How to get to LAX at an awkward time?
August 18, 2022 8:34 AM Subscribe
(LA Filter) Angelenos: I'm gonna need to get from the Valley to LAX at around 2:30am on a weekday. What's my best option?
-- I can't drive myself, nor do I have a friend/family member to drive me.
-- I'd do Lyft/Uber but I'm nervous no cars will be available and/or it'll cost a fortune.
-- Flyaway bus will technically be available...but also no joke in the last week I've seen 2 broken down on the side of the freeway, and I'd still need to get from my house to the bus station (can't drive myself, don't have a ride, if I'm gonna use Lyft/Uber I might as well just go to the airport).
-- Metro... Well, I live very close to a Red Line stop but also we're gonna have a full complement of luggage and this seems like actual hell + will take 2 hours. (Also lately the Red Line has been running infrequently because of repairs; would not want to get caught in this in the middle of the night.)
Suggestions?
-- I can't drive myself, nor do I have a friend/family member to drive me.
-- I'd do Lyft/Uber but I'm nervous no cars will be available and/or it'll cost a fortune.
-- Flyaway bus will technically be available...but also no joke in the last week I've seen 2 broken down on the side of the freeway, and I'd still need to get from my house to the bus station (can't drive myself, don't have a ride, if I'm gonna use Lyft/Uber I might as well just go to the airport).
-- Metro... Well, I live very close to a Red Line stop but also we're gonna have a full complement of luggage and this seems like actual hell + will take 2 hours. (Also lately the Red Line has been running infrequently because of repairs; would not want to get caught in this in the middle of the night.)
Suggestions?
You can preschedule an Uber in the app, which gives you a good estimate of the cost. In my experience in big cities, there are still plenty of drivers even at weird hours.
posted by roaring beast at 8:41 AM on August 18, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by roaring beast at 8:41 AM on August 18, 2022 [2 favorites]
Both Lyft and Uber allow you to book in advance, as will most local car services.
posted by caek at 8:42 AM on August 18, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by caek at 8:42 AM on August 18, 2022 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Ooooh I did not know you could book in advance with Lyft/Uber.
posted by BlahLaLa at 8:44 AM on August 18, 2022
posted by BlahLaLa at 8:44 AM on August 18, 2022
You can definitely book an old fashioned taxi! I have had trouble with the booking in advance feature on lyft/uber in so-cal. I've had them not show up, or the price skyrockets that morning.
posted by foxonisland at 8:46 AM on August 18, 2022 [7 favorites]
posted by foxonisland at 8:46 AM on August 18, 2022 [7 favorites]
Best answer: Be aware: "Booking in advance" with Lyft/Uber DOES NOT actually pre-schedule a driver or guarantee that one will be available. All it does is make the app automatically request a ride a few minutes before the scheduled time. I've been burned by this before.
My parents have used Wingz several times to get to SFO and have been overall very happy with the service. Unlike Uber/Lyft it does actually arrange a driver in advance. Looks like they offer rides to LAX as well.
posted by mekily at 8:47 AM on August 18, 2022 [17 favorites]
My parents have used Wingz several times to get to SFO and have been overall very happy with the service. Unlike Uber/Lyft it does actually arrange a driver in advance. Looks like they offer rides to LAX as well.
posted by mekily at 8:47 AM on August 18, 2022 [17 favorites]
I think Uber/Lyft is a perfectly good bet. Drivers will be out driving people home from bars and parties, and also home from the airport! They'll be glad to take you as you're not going to be drunk (one hopes). Price should not be an issue as the traffic will be light.
You can pre schedule a taxi, but in my experience in LA, the taxis are wildly unreliable.
posted by pazazygeek at 8:52 AM on August 18, 2022 [2 favorites]
You can pre schedule a taxi, but in my experience in LA, the taxis are wildly unreliable.
posted by pazazygeek at 8:52 AM on August 18, 2022 [2 favorites]
Seconding (thirding?) don't rely on "book in advance" on Uber or Lyft. I also have been burned by this, where there was literally no driver available and I ended up having to call a taxi company and rush through the airport because I was 45 minutes later than I planned.
I've had much better experiences with regular taxis for scheduled rides in the middle of the night.
posted by primethyme at 8:52 AM on August 18, 2022 [1 favorite]
I've had much better experiences with regular taxis for scheduled rides in the middle of the night.
posted by primethyme at 8:52 AM on August 18, 2022 [1 favorite]
mareli's idea is also good, and one I have done at LAX myself. There are a bunch of hotels right by the airport and they have shuttles to take you in to the airport. You could Uber to the hotel at a reasonable hour, sleep a bit, and then shuttle to the airport (call them before booking to be sure that their shuttle will run at that hour).
posted by primethyme at 8:53 AM on August 18, 2022
posted by primethyme at 8:53 AM on August 18, 2022
Commenting again because I remember I’ve used SuperShuttle several times in the past and had a good experience. The price is lower than a taxi because they usually combine several travelers in a single ride, and in my experience it’s been very professional and reliable.
posted by mekily at 8:58 AM on August 18, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by mekily at 8:58 AM on August 18, 2022 [2 favorites]
We live a few hours away so a bit different but when we had a 5:45 international flight out of LAX a couple weeks ago and our solution was to stay at a hotel nearby with a regularly running shuttle. We were on a 3am shuttle which would have been awesome except when we got to the airport our airline wasn't open for business yet, even the board pass machines were disabled. We and many others cooled our heels and wished we had gotten an extra 30 min of sleep.
posted by snowymorninblues at 9:09 AM on August 18, 2022
posted by snowymorninblues at 9:09 AM on August 18, 2022
Stay at a hotel with a shuttle to the airport. Given all the luggage, and the cost of uber, it will be absolutely blissful to check in as early in the evening as you can, shower, rest for a few hours, and then be taken directly to your gate.
Just find a hotel online but then call them directly and get absolute reassurance there's going to be a shuttle at 1am, and then book on the phone. You might even get a special rate since you'll be long gone by the start of housekeeping hours.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:24 AM on August 18, 2022 [4 favorites]
Just find a hotel online but then call them directly and get absolute reassurance there's going to be a shuttle at 1am, and then book on the phone. You might even get a special rate since you'll be long gone by the start of housekeeping hours.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:24 AM on August 18, 2022 [4 favorites]
See for example this SEO-bait post which has a list of hotels near LAX with 24-hour shuttle service.
(I found this while trying to figure out if there is a hotel at LAX itself. The internet seems to think there's not, so I agree this is the best option.)
posted by madcaptenor at 10:06 AM on August 18, 2022
(I found this while trying to figure out if there is a hotel at LAX itself. The internet seems to think there's not, so I agree this is the best option.)
posted by madcaptenor at 10:06 AM on August 18, 2022
I have booked middle of the night Lyfts to LAX from Pasadena and it's been fine. In my experience, rides to LAX are cheaper than from LAX.
posted by mandymanwasregistered at 11:43 AM on August 18, 2022
posted by mandymanwasregistered at 11:43 AM on August 18, 2022
I recently had to be at LAX at 4am, and what I did was take the Flyaway when it was still operational, arriving at LAX three hours early. It was not awesome, but it was way cheaper than getting a hotel. If money's not an option though, hotel for sure.
FWIW I've taken the Flyaway probably 25 times and never had an issue, so the recent breakdowns you've seen are probably not representative.
posted by kensington314 at 11:44 AM on August 18, 2022
FWIW I've taken the Flyaway probably 25 times and never had an issue, so the recent breakdowns you've seen are probably not representative.
posted by kensington314 at 11:44 AM on August 18, 2022
Uber/Lyft in LA is kind of a mess right now -- last weekend, I could not get one in Santa Monica on a Saturday at 7pm. Like, period. Not for any amount of wait time. (I was luckily able to just walk where I needed to go in the end.) I think I'd be too anxious to depend on it for a 2:30am to the airport sitch. I'd SuperShuttle or book an actual car service. Ugh, what a pain in the neck!
posted by Countess Sandwich at 12:37 PM on August 18, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Countess Sandwich at 12:37 PM on August 18, 2022 [1 favorite]
I would go with Supershuttle or some similar airport van service, or a town car if you're fancy. Absolutely do not trust Uber/Lyft prebooking.
posted by potrzebie at 12:56 PM on August 18, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by potrzebie at 12:56 PM on August 18, 2022 [2 favorites]
That’s not a terrible time to go, although I’d suggest leaving a little early, as you want to be getting close to LAX before 3pm, that’s when the freeways start to stack up again. I wouldn’t trust prebooking, but one way to do it would be to take a ride share to a metro or metrolink line that will take you downtown, then take the Expo line to the Pico/Sepulveda station, and then call another rideshare from there.
I’d also call a couple car services(or the few remaining taxi cos) and compare their price to what the rideshare apps estimate at that time on a weekday as they’re pretty competitive these days.
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:46 PM on August 18, 2022
I’d also call a couple car services(or the few remaining taxi cos) and compare their price to what the rideshare apps estimate at that time on a weekday as they’re pretty competitive these days.
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:46 PM on August 18, 2022
I'm in the valley (Glendale) and always fly home on about the latest flight out of LAX that I can just so I arrive at a decent time for family to pick me up on the other end. I always have taken the SuperShuttle (or there was another one I think). It's a van ride share so drivers have shifts and such. They pick you up at your home, you may drive around the area for like an hour or so picking up other people before heading to LAX, so it takes some time. They have fine early scheduling. Never had any issues.
Few caveats. If you're at LAX at 2:30 am and your flight is canceled, getting home can be tricky. You have to sorta get lucky that you can catch a pickup that has room left. They sorta stop running without pre-arrangement because there are few to no incoming flights during those early morning hours. During the day, you can drop by the kiosk and they'll fit you on one.
I know this bit because of a two day in a row cancellation where I ended up with the same driver. So we had a nice little chat about my night before. I told it on Metatalktail a few years ago as travel horror story. But actually shuttle drivers did me a solid.
posted by zengargoyle at 11:48 PM on August 18, 2022
Few caveats. If you're at LAX at 2:30 am and your flight is canceled, getting home can be tricky. You have to sorta get lucky that you can catch a pickup that has room left. They sorta stop running without pre-arrangement because there are few to no incoming flights during those early morning hours. During the day, you can drop by the kiosk and they'll fit you on one.
I know this bit because of a two day in a row cancellation where I ended up with the same driver. So we had a nice little chat about my night before. I told it on Metatalktail a few years ago as travel horror story. But actually shuttle drivers did me a solid.
posted by zengargoyle at 11:48 PM on August 18, 2022
Best answer: Okay, so I used a car service. I just didn't think any of the other solutions filled me with confidence. So on the one hand, it cost me $100 plus a tip. On the other hand, the car showed up at 2:45am, just as booked, and it was smooth sailing. Thanks for the help!
(I used Carmel, because I'd used them in New York in the past. They were great, though not cheap.)
posted by BlahLaLa at 6:46 PM on August 23, 2022 [1 favorite]
(I used Carmel, because I'd used them in New York in the past. They were great, though not cheap.)
posted by BlahLaLa at 6:46 PM on August 23, 2022 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by mareli at 8:38 AM on August 18, 2022 [8 favorites]