Designated pickup and drop-off areas for rideshare services are in the process of being finalized at El Camino College, authorities said.
EC Chief of Police Michael Trevis said the two designated areas are Parking Lot J on the corner of Redondo Beach Boulevard and Parking Lot B on Manhattan Beach Boulevard.
Trevis added that the areas will be marked by a yellow curb and signs.
There are also plans to create a third area when construction of the Administration Building Lot A is completed, Trevis said.
“We are trying to make it convenient and safe for students,” Trevis said.
Student convenience
EC joins West Los Angeles College (WLAC) and Santa Monica College (SMC) in having established Uber and Lyft areas.
“I like the idea. Drivers would know exactly where to go and pick students up,” Anthony Lewis, 20, a history major, said.
But right now people only have the option of choosing one of two areas placed on the corners of the campus, meaning some may still have to walk to the other side of the college to get to class.
“I would like more than one area because it wouldn’t limit students to have to get picked up from only one spot,” Lewis said.
Trevis said Parking lots J and B were selected because they are the two lots that generate the most drop-off and pick-up activity.
While SMC and WLAC have one designated areas for ridesharing apps, EC will have two.
Brandon Torres, business management major, said creating more Uber and Lyft areas will be beneficial because “multiple areas will lighten traffic but [having] only one would make traffic worse.”
Future issues
While designated drop-off and pick-up spots will make ridesharing easier at EC, it may become more difficult to find drivers on the ridesharing app altogether.
This comes at a time when Uber and Lyft drivers are protesting in Los Angeles for better wages amid claims the ridesharing apps do not pay a living wage, according to the Los Angeles Times
“Wages have been cut by I think 20 cents or something per ride,” Willie Gustafen, an Uber and Lyft driver, said. “Drivers are just going to have to work their tails off even more.”
Gustafen said he is not as familiar with El Camino as he is with other schools’ drop-off areas.
“I usually operate in Westchester so I get a lot of drop-offs at West L.A. [College] and Santa Monica [College],” Gustafen said. “I don’t make many drops at El Camino but what makes it difficult is the construction.”
While the other colleges have the just one drop-off area, Gustafen said he still finds that it is less complicated albeit the process takes longer.
“They [West L.A. and Santa Monica College] have only one area so it’s easier to locate but having only one area causes much more traffic especially during the busy hours,” Gustafen said, which are between 8 to 10 a.m. and 2 to 4 p.m.
