BUS OPERATOR SELECTED FOR LAX FLYAWAY NONSTOP BUS SERVICE TO IRVINE
FARES, SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED FOR SERVICE TO START NOVEMBER 16
( Los Angeles, California – October 19, 2009) The Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners today approved a three-year operating agreement with CUSA CC, LLC (doing business as Coach America Los Angeles) to operate the FlyAway® nonstop bus service from Irvine Station in OrangeCounty to Los AngelesInternationalAirport (LAX). The new service is designed to make travel to and from LAX more convenient, direct and affordable for OrangeCounty residents and visitors.
LAWA Executive Director Gina Marie Lindsey said, “With the expansion of FlyAway® to Irvine, we are increasing LAX’s contribution to reducing regional traffic congestion and improving air quality, while better serving our Orange County customers, especially those travelling internationally.” She added, “FlyAway® removes hundreds of thousands of cars each year from our roads, while providing a convenient, affordable way to use LAX. We believe Irvine has the potential to be a viable ground transportation alternative for travelers who prefer to ride than drive to LAX.”
Service is set to start November 16 with six daily trips in each direction using 22-seat, compressed-natural gas buses owned by Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA). The fare for the one-way, 50-mile trip will be $25 for adults. To attract family ridership, up to two students in grades eight and under may ride free with each paying adult. Students must show school identification card or other proof of age. All children under five years old ride free. Passengers must pay the bus driver upon boarding with a debit or credit card. Cash will not be accepted.
Irvine Station, located at 15215 Barranca Parkway, will have 500 surface parking spaces, where FlyAway® passengers can park for free for up to 30 days.Daily departures from Irvine Station are scheduled at 4:45 a.m., 6:45 a.m., 8:45 a.m., 10:45 a.m., 12:45 p.m., and 4:45 p.m. Riders to LAX will be dropped off at each terminal on the Upper/Departures Level. Bus service from LAX terminals to Irvine will operate at 9:45 a.m., 11:45 a.m., 3:45 p.m., 5:45 p.m., 7:45 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. Riders from LAX will board buses on the Lower/Arrivals Level in front of each terminal under green signs marked “FlyAway, Buses and Long Distance Vans.”
The addition of Irvine 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.
Airport officials said the FlyAway® service is very popular with Los Angelestravelers and believe Irvine is 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 business employee shuttle services. It is the busiest transit station in OrangeCounty, and the 14th busiest Amtrak station nationwide with 669,405 boardings in 2008.
The City of Irvine unanimously approved a license agreement with LAWA on Sept. 8 to operate the new FlyAway® from its transit station and to provide the free parking spaces, with the Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners giving its approval on Oct. 5.
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 bus service is compliant with Americans With Disabilities Act requirements.
Coach America Los Angeles was selected from among four proposers to operate the new service, based upon the company’s qualifications and cost effectiveness. The three-year agreement also calls for Coach to operate the FlyAway® service from Westwood to LAX. LAWA will pay Coach an amount not to exceed $6.5 million over the three years to operate buses at both locations.
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FlyAway® is a registered trademark of Los Angeles World Airports
