#UBER pair of women take UBER from Beverly Hills to LAX, fare 1/2 that of cab, nicer cleaner car @KNX1070 @CBSLA pic.twitter.com/mxoudeomb6
— Pete Demetriou (@knxpete) January 21, 2016
Lyft has been picking up passengers at LAX since just before Christmas, but today marks the first day that Uber has been cleared to do the same. (Before last month, ride-hailing apps were only allowed to drop off at the airport.) A release from Uber says that pickups began this morning at 8 am at designated pickup zones (here's how the whole thing has worked with Lyft; there have been a few snags). This is a big if delayed victory for Uber, which along with Lyft had been battling for months to break into the market at the taxi bastion that is LAX, but had issues with meeting all the requirements that airport officials had laid out as conditions to giving the apps the OK to pick up at the airport.
Travelers catching a ride with UberX and UberXL will meet their drivers at the marked areas on the upper departures level (yes, it seems counterintuitive, but that's where you go). Those getting fancy rides with UberBLACK, UberSUV, or UberLUX will meet their drivers on the downstairs level, where the limos and taxis are, says the LA Times. (The high-end Ubers, which are driven by state-licensed "livery drivers," have been allowed to pick up at the airport for about two years.) Regardless of which type of Uber you e-hail, all rides have a $4 surcharge tacked on for pickups and drop-offs as a condition of the permit that allows Uber to operate at the airport. (Lyft riders are charged the same fee.)
· LAX Riders, Your uberX is Arriving Now [Official release]
· Lyft Will Be Able to Pick Up Passengers at LAX for the Holidays [Curbed LA]
· What It's Like Trying to Take a Legal Lyft Home From LAX [Curbed LA]