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Sharp fee increases approved for services that drop off, pick up LAX passengers

March 10, 2026

Getting dropped off or picked up at Los Angeles International Airport by a ride-hailing service, taxi or limousine is about to get more expensive.

The L.A. Board of Airport Commissioners unanimously agreed Tuesday, March 10, to hike the fees charged to such companies — and typically passed onto to their customers — as soon as LAX’s long-awaited automated people mover, SkyLink, comes online later this year.

Under the new structure, it will cost $6 to catch a ride to or from a SkyLink station, while curbside drop-off and pickup outside of the terminals will jump to $12, a roughly 140% increase from the current fee.

Hop out of an Uber or Lyft at the terminal before a flight and then back in on the way home, and you’re looking at $24 in airport access fees, on top of the rest of the fare.

If that makes you want to look for a cheaper alternative, that’s by design.

Airport officials hope the hike will reduce gridlocked traffic within LAX’s horseshoe loop and steer people to use the future SkyLink stations instead. A second measure approved by the board will require ride-hailing services and taxis to pickup no more than 30% and drop off no more than 70% of their fares directly outside the airport’s busiest terminals.

“The changes we’re proposing today are all intended to go into effect with the beginning of SkyLink operations,” said David Reich, deputy executive director for mobility strategy.

The fees, currently set at about $4, haven’t been updated in a decade and had fallen behind other airports across the country, Reich said. Studies on how much to charge to deter traffic originally suggested a $15 fee would be needed, but LAWA decided to go lower, he said.

The fee increase is estimated to bring in $100 million in revenues in its first full year of operation and will help offset costly improvements to the airport in recent years.

Using the SkyLink will be faster anyway, Reich said.

The new people mover rail snakes through LAX on Tuesday, March 10, 2026. The people mover is now scheduled to open in late 2026. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

LAX’s multibillion-dollar automated people mover will stop at the stations approximately every two minutes. A ride from the Ground Transport Center, where most people will get dropped off or picked up, to the Tom Bradley International Terminal, for example, will take about 5 1/2 minutes on average, he said.

That’s compared to anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour to drive the loop during peak traffic conditions.

Though Uber sent out emails warning its customers and drivers about the change ahead of the meeting, no one from the corporation spoke out against it during public comment. And two commissioners expected to oppose it flipped in its favor after LAWA committed to quarterly reviews.

In the emails, Uber warned LAX’s fees would make the airport “the most expensive” in the world. By comparison, San Francisco charges about $6 now for curbside access for Uber and Lyft’s higher tier services.

“Today’s vote significantly increases the cost of getting to and from LAX,” said Danielle Lam, Uber’s head of local CA policy, in a statement. “A 140% fee hike will directly impact riders and reduce demand for drivers who rely on airport trips. We support investments that improve the airport experience, but they must be transparent and balanced.”

Several drivers voiced worry that fees would come out of their pockets. Others feared it would make trips to the airport more expensive for those who live in nearby communities, such as Inglewood or Watts.

“It gets harder and harder for my pay to keep up with the cost of living in Los Angeles,” said Margarita Penalosa, an Uber driver.

Reich stressed that the fees are charged to the companies and LAWA can’t control whether those companies pass the fee along to passengers.

Board member Nicholas Roxborough suggested Uber could afford to absorb the increase itself.

“Google how much shareholders are making. Google how much the CEO is making,” he said. “And tell me if the money can be passed onto the corporations and not to the drivers.”

The ride-hailing side of Uber reported $8.2 billion in revenues, up about 19% from a year before, during a quarterly earnings report in February, according to CNBC.

Sharp fee increases approved for services that drop off, pick up LAX passengers Orange County Register

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