Popular LAX Van Service SuperShuttle To Go Out Of Business

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – If you were planning on getting a ride to or from Los Angeles International Airport after Jan. 1 with van service SuperShuttle, you'll need to make other arrangements.

SuperShuttle, which has operated out of LAX since 1983, is shutting down, it was reported by the Los Angeles Times Thursday.

A letter Tuesday from the company to an L.A.-area franchisee read: "SuperShuttle plans to honor all reservations and walk-up requests for service" through Dec. 31, according to the Times.

Customers trying to schedule pickup after Jan. 1 on SuperShuttle's website were unable to complete the reservation.

The company is also shuttering its operations at airports across the U.S. and worldwide.

Competition from ridesharing services such as Uber and Lyft have cut into its business. At LAX, shared van rides plunged by two-thirds in the first half of this year compared with the first half of 2016, according to city data obtained by The Times.

SuperShuttle is one of the few services that can still pick up riders curbside at LAX after the airport's recent changes to help ease congestion. In November, Lyft, Uber and taxis were relegated to a pickup lot next to Terminal 1.

SuperShuttle has not yet issued a public statement about the shutdown.

The letter to the franchisee cited "a variety of factors" for the company's closure, "including increasing costs and changes in the competitive and regulatory landscape" that "have called into question the economic and operational viability of the company's operations."

SuperShuttle is owned by an affiliate of Blackstreet Capital Holdings, a private investment firm in Bethesda, Maryland, court documents show. Blackstreet acquired SuperShuttle in September from Transdev on Demand Inc., which is part of the Transdev Group of France.

(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)