Camarillo Firm Lands Contract as LAX Shuttle

After two years of waiting for the Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners to outline a new policy on airport shuttle service to LAX, Des Sandlin, owner of Roadrunner Shuttle in Camarillo, can breathe a bit easier.

Last week, in an effort to streamline the airport’s passenger shuttle system, the commission awarded three-year contracts to three full-service and four long-haul carriers to provide curbside pickup to airport passengers. Roadrunner was chosen as the Ventura County shuttle provider.

The system is due to go into effect in September, pending approval by the Los Angeles City Council.

“My whole company was celebrating our little victory,” Sandlin said. “If I wasn’t [selected] I would have had to shut down. But I knew the way I ran my business, and the people I had, there was no doubt about my getting this.”

Full service operators selected include SuperShuttle, Prime Time Shuttle and Xpress Shuttle. Long-haul operators serving outlying areas, in addition to Roadrunner, include Inland Express, Valencia Airport Shuttle and Southern California Coach.

“At the airport, they had 37 to 40 companies operating and they would just be out there killing each other,” said Sandlin, who operates 30 vans.

“It was just a big mess and the airport realized that,” he said. “There was graft being given out, people getting money under the table. . . . The airport decided to try to make this into a few companies, so they can control it. They wanted [several] major companies to handle most of the L.A. area and then they wanted the four long-haul people to go straight to the counties they were serving.”

The elation expressed by Sandlin and the owners of the other surviving shuttle companies was the polar opposite of the frustration of those who didn’t make the cut and will be limited to dropping off riders and picking up reservation-only customers.

“This rule is going to put a lot of people out of business,” said Ab Ahmadpour, owner of E-Z Shuttle & Charter Service in Simi Valley. E-Z Shuttle operates 15 vans, 11 of which have permits from the Public Utilities Commission to operate in Los Angeles.

“This is killing 17 or 18 small companies that are working hard in the airport,” Ahmadpour said. “A lot of employees will lose their jobs. If I’m able to make money for advertising, for expenses, and I decide I am able to feed my family and my drivers, sure I am going to continue. If not, then I’m going to shut down my business.”

Ahmadpour said that about half his business comes from LAX customers. He said he and other shuttle owners affected negatively by the Airport Commission’s decision are looking into seeking a legal injunction.