LAX By Train, Bus, and Car: What's Changing?
A comparison of different options to the airport, post-APM opening.
With the recent opening of the new LAX/Metro Transit Center Station, and the opening of the LAX Automated People Mover on the horizon, LAX is finally getting the connections to transit that it deserves. That really got me thinking, though, how much will these connections impact everyday travelers?
In advance of the APM opening, I’ll give you the rundown on how your commute to the airport will change. I’ll cover changes coming to shuttle buses, Uber/Lyft, taxis, rent-a-cars and connections to municipal buses and Metro.
New Drop-Off and Pick-Up Zones for Private Vehicles
You’ll still be able to enter the LAX horseshoe, for no extra cost. However, if you don’t want to deal with the headache of navigating the horseshoe, you’ll be able to drop-off and pick-up your family near a People Mover station. ‘
Instead of waiting through hectic traffic, you’ll be able to enter the lot near the ITF-East (Intermodal Transportation Center - East), and drop-off family members by the purple zones, as well as picking up at the blue and orange zones. This offers a much simpler way to get to LAX, especially when you can skip peak-hour traffic using the new People Mover.
New Stop For LAX FlyAway & Regional Buses
Regional buses such as the LAX FlyAway, Santa Barbara Airbus, and the Ventura County Airporter will also be moving away from the horseshoe. Instead of going through an already bottlenecked loop, they’ll be rerouting to the East ITF as well. Looking at the diagram above, they’ll stop at the red-marked zone, opposite from the private vehicle drop-off. This will simplify loading/unloading, and never again will you get skipped because the bus is already full. Now, you can just hop off the APM and hop onboard the next bus, not worrying about scrambling to the bus stop and hopefully getting a seat on the bus.
LAX-It, Uber and Lyft are moving
LAX-it was always intended to be temporary. It was a temporary solution to temporary lane closures around the horseshoe that would have increased traffic drastically as various parts of LAX were improved, and the APM was built. Now that the APM is complete, regular rideshare will be split between two locations: the horseshoe, and ITF-West, a.k.a. the Ground Transportation Center.
Above you can see a diagram detailing exactly where everything will go in the new Ground Transportation Center. Under this system, you’ll be able to call an Uber to pick you up directly in the horseshoe, subject to higher fees and surge pricing, or take the APM to ITF-West, from where you can walk out and catch your rideshare vehicle. You’ll also be able to walk a little further to off-airport parking shuttles, hotel shuttles and taxis. ITF-West also comes with easy access to the new LAX Economy Parking Garage.
Note: Luxury vehicles like Uber Black and Lyft Lux will continue to stop in the horseshoe, as they currently operate.
Shuttle buses will not stop in the horseshoe
Shuttle buses to off-airport parking, hotels and other local services (NOT local rent-a-cars) will also be rerouted to the new ITF-West Ground Transportation Center. These shuttles will EXCLUSIVELY stop at ITF-West, and will not enter the horseshoe. You can catch a ride on one of these shuttles from the bays directly above the taxi pick-up zone. Other shuttles, such as the LAX-it shuttles, Metro Connector shuttles, and all rent-a-car shuttles will be discontinued (rent-a-car shuttles for local operators are moving to ConRAC).
Rent-A-Cars are moving to ConRAC
If you’ve driven through the LAX horseshoe, you know how many rent-a-car shuttles congest the loop. In order to solve this, rent-a-cars are being consolidated into the aptly-named Consolidated Rent-A-Car Facility (ConRAC). With the capacity to handle 21,000 rental car vehicles, easy connections to Century Boulevard and the 405 Freeway, the plan is to relocate 20 existing rent-a-car brands into this facility. The remaining few local rent-a-car locations will operate shuttles out of the facility. The location of these shuttles is TBD, but I’ll update you when we get those maps.
Connections to LAX/Metro Transit Center & Public Transit
Last but not least are the connections to the brand-new LAX/Metro Transit Center (LAX/MTC) which serves two light rail lines (the C and the K), as well as several municipal bus lines. Below, I’ve provided the official diagram for the new station, which is also one of the largest in the system!
This station will have a simple and easy connection to the ITF-East station, which also serves regional buses and has a private vehicle drop-off zone. This station comes with plenty amenities, such as restrooms, a robotic arm vending machine, a Metro Customer Center, and a secure Bike Hub.
So what’s the best option for me?
The APM has opened up a wide range of new options. If you live in the South Bay, near Inglewood or on the Westside, I highly recommend you try out the newly-connected train lines that will connect you with LAX once the Automated People Mover opens. Metro is an easy and affordable way to reach LAX, for less than $2. You’ll also be able to skip traffic along the 405 and 105 Freeways. For many people living on the Eastside, near Downtown, or in the San Gabriel Valley, FlyAway will continue to be the best option, beating traffic by using the existing ExpressLanes on I-110, and future ExpressLanes on I-105. Even if you continue to use your car, the benefits of taking shuttles and other passengers out of the loop will do wonders to alleviate the congestion at LAX.
I hope you found this article useful, and have a safe flight at LAX!
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All unattributed diagrams and pictures are credited to LAWA.
Sources: https://lawa.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=4&clip_id=980&meta_id=62527, https://hollywoodunitednc.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/PLUM-lamp-presentation.pdf, https://lawa.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=4&clip_id=1018&meta_id=64913
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