
LAX becomes largest U.S. airport to allow Uber, Lyft pickups - denzil_correa
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-uber-legal-lax-20150716-story.html#page=1
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SovietDissident
I used to live in Playa del Rey, which is maybe 10 minutes from LAX. There's a
minimum fare for cabs of something like $17, which I was forced to pay. But
the worst part was that every freaking time the cab driver would give me
attitude for the short fare (ostensibly because they have to wait in that long
line). What do you want me to do? Walk an hour home carrying my luggage? Uber
and Lyft are a complete blessing.

Despite all these taxi regulations which are supposedly there to protect the
consumer, all they did was create an entrenched oligopoly, where taxi
companies were complacent because they basically lacked competition and didn't
have to increase the quality of their service. But now that people have an
alternative and are eschewing cab services in droves, they are crying bloody
murder. Stop blaming the consumer, lobby to get rid of the
medallion/regulatory model, and get ready to finally compete (or perish)!

~~~
lifeisstillgood
So is Uber less expensive than the taxi 17usd? Or just polite about it? Or
coming in from out of the city to get you ?

I don't get why 17 bucks to an uber driver is worse or better than 17 to taxi?
Uber has to wait for their next to surely ?

~~~
mrcsparker
It isn't about the money, it is all about attitude.

I have bags, it is too far to walk, and I just need to get to the hotel. I
don't want to feel like an ass for asking for help getting there.

Being in a car where the driver does not want you in it is uncomfortable.
Having to pay for that feeling is just as bad. I have had situations where I
have been at an airport or a hotel and the cab driver doesn't want to drive me
to the location, and there is a doorman or someone else yelling at the driver
that they will take me.

Charge me more. I just want to get to my hotel or to the airport.

~~~
foobarian
Related, I hate the uncertainty of tipping. I go out of my way to not take
cabs because I never know if I tipped enough or overpaid. Just tell me how
much to pay and no attitude.

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ChrisNorstrom
How to get around Uber Airport bans: Take a taxi ride just outside the airport
and from there get an Uber ride. It's still much cheaper.

Perfect Example: Orlando International Airport, is a jail. It has no sidewalks
leading in or out of the airport. It's about 1 mile of 60mph road and ramps
leading in and out of the airport with NO shoulders and NO sidewalks. Look it
up on Google Maps. It's impossible to leave. After 11pm I arrive and the buses
are not working, friend can't pick me up. A 6 mile taxi ride is $55 dollars!
Uber ride is about $12. I try to hop on the Parking Spot / Rental car shuttles
to get just outside the airport ban radius but they've caught on and no one
will let me on. I'm not paying $55.

So I just grabbed a taxi and had him drop me off just outside the airport at a
Denny's. Cost: $13 for 1 mile. Grabbed an Uber for the remainder of the trip
which was $11. Paid $24 instead of $55.

~~~
bsder
> How to get around Uber Airport bans: Take a taxi ride just outside the
> airport and from there get an Uber ride. It's still much cheaper.

Free hotel shuttles work just as well.

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ransom1538
My wife had a girls trip in Chicago. She made the error of just getting a
"cab" and not using her UBER app. It turns out, what she got into was some
kind of cab that didn't have a till. The driver was angry she didn't have
cash, drove her around to an ATM, demanded $100, refused to let her have her
items out of the trunk. Personally, I am no longer comfortable with her
getting into cabs or non-uber black cars - it is becoming unsafe. If that
driver decided to do something -- he would be off the grid.

~~~
msellout
What that driver did was illegal. She could have called the police. It sounds
like she was taken by some pirate taxi, not one from the taxi stand.

~~~
ransom1538
Yes. He probably preys on woman.

~~~
Flammy
Hello, non sequitur logical fallacy.

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jedberg
It was already allowed. I took an Uber from LAX a few weeks ago.

The catch was that they had to buy a $5 "temporary taxi license" (that Uber
paid for) when they came in for each ride, which delayed them 5 minutes. Now
they won't have to stop, which is nice.

~~~
wcfields
I would just take the Parking Spot shuttle to the one near the In-N-Out and
hail an UberX from there. Tip the driver and it's perfectly fine.

~~~
jczhang
Really? They usually check for ur parking permit? If this works for everyone
this is a nice hack.

~~~
mdorazio
You don't even need to go to a parking structure. Pick up the first hotel
shuttle that comes by and then Uber from there. I've done this many times with
no issues. Obviously it takes longer than getting picked up at the airport
directly, but it still beats taking a cab.

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xasos
I'm assuming that LAX is the largest U.S. airport to allow _regular_ Uber
pickups?

You can request an UberTaxi or Uber Black car at ORD [0], which is the second
largest airport in terms of traffic in the world [1].

[0]
[https://www.facebook.com/uber/posts/601574873216135](https://www.facebook.com/uber/posts/601574873216135)
[1]
[http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20140924/BLOGS02/1409...](http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20140924/BLOGS02/140929936/ohare-
regains-half-the-crown-as-worlds-busiest)

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mayneack
> To work at the airport, drivers cannot have convictions for reckless
> driving, hit and run, driving under the influence, sexual crimes or
> terrorism

I get that some of these are sort of taxi or driver specific and that the
rules are a little odd anyway, but it seems that murder should be on this list
too?

~~~
mickeyrooney
Recently released full details on the process Uber uses. Looks like murder is
covered:

[http://newsroom.uber.com/2015/07/details-on-
safety/](http://newsroom.uber.com/2015/07/details-on-safety/)

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pbreit
What are the main, reasonable arguments for disallowing paid airport pickups?
Safety? Traffic? Control?

~~~
gcb0
here is the main argument against uber in general: for taxis to keep their
medalions, they must not refuse pickup/drop off on the worst parts of town. or
for someone they don't like. and a certain percentage of licenses are given to
drivers with vehicles that can accommodate handicapped passengers.

uber is fine when you are a white, able guy living in a good neighborhood.

~~~
jeff18
Sorry if I am missing any sarcasm, but this seems totally backwards! Taxis are
famous for racial discrimination while Uber drivers accept fares sight unseen.

Also, taxis are well known (at least in San Francisco) for illegally refusing
fares to distant neighborhoods. Uber drivers simply can't refuse.

Finally, flagging a taxi is nearly impossible in a remote location, but
calling an Uber driver from the app will work pretty much anywhere.

~~~
kd5bjo
> Uber drivers simply can't refuse.

Sure they can; I've had an Uber driver call me after accepting the fare to
tell me to cancel and re-request.

~~~
ariwilson
I had an even sneakier issue on a full fat Uber (not X) fare where the driver
called me, asked me where I was going, told me he'd be there soon (location 5
minutes away), and just never came (15 minutes). I didn't know what to do with
that as I actually did want to go home so I just cancelled and re-requested.

~~~
msellout
Let Uber's customer service know. They're very pleasant and they want to make
sure you're happy.

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unknownzero
Somewhat off-topic, it's interesting the article lists LAX as the third
busiest airport, when I googled to see what the first two were out of
curiosity it was shown right in the search results as the second busiest. That
data on google appears to come from the wikipedia article:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_busiest_airports_i...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_busiest_airports_in_the_United_States)
for "Busiest US airports by total passenger boardings". LAX then appears to be
listed as fourth busiest in "30 busiest US airports by total passenger
traffic". These numbers obviously vary by year and it seems the one google
picked up was from preliminary FAA data. No idea why this stuck out to me but
for some reason I want to know why the author settled on third busiest here
out of the myriad choices.

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unabridged
How can they tell the difference between an Uber driver and a friend I called
to pick me up?

~~~
marcc
You don't normally ride in the backseat when you friend picks you up. Your
friend doesn't have an Uber sign in his front windsheld.

Sure, they could hide that sign and request that you sit in the backseat (I've
actually had Uber drivers at LAX request this). But then they would be asking
drivers to take steps to knowingly break the law.

~~~
baddox
I don't normally ride in the backseat of an Uber. In fact, I've never done
that except when someone else in my party is in the front seat.

~~~
qq66
I always ride in the backseat. It gives the driver his or her personal space,
lets them use the front seat for their snack or bag or whatever, and feels
more professional/businesslike to me.

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mhartl
I usually Uber to the airport and taxi back. The latter costs almost 50% more.
If this policy goes through, it will be a welcome change.

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DrScump
it will be short-lived unless they overturn this ruling:
[http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-uber-
suspended-2015071...](http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-uber-
suspended-20150715-story.html)

~~~
leereeves
That seems to be about failure to file some required reports. I'm sure Uber
will comply before they're suspended in California.

> The judge agreed with utility commission staff who said Uber has not filed
> all required reports, specifically about how often it provided disabled-
> accessible vehicles when requested, places where drivers tend to turn down
> ride requests, and the causes of accidents.

[http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/uber-
fined-7m-kee...](http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/uber-
fined-7m-keeping-info-california-regulators-32479254)

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grapevines
What are the chances that somebody would do LAX to Santa Barbara ?

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kkt262
Awesome. Being in LA this is really good news.

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chatterbeak
LAX is the second largest (by passenger boarding) airport in the country. So
until ATL allows Uber, I guess this is true.

