Much has been written about the decline in pay for America's ride-hailing drivers. The New York Times takes a look at the situation through a specific lens: the hordes of Uber and Lyft drivers attempting to get work at Los Angeles International Airport: "one of the busiest airports in the world but one of the most difficult places for gig workers to earn a living." Once a goldmine, things have degraded in recent years. A system introduced in 2019 to slash traffic in the arrival area requires travelers walk or take a shuttle to a "LAX-it" pickup spot near Terminal 1, which can take up to 20 minutes. (As one frustrated driver quipped to the Washington Post, "At this point, it's a layover. It's a connection. I have a connecting flight to my car.") Many drivers wait much, much longer for a customer.
They while away the time in a holding pen of sorts: a "Transportation Network Company Staging Area" where they wait until they're paired with a ride. It's designed for 200 cars, despite the fact that roughly 300 drivers are in a virtual queue for rides most of the time. That means double-parking is rampant, as is the honking and yelling that ensues as drivers try to get out.
One gig driver the Times spoke with showed up on a Tuesday morning and found himself 256th in line; drivers ahead of him rejected low-paying rides, like $9.87 for a 13-mile run. He declined them as well. Some change might be coming, though. LAX is in the midst of a $5.5 billion construction project that includes a new holding lot for drivers and an inter-terminal monorail; traffic reduction is a big part of the plan. "A year from now, LAX will look completely different," an Uber rep says. (Read the full story here.)
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