Express Flyaway to launch LAX to/from Irvine Station, $25/ride later this year
LAX is launching new Flyaway express bus service with no stops between Irvine Station and LAX for $25/ride. That's over 50 miles of travel.
This press release was sent out earlier last week. I just caught wind of this. From the press release:
LOS ANGELES, CA - The Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners today approved a three-year license agreement with the City of Irvine permitting the FlyAway® bus service to operate nonstop from Irvine Station in Orange County to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The action moves the FlyAway® closer to starting daily service in time for the holiday travel season.
The agreement by Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) is part of its ground transportation initiative to expand its FlyAway® bus system to improve passenger convenience and reduce traffic congestion. The Irvine Station is the fourth site in the FlyAway® network. Its other locations at Van Nuys, Westwood and Union Station handled more than 1.5 million travelers combined for the 12 months ending June 2009. Airport ground transportation planners forecast Irvine could serve as many as 72,000 passengers during its first year of operation.
"We are pleased to reach an agreement with the City of Irvine to better serve our Orange County customers who travel through LAX, especially those travelling internationally," said LAWA Executive Director Gina Marie Lindsey. "Our FlyAway® service is very popular with Los Angeles travelers. We believe Irvine has the potential to be a viable alternative for travelers who prefer to ride rather than drive to LAX."
Like Union Station, Irvine Station serves other modes of transportation, including Amtrak's Pacific Sunliner, Southern California Regional Rail Authority's Metrolink commuter rail, Orange County Transit Authority bus lines, and other local businessemployee shuttle services.
It is the busiest transit station in Orange County, and the 14th busiest Amtrak station nationwide with 669,405 boardings in 2008.
LAWA is proposing a $25 fare each way for the one-way, 50-mile trip between Irvine and LAX. The fare structure also could include permitting two children in grades eight and under to ride free with each paying adult. The Board of Airport Commissioners will determine the fare and frequency of service when it considers a LAWA staff recommendation Oct. 19 for a bus company to operate the service.
The City of Irvine unanimously approved the license agreement with LAWA on Sept. 8. LAWA will pay Irvine up to $6,800 for the cost of start-up improvements. The agreement also includes the use of nearly 500 surface parking spaces at the transit station, where FlyAway® passengers can park for free. The transit station is located at 15215 Barranca Parkway.
The expansion of FlyAway® bus service is a requirement of the LAX Master Plan Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP). The MMRP is designed to ensure compliance with the proposed mitigation measures identified in LAX Master Plan Alternative D and the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR). The FEIR has been approved by the City of Los Angeles and the Federal Aviation Administration.
Under the MMRP, nine FlyAway® service sites will operate by 2015 to reduce traffic going to and from LAX. Passengers will use dedicated, clean-fuel, high-occupancy buses to reach LAX from these locations and reduce ground traffic congestion and vehicle emissions around LAX and the region.
The FlyAway® service began in 1975 at Van Nuys, with service added at Union Station in 2006 and Westwood in 2007.
(Note to editors: LAX FlyAway® photos of Irvine buses available at www.lawamedia.org under LAX FlyAway® and Irvine Station.)
FlyAway® is a registered trademark of Los Angeles World Airports
Comments
Looks nice, but it's a little
Looks nice, but it's a little pricey. It costs about the same as driving (according to AAA), or maybe a lot less if you drive a clunker.
You'd think a bus full of people would be able to do it for less per passenger than individuals could do driving by themselves. Even considering the labor for the driver.
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I don't think it'll work out.
Plus, I'm not sure how they'd be able to maintain traditional 30-minute Flyaway service in such a transit-poor area like Irvine Station. I know they claim it to be the busiest station in Orange County, but it's nearly impossible to get around in the community because the buses come so infrequently.
I'm hearing it will be
I'm hearing it will be operating every other hour, not 30 min service. Don't know why the fare is so high. It's nearly 4 times as high as other FlyAway routes but not 4 times the distance as the other ones. I think LAWA is trying to be be cost neutral on this, since I'm unsure whether they receive any subsidies to operate the service. It's possible that because the Westwood, Union Station, and Van Nuys routes are within the City of LA, they receive some extra funding that I highly doubt Irvine would ever pony up.
50 cents per mile seems
50 cents per mile seems pretty steep.
Does anyone know where I can
Does anyone know where I can find a website that breaks down exactly what each form of transit costs just to operate?
I'm going to do a guestimate.
Let's say the following is true
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Bus costs $100,000 and has 20 year life expectancy, gets 10 mpg.
Fuel costs $3.00 per gallon
Bus carries 50 passengers, makes ten trips a day
Driver earns $15.00 per hour (probably costs company $20.00 with insurance, workers comp, unemployment, etc.)
I have no idea about maintenance, insurance, storage.....
Privately run company, so some amount of profit is expected - but what?
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OCTA offers up to $400 per month for car/van pools. Are there any similar subsidies for these types of buses?
Anyone want to make some additions or corrections before I crunch this with Excel?
Doesn't even compete with the private sector
Airport Bus, aka Gray Line of Anaheim, charges $30 roundtrip (compared to $50), and runs more frequently than the Irvine Flyaway. If you take a family, it is only $100 roundtrip. Pickup for Airport Bus is at OCTA bus stops, so is much more convenient for the transit rider. http://graylineanaheim.com/docs/GL%20Anaheim%20DRE%20Brochure%202009.pdf Considering the parking congestion issues at Irvine, it is silly to have people park long term at Irvine when there is so much demand for commuter parking.
Basically, the service is operated primarily to meet the terms of a settlement with Westchester-area property owners regarding the LAX Master Plan and airport expansion. LA World Airports is required to have Flyaway services at nine locations by 2015. Just like the Bravo BRT, they just have to operate it - the settlement did not dictate fares, service levels, or specific locations. So they could charge an outrageous fare, have a poor location, or poor service - it doesn't matter, unless the ones who forced the settlement file another lawsuit in court charging that LAWA was acting in bad faith. Otherwise, the Flyaway service is designed to fail.
FlyAway from Irvine AND Santa Ana
It would be great to see the FlyAway shuttle come up from the Irvine Station to the Santa Ana Depot before heading up to LAX. The Santa Ana Depot has Greyhound and Crucero bus service in addition to Metrolink and Amtrak that stops at the Irvine and Santa Ana stations.
It would also be nice to have a FlyAway shuttle from OC to Ontario Airport. The City of Los Angeles owns LAX and Ontario Airport.