Waymo is asking riders in Los Angeles to write to city and airport officials in support of letting its robotaxis serve Los Angeles International Airport, according to a campaign page the company has set up.
“Waymo rides to and from LAX are not yet allowed, but our team is in active discussions with LAX airport leaders to change that,” the page says.
“Hearing directly from riders makes the biggest impact,” it adds, asking them to “let airport leadership know you want the option to take a Waymo to the airport”.
The page, headed “Bring Waymo to LAX”, was shared on Monday by a user of Reddit’s Waymo forum.
The Driverless Digest reported on Tuesday that the company had also sent some riders an email titled “Help bring Waymo to LAX”.
“While rides to and from LAX aren’t available just yet, we’re actively working with airport leadership to make it happen,” the email reads, according to a screenshot the newsletter published.
“Your voice can make the difference,” it adds.
The page asks for a name and email address and then generates an editable message.
A screenshot in the Reddit post shows a draft addressed to Matthew Johnson, President of the Board of Airport Commissioners.
“I hope you will vote to allow Waymo service at LAX promptly,” that draft reads.
A version published by The Driverless Digest also listed Mayor Karen Bass and a council member as recipients.
Harry Campbell, the newsletter’s author, who is based in Los Angeles, said he did not receive the email himself and saw nothing in his Waymo app.
Where the Airport Stands
Los Angeles World Airports, the city department that runs LAX, told the City Council in February that it had set no date for admitting autonomous vehicles.
“To date, LAWA has not granted access to any AV companies to conduct pickups, drop-offs, or to operate on LAX property, and there is currently no timeline for permitting such activities,” Chief Executive Officer John Ackerman wrote in a letter dated February 18.
Waymo is the only operator named in the letter, which says the airport “has engaged in discussions with Waymo LLC regarding airport access” while contact with other companies has “been minimal”.
Before any robotaxi could enter, the airport would have to write a licensing agreement and have it approved by the Board of Airport Commissioners, the body Johnson chairs.
That agreement “would define reporting obligations, fee structures, and operational regulations”, Ackerman wrote.
“To be clear, LAWA has not yet decided to present a NELA to the BOAC,” he added, using the abbreviations for the agreement and the board.
The airport said it had consulted counterparts in San Francisco, San Jose and Phoenix, coordinated with the airport police and the Los Angeles Fire Department on training for incidents involving autonomous vehicles, and “met with local Teamsters to discuss perspectives” on deployment.
A council committee received and filed the letter on February 24, and the full council adopted that action on March 13, city records show, without directing the airport to proceed.
The State Approval
Waymo holds a permit from the California Public Utilities Commission to carry paying passengers without a driver, but the commission’s rules do not extend that to airports.
The rules “prohibit autonomous vehicle passenger service at airports without the express authorization of the relevant airport authority”, the commission says on its website.
It lists five California airports where Waymo has that authorization, and LAX is not among them.
The airport applies the same principle to human-driven services.
“A TCP alone is not sufficient,” its guidance for drivers says of the state charter-party carrier permit, adding that operators also need a permit issued by the airport.
Standard rides booked through Uber and Lyft are picked up at a lot beside Terminal 1 known as LAX-it, and only permitted charter-party operators can collect passengers at the terminals.
Where a Waymo would stop if it were admitted is therefore a separate question the airport has yet to answer.
The Current Workaround
Waymo’s own page for the city says: “As of now, we do not offer service to LAX.”
Campbell described one alternative, which is to ride to the LAX/Metro Transit Center, just outside the airport, and take the free shuttle to the terminals.
Los Angeles Metro says that shuttle leaves from bus bays 1 and 2.
The transfer is meant to be replaced by the airport’s automated train, whose opening has slipped from an original 2023 target to January 2027.
Other Airports
Waymo already reaches the terminal curb at Phoenix Sky Harbor and San Antonio, and drops passengers at the departures curb in San Jose, according to its help pages.
In San Francisco it serves only the Rental Car Center and a hotel, each a short train ride from the terminals, and offers that to “a limited number of riders”.
A since-deleted post by a person identified as a Waymo employee suggested this week that the company is testing terminal drop-offs at San Francisco, where its permit bars curbside access without the Airport Director’s approval.
Waymo has more than 900 vehicles in Los Angeles, according to a company figure carried by Robotaxi Tracker, which put the average wait there at 10 minutes on Tuesday.
