The FlyAway airport shuttle started making stops again at the original Union Station stop in the Patsaouras Bus Plaza, after the stop was relocated to make way for renovation work.
The plaza will be reopening with some changes, according to a spokesman. Cars will no longer be allowed in the plaza area with the buses, and are restricted to a separate underground garage that can be entered on Vignes Street.
The Union Station FlyAway shuttle operates every 20 minutes from 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., every half hour from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m., and hourly from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m.
One-way fares are $9, with free admission for up to two children ages five and younger. Union Station garage parking is $8 per day, up to a maximum stay of 30 days.
FlyAway shuttles also pick-up and drop-off LAX passengers at stops in Hollywood, Long Beach, Metro Orange Line station in the San Fernando Valley, Van Nuys, and Westwood.
A man who opened fire inside a Los Angeles International Airport terminal in 2013, killing a Transportation Security Administration officer and wounding three other people, pleaded guilty Tuesday to murder and other charges.
The plea agreement between Paul Ciancia, 26, and federal prosecutors will spare him the death penalty, but he still faces life in prison without the possibility of parole. Sentencing was set for Nov. 7.
Ciancia pleaded guilty to 11 felony counts stemming from the Nov. 1, 2013, shootings in the airport’s Terminal 3, including the murder of TSA Officer Gerardo I. Hernandez.
As part of the plea deal, prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty, but the murder charge to which Ciancia pleaded carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison. Weapons charges carry another mandatory 60 years in prison, in addition to several years behind bars for other charges.
Members of the victims’ families filled the downtown Los Angeles courtroom, many weeping throughout the proceeding.
Marshall McClain, director of the union that represents airport police officers, said he hoped Hernandez’s family members would find some relief as a result of the plea.
“We hope the plea agreement will help Officer Gerardo Hernandez’s family heal and brings some closure to them from this horrific tragedy,” he said.
After he shot Hernandez at a passenger ID checkpoint and the officer fell to the ground, Ciancia got on an escalator heading into the terminal, prosecutors said. When he saw Hernandez still moving, Ciancia went back and shot the officer repeatedly, prosecutors said. Hernandez was shot a total of 12 times.
Moving back into the terminal, Ciancia shot TSA Officers Tony Leroy Grigsby and James Maurice Speer, along with a civilian, Brian Ludmer, according to court records.
Ciancia continued into the terminal but was shot in the neck and leg during a gun battle with airport police. He spent two weeks recovering at a hospital before he was transferred to a federal detention center in downtown Los Angeles, where he remains in custody.
The City Council temporarily put the brakes Wednesday on a plan to allow ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft to pick up passengers from LAX so the city can further scrutinize passenger safety, disability access and other issues.
The council voted 11-2 to assert authority over an Airport Commission decision last month to allow ride-hailing companies to make pick-ups alongside taxis, shuttle vans and other transportation services at Los Angeles International Airport, which would become the largest airport in the country to permit such operations.
The move to halt the plan was spearheaded by Councilman Paul Krekorian and backed by five council colleagues who claimed “significant questions remain” as to “the propriety of mandating background checks, clean fleet requirements, non-discrimination and equality of access,” among other issues.
Council members Mike Bonin, whose district includes the airport, and David Ryu voted against the action.
The city’s Transportation, Commerce and Technology Committee will discuss the issue Aug. 18 before the matter returns to the full council.
Krekorian said the Airport Commission “wholly ignored” concerns he raised along with fellow Councilman Paul Koretz about whether ride-hailing companies are adequately regulated to ensure the safety of passengers.
Krekorian and Koretz sent a joint letter to the commission last month saying they would not support an agreement that lacked certain safety regulations that is “substantially similar” to one imposed on taxi companies, including provisions addressing disability access, insurance, environmental requirements and other issues.
Uber drivers clad in blue and pink-shirted Lyft drivers filled the council chamber to speak against the action, while a contingent of taxi drivers — many of whom have complained ride-hailing companies skirt city regulations and have an unfair competitive advantage — also made a showing, though only a few spoke publicly on the issue.
Ride-hailing drivers said pick-ups at LAX are among the top requests made by passengers, who they say enjoy the low cost, payment methods and the ability to book trips on their phones.
Many said passengers often arrange to be picked up at a location near LAX, since ride-hailing companies are not currently allowed to pick up passengers directly from the airport.
“It’s kind of like, everybody wants a cheeseburger from McDonald’s — everybody wants it. It’s just something that needs to happen. I think a lot of people like the convenience of it,” Lyft driver Brandon Bailey told City News Service.
Bailey said Lyft does background checks that flag a driver’s criminal history, and the company operates a mentorship program to ensure the quality of drivers.
Despite the council’s action Wednesday, Uber spokesman Michael Amodeo said the company is hoping to see ride-hailing services incorporated at LAX by the end of summer.
“Riders and driver-partners across Los Angeles have voiced their strong support for more safe, affordable transportation options like uberX at LAX,” Amodeo said.
Koretz said that no matter what he feels about ride-hailing companies, “they are going to wind up at the airport,” but he noted that the Airport Commission-adopted agreement is a rare opportunity for city leaders to consider stronger regulations for such companies.
The city is otherwise powerless to improve upon regulation adopted by the California Public Utilities Commission, which has jurisdiction on the companies.
The CPUC “put in the most minuscule level of regulations and prevented cities from going further for reasons that are not apparent to me,” according to Koretz.
Koretz’s position received a boost Wednesday, with the Los Angeles Times reporting that at least four men who received citations from Airport Police while driving for Uber have criminal convictions that would bar them from operating a taxi in Los Angeles.
The drivers were convicted of child exploitation, identity theft, manslaughter and driving under the influence, according to court records cited by The Times.
Ride-hailing companies are allowed to drop people off at LAX, but only transportation companies with permits can legally make pickups.
To obtain a permit under the Airport Commission-approved agreement, ride-hailing companies would need to have an active permit from the California Public Utilities Commission, sufficient insurance coverage, pay a $4-per-trip fee and a monthly licensing fee and follow other requirements.
Garcetti announced in his State of the City speech in April that he intended to allow ride-hailing companies to pick up passengers at LAX. The ride-hailing agreement approved by the Airport Commission is “part of my agenda to make getting around L.A. easier, faster and more affordable,” Garcetti said after the panel’s vote.
The Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce agrees with Mayor Garcetti that the City of Los Angeles should sell Ontario International Airport (ONT). The business community believes that there is no strategic reason for the City of L.A. to continue to own and operate ONT, as long as the City of Ontario, or some other appropriate entity, continues to operate the facility as a commercial service airport for our region.
The City of L.A. took over the management, development and operation of ONT at the request of the City of Ontario in 1967. During the last 48 years, Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) has increased the size of the airport from 485 acres to 1680 acres and invested more than $500 million in facility improvements. LAWA currently holds about $63 million in bond obligations on these improvements.
The major item that has not been resolved is price. ONT breaks even financially and is a valuable asset. LAWA had two unsolicited offers to purchase ONT in the last two years; both of which would have netted LAWA well over $350 million after paying off the bonded indebtedness. Because there are $7 billion worth of improvements underway at LAX and another $4 billion on the drawing board, the money from a fairly valued sale of ONT could be put to great use by LAWA and the City of L.A.
We encourage Mayor Garcetti and the City of Ontario to conclude negotiations in 2015. Likewise, we encourage Mayor Garcetti, the L.A. City Council and the Board of Airport Commissioners to continue to move forward as briskly as possible with the planned improvements at LAX. All of us look forward to celebrating LAX as one of the finest airports in the world – as it was 30 years ago for the 1984 Olympics. The sale of ONT could help accomplish that goal.