LAX Commissioners Go With 3 Shuttle Van Firms

Airport commissioners decided Monday to limit the number of full-service shuttle van companies operating at Los Angeles International Airport to three starting April 1.

Only one of the three companies approved by airport commissioners to operate the new concession has so far obtained the required state permits. At least one of the others must obtain a license for the plan to move forward, airport officials said Monday.

In an effort to cut down on congestion and pollution at the nation’s third-busiest airport, commissioners decided last July that only SuperShuttle, Xpress Shuttle and Prime Time Shuttle would be given permanent curb space. More than three dozen shuttle companies now compete for passengers at LAX.

Other shuttle operators will still be able to drop off passengers and pick up those with reservations, but they will be shut out of the lucrative walk-up trade that is the bread and butter of many small operators.

As of Monday, only Blue Van Joint Venture, which does business as SuperShuttle, had obtained an operating permit from the state Public Utilities Commission.

Airport commissioners decided to move ahead anyway because the other concessionaires--Xpress Management Systems, which operates as Xpress Shuttle, and Rideshare Port Management, which does business as Prime Time Shuttle of Los Angeles--could get the green light for their permits by Friday.

However, the earliest Xpress could get its permit is mid-March, while Prime Time would have to wait until late June, according to airport staff.

Judy Christian, the airport’s ground transportation manager, said the PUC has indicated that Xpress stands a good chance of receiving the go-ahead for the permit this week.

Ellen Berkowitz, attorney for the Prime Time consortium, said her clients were also in good position to be approved. But she said the June timetable for the permit would put her clients at a competitive disadvantage if the other two companies are able to begin operating April 1.

Small independent shuttle operators, meanwhile, decried the airport’s adoption of the new plan, claiming the program will cut sharply into their business.

Bernie LeSage, an attorney representing a group of 12 independent shuttle operators, said walk-up business constitutes the largest source of revenue for his clients.

“I can tell you the impact on our guys is going to be disastrous,” LeSage said after the panel’s vote. “They will, in essence, go out of business.”

Christian said LAX needs to trim the number of competitors because fewer passengers are using shuttle vans. LAX shuttle van ridership dropped 14.9% to just over 1 million last year.