Getty Begins Permit System for Vans to Avoid Leaving Passengers Shut Out

In an effort to avoid dashing the hopes of would-be visitors who arrive at the Getty Center via a tour operator’s van only to be told that the museum is full, Getty administrators today will begin requiring that shuttle vans have special permits to drop off passengers.

Under the permit-only policy, the museum will have direct phone and fax numbers for each van service and can warn them quickly when the museum reaches capacity for the day, said Charlotte Coulombe, associate director for administration for the Getty Trust.

In exchange for a three-month, $125 fee, permit holders will have access to a designated passenger loading area, information about their services displayed there, and be uniformly notified about admission restrictions.

In the five months since the popular museum opened, the ability to notify shuttle companies about crowd conditions has been inconsistent, Coulombe said.

“We wanted to establish a mechanism for daily communication,” she said, adding that van drivers have been “sometimes frustrated because they get there and can’t guarantee entrance” to their customers.

The Getty Center serves about 10,000 patrons a day, up to half of whom do not park at the site but arrive via other means.

Coulombe said the museum has no plans to limit the number of permits available. All tour operators who pay the fee and supply proper application materials, including proof of insurance, will receive them for a three-month trial period.

Twenty-one shuttle services have applied for the permits, which must be displayed on van dashboards.

Museum officials reviewed samples of applicants’ advertising to ensure that shuttle companies do not guarantee admission to customers. Applicants also were asked to provide proof that they have somewhere for customers to park or that they transport passengers from home directly to the museum.

Permit holders may have up to seven vehicles bringing people to the museum, each with a capacity of no more than 15 seats.

Tour operator Almaw Yohannes, who brings visitors from a park-and-ride lot on the nearby Veterans Administration property, supports the permit policy. But he said he hopes that the museum will adopt a reservation system under which he could promise his customers admission.

From what he hears from his customers, the Getty’s popularity has yet to crest.

“This place is another Disneyland, for a different class of people,” Yohannes said. “It’s going to be more and more popular by word of mouth.”