L.A. airport system awards $16.5 million contract for compressed natural-gas bus service

With the contract, Los Angeles World Airports—a system of four Southern California airports owned and operated by the city of Los Angeles—said that its LAX FlyAway service now will provide ground transportation from Union Station to LAX with a new fleet of smaller buses fueled by compressed natural gas (CNG). Previously, the FlyAway service provided ground transportation via diesel buses.

Los Angeles World Airports' FlyAway at Union Station began operations in March 2006 in partnership with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. During its first year, according to the airport system, more than 250,000 passengers rode the nonstop bus service to LAX, exceeding ridership projections by threefold.

Use of the current buses resulted in a savings of 4.3 million vehicle miles traveled and in a reduction of 54,657 pounds of vehicle emissions since service inception, the airport system said.

“The FlyAway service from Union Station is a proven success at reducing traffic congestion to and from LAX and reducing vehicle emissions," said Gina Marie Lindsey, executive director of Los Angeles World Airports. “By establishing this service long-term and replacing the fleet with clean-fueled buses, the entire city benefits both from reduced traffic congestion and better air quality.”

The FlyAway service operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

CNG buses will offer free Wi-Fi service

According to the airport system, the new 21-passenger CNG buses are expected to be more efficient and will offer amenities such as reclining seats, free Wi-Fi Internet service and airline-style snack trays on the seatbacks.

The new buses will be introduced starting in December.

The FlyAway bus service is part of the Los Angeles World Airports' ground-transportation initiative to improve passenger convenience and to reduce traffic congestion and vehicle emissions by encouraging high-occupancy vehicle ridership as part of the LAX Master Plan Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program.

Bus schedules and parking information for all FlyAway locations are available at http://www.lawa.org/flyaway.

Airport system to purchase 40 alternative-fuel vehicles

In related news, the Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners Oct. 1 approved the purchase of 40 alternative-fuel vehicles as part of Los Angeles World Airports' ongoing Alternative-Fuel Vehicles Program and to strengthen police and operations functions.

The airport system said that it will purchase the 40 ethanol-fueled police Ford Interceptor sedans for $1.53 million from Villa Ford of Orange, Calif.

According to the airport system, the vehicles are being purchased to replace similar gasoline-powered sedans and to increase the available fleet of the Airfield Operations and Airport Police divisions at LAX, LA/Ontario International and Van Nuys airports.

Thirty-one of the sedans will replace similar units that have reached the end of their useful lives as part of the airport system's ongoing scheduled vehicle replacement program. The remaining nine sedans are additional vehicles that will increase the existing fleet and provide greater flexibility for conducting division operations, the airport system said. Four will be used by the LAX Airport Police, three by the LA/Ontario Law Enforcement Division and two by the Van Nuys Airport Police and Airfield Operations divisions.

Airport officials believe that alternative-fuel vehicles are important elements in meeting California’s future energy needs, and plans are underway to convert the entire airport system's fleet to alternative-fuel use. It presently has more than 600 alternative-fuel vehicles—more than 60 percent of its fleet— powered by liquefied natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, compressed natural gas, electricity, solar power and hydrogen fuel-cell.