Uber, Lyft One Step Closer To Picking Up Passengers At LAX
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Ride-sharing companies such as Uber and Lyft are one step closer to being able to pick up passengers at LAX.
The Airport Commission voted to move ahead with the plan Thursday.
But as KCAL9's Dave Lopez reports, it came amid loud objections from taxi companies, as speaker after speaker told a packed audience in front of Airport Commissioners not to allow Uber or any other transportation networking company like them to pick up passengers at LAX.
"Letting Uber and similar companies to operate essentially is letting Enron take over the electricity system of California," one man said.
And the few speakers who told the board it's not a bad idea was booed.
"This is a reality," one supporter of the plan said.
Ride-sharing companies are allowed to drop off passengers at LAX, but they're not permitted to pick them up.
The board was told cab companies would suffer greatly if that changed.
"Between 2013 and 2014, taxi ridership dropped by 18 percent," one woman said.
In the end, the vote was unanimous.
City Councilman Paul Koretz has made it the City Council could jump in and override the plan.
A representative for Uber declined to comment.
