LAX bosses approve steep fee hike on rideshare companies to curb airport congestion

Los Angeles International Airport bosses have approved a steep fee increase on rideshare companies dropping passengers off for travel.

The Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the controversial initiative which is designed to reduce notorious congestion at LAX and help fund airport improvements.

Travelers wait for an Uber rideshare vehicle at Los Angeles International Airport. Getty Images

The six members of the Board stressed the new fees — an additional $12 per trip to be dropped off at the airline terminal area — should be absorbed by Uber and Lyft themselves and not passed on to passengers. 

Before the vote, Commissioner Nicholas Roxborough slammed Uber for objecting to the measure. “There’s just one enemy who is complaining,” he said.

Roxborough said he believes Uber bosses are only focused on profits, and encouraged critics of the new measure to “Google how much shareholders and the CEO are making. If you want transparency, it’s on your phone.”

Matthew M. Johnson, President of the Board of Airport Commissioners (BOAC), speaks during the meeting. David Buchan for Ca Post

Once the long-delayed and hyped $3.5 billion airport people mover system, dubbed SkyLink, begins service, the fee increase could be as high as 140%.

Currently, anyone getting dropped off and picked up at LAX pays $4 or $5 in base airport access fees for each direction traveled.

If the bigger increase happens, passengers currently paying $10 in fees could potentially pay $24. By comparison, curbside pickup or drop-off at San Diego and San Francisco international airports costs $4.50 to $6.

Once SkyLink comes online, the fees could jump to $12 to hop in or out at the curb outside terminals 1 through 8, known as the Central Terminal Area.