a situation that eased when airport officials gave the LAX-it operation more space and resources.

Airport officials say LAX-it shuttle bus rides from all terminals to the LAX-it area average less than 15 minutes. Once in the LAX-it area, airport officials said, “Guests typically wait less than 10 minutes — and frequently not at all — for their taxi or ride app pickup.”

Airport officials also noted that “because space for both taxis and pedestrians at the two new pickup locations is limited,” travelers using the Bradley Terminal or Terminals 3, 7 or 8 should consider using LAX-it during high-traffic times.

Passengers using Terminals 1, 2 ,4, 5 and 6 should continue to walk or take free shuttles to the LAX-it area, LAX officials said.