Letters to the Editor: Yes, you can take public transportation to LAX right now

To the editor: Your article about the progress of the LAX people mover and Metro rail service to the airport was informative and encouraging. However, readers may be left with the impression that there is no public transportation to LAX now.

While there is no rail transportation directly to the airport yet, there are a number of bus lines serving LAX.

LAX Flyaway buses provide nonstop express service from Van Nuys and Union Station in downtown Los Angeles. I have used the latter bus on many occasions, as it offers a “one seat” ride from downtown.

There are also local Metro, Culver City and Santa Monica buses that serve the airport, and there is intercity service to more distant destinations such as Santa Barbara.

Nathan Landau, Berkeley

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To the editor: Do rose-colored glasses cure nearsightedness? I’m afraid that the crucial rail link to LAX will still be missing even after the $900-million Airport Metro Connector project is completed by 2024.

The problem? All LAX passengers (and their luggage) who wish to travel beyond Crenshaw will have an inconvenient multi-level transfer at the Crenshaw and Exposition station. And the at-grade E Line, formerly called the Expo Line, has capacity and speed problems of its own.

There is a fix. If we really want to use rail to get to and from the airport, we need to connect the Crenshaw Line up to the Metro B and D subway lines (formerly known as the Red and Purple lines).

That project, called Crenshaw North, is in environmental studies. But under current plans, it won’t happen until 2047.

Transit won’t work when essential connections remain many years away. Let’s finish the Crenshaw Line now.

Bob Wolfe, Hermosa Beach