No longer will you have to rely on friends and family to make the oftentimes inconvenient drive to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX); no longer will you have to ask a loved one to battle 405 traffic for the sake of your getaway; and no longer will you have to fret about an increasing Uber or taxi fare.

The FlyAway bus service set to whisk passengers 22 miles between downtown Long Beach and LAX will begin its direct and non-stop shuttle service on Wednesday.

The daily, hourly service (including holidays) will be provided from 5:30AM to 9:30PM and will depart hourly on the half-hour. Passengers can hop on, luggage and all, at the Long Beach Transit Gallery on the northwest corner of First Street and Long Beach Boulevard. Buses departing from LAX will also depart hourly on the half-hour from 5:30AM to 10:30PM, picking up passengers on the Lower/Arrivals Level under the green sign that reads “FlyAway Buses and Long Distance Vans.”

A $7 promotional fare will be charged for one-way trips during at least the first six months of service while for each paying adult, two children age five and under can ride for free. The FlyAway bus service accepts American Express, MasterCard and Visa debit or credit cards to purchase tickets, however cash will not be accepted on any route.

Long Beach was recommended for the bus service by airport officials after a survey found this seaside zip code generated the fifth highest percentage of originating passengers using LAX. Airport staff projects a ridership of up to 50,000 patrons durings FlyAway’s first full year of operation, according to the release.

The service will also be offered on a daily, regularly scheduled, round-trip basis between LAX and the following locations:

Hollywood (northeast corner of Selma and Argyle avenues, one block south of Hollywood Boulevard)

Metro Orange Line Bus Stop (near the Orange Line Woodley Station in the Lake Balboa area of the San Fernando Valley)

Santa Monica (west side of Second Street, north of Colorado Avenue)

Union Station (Downtown Los Angeles)

Van Nuys (FlyAway® bus terminal at 7610 Woodley Avenue in the San Fernando Valley)

Westwood/UCLA (11075 Kinross Avenue, one block west of Gayley Avenue)

Fares for the Van Nuys and Union Station FlyAway shuttles will increase from $8 to $9 on Friday and will increase to $9.75 in 2017, according to City News Service.

The FlyAway shuttles are run by Los Angeles World Airport; the service begins in Long Beach today following approvals by the Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners and the Long Beach Public Transportation Company (Long Beach Transit) in October, according to the release. The contract was made for one year with two one-year renewal options.

For more information, visit the website here.

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