Shuttles

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Shuttles Provide a Solution for LAX

by Brian Wier

Every major airport in the United States is faced with the need for expansion, juxtaposed with the need to resolve ground surface transportation problems that surround their airports. Additionally, while each airport (and the city it serves) is different, most are faced with a similar dilemma: How do we resolve the Environmental Protection Agency’s policies under the Clean Air Act, while continuing to expand our airports to meet the needs of commercial and passenger traffic now and in the future?

There is no easy answer, however shuttles and the concept of shared ride transportation is a good beginning. When you add together the fact that the shared ride systems organizations such as SuperShuttle operate remove single vehicular traffic from congested curbs; combined with their vehicles that use environmentally friendly fuels, you have the basis of a system which can truly be an effective solution.

In 1983, SuperShuttle began operations at Los Angeles International Airport with a belief in the concept of shared ride becoming a convenient and cost-effective form of transportation to and from the airport. The company’s founder, who operated the largest taxi fleet in the Los Angeles area, saw a void between taxi; and more expensive limousine service, and inconvenient public transit

Since that time, SuperShuttle has continued to expand its commitment to shared ride through the advent of technology by developing a proprietary Digital Dispatch System (DDS). DDS is based on a global positioning satellite system that allows us to dispatch our vans in the most environmentally sound method possible. SuperShuttle’s dispatchers can electronically locate the exact address of a guest and dispatch the nearest van, saving time and money. And soon, guests will be able to make reservations on the SuperShuttle web site at www.supershuttle.com.

So why is this important to airports and customers? As air travel has grown and demand has increased, cities and their airports have only so much room to expand their capacity to handle additional parking and curbside traffic. Additionally, the pressure this expansion places on the environment, through increased flights and vehicle traffic to and from the airport, must somehow be mitigated. Shuttles have become a part of the solution at every airport they serve. Today as shuttles continue to expand their services, both the airports and the traveling public become winners.

SuperShuttle’s shared ride concept has now become an accepted alternative in ground transportation in the 21 airports it serves nationwide. Further buy-in to the concept came in a June 8, 1998 interview in Fortune Magazine with Nobel Laureate Arno Penzias. When Penzias was asked to look 20 years in future to what interesting things are going to happen that we are not seeing now, he replied, “Within a couple of years, vans will take over a large part of public commuting. If I wanted to start a business and had enough money, I’d buy one of these shuttle companies and just put a GPS receiver in each van and link it to a dispatching system. Then you could say something like, Hello, Mr. Mathews. You’ll be home in 22 minutes or your ride is free.”

Organizations such as SuperShuttle are almost realizing Penzias’ vision now, at least in the capacity to organize passengers to and from airports. Such a vision requires shuttles to provide a good service at a reasonable cost and it requires citizens to embrace a new view about how they get to and from the airport. This shared ride system can have far reaching positive effect on the airports ability to expand while helping clean the environment.

Los Angeles International Airport should be commended for its commitment to resolving some of their ground surface transportation problems by recently implementing a new shared ride operating system at LAX. This new system will allow for curbside assistance to passengers departing from LAX and streamline the loading and unloading of our passengers; hopefully increasing the convenience of shared ride service. Combined with DDS technology, companies such as SuperShuttle will be striving to improve its entire Southern California system to provide better service and enhancing the all-important shared ride system.

Are shuttles the only answer? No, but they are part of the solution. A solution that hopefully more and more citizens of Southern California will think about when trying to find a place to park at LAX or contemplate while sitting in traffic on their way to the airport.

Brian Wier is President & CEO of SuperShuttle International.

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