If you were hurt in a hotel shuttle, a charter van, a taxi, an Uber or Lyft, or one of the airport’s own shuttles at Hollywood Burbank Airport, the first thing to sort out is who was driving you, because the deadline and the insurance both depend on it. A crash in a shuttle run by the Airport Authority, or on the Van Nuys FlyAway bus, is a claim against a public entity, and a written claim must be presented within six months under Government Code 911.2. A crash in a hotel shuttle, a charter van or a taxi is a claim against a private carrier that owes you a heightened duty of care, and a permitted shuttle or charter van must carry insurance in amounts set by the Public Utilities Commission.
Rideshares sit in a third category with their own statute and, since January 1, 2026, a smaller uninsured motorist cushion than before. This guide explains each category, the insurance behind it, and what to do in the first hour.
Who runs what at Hollywood Burbank Airport
The airport at 2627 N Hollywood Way is owned and operated by the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority, created under a joint powers agreement among Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena in 1977. Under Government Code 6507 a joint powers agency is a public entity separate from the cities that formed it. The Authority has its own police department and operates complimentary shuttles to the Burbank Airport-South Metrolink and Amtrak station on Empire Avenue, to the Burbank Airport-North station at Hollywood Way and San Fernando Road, and between the terminal and the parking lots.
Private carriers work the same curb. The airport lists United Taxi, LA City Cab and Beverly Hills Cab as taxi companies and PrimeTime Shuttle as its door-to-door operator. Shuttles and taxis load on the ground transportation islands in front of the terminal, and several Burbank hotels, among them the Marriott, the Hampton Inn and Hotel Amarano, run their own shuttle buses. Rideshare pickup is at the ground transportation island across from the Terminal B entrance. Metro Bus and BurbankBus stop in the Transit Center at the Regional Intermodal Transportation Center. Those buses are covered in our post on Metro bus and Metrolink injuries in the Valley.
The Van Nuys FlyAway, at 7610 Woodley Avenue, is run by Los Angeles World Airports, a department of the City of Los Angeles, with round trips to each LAX terminal. Published information indicates LAWA uses a contractor to operate the buses, so a claim should name both the City and the operating company.
As of this writing, the Authority’s replacement terminal is scheduled to open in October 2026 in the northeast quadrant of the airport property. When it opens, the islands and stops described above will move, so photograph the signage where your crash happened.
The six-month rule for Authority shuttles and the FlyAway
Government Code 911.2(a) requires that a claim for injury be presented “not later than six months after the accrual of the cause of action.” A claim for a crash on an Authority parking or Metrolink shuttle goes to the Airport Authority itself rather than to Burbank, Glendale or Pasadena. A FlyAway claim goes to the City of Los Angeles. If the entity mails a written rejection, Government Code 945.6 gives you six months from the mailing to file suit. With no response, the deadline is two years from the injury.
The six-month period also applies if an Authority vehicle hit you on the island, or if a dangerous condition on Authority property caused the injury. Our guide to the six-month government claim deadline explains the form and the consequences of missing it. A hotel shuttle, a PrimeTime van, a taxi or a rideshare does not trigger the six-month rule; the two-year limit under Code of Civil Procedure 335.1 applies to those claims.
The common carrier duty
California holds paid carriers to a standard above ordinary care. Civil Code 2100 states: “A carrier of persons for reward must use the utmost care and diligence for their safe carriage, must provide everything necessary for that purpose, and must exercise to that end a reasonable degree of skill.” Civil Code 2101 adds that a carrier “is bound to provide vehicles safe and fit for the purposes to which they are put, and is not excused for default in this respect by any degree of care.”
That standard covers the driving, the vehicle, and the loading and unloading of passengers. A driver who pulls away while a passenger is still stepping up, a van with a broken seat belt latch, and a taxi that brakes hard enough to throw a rider into the partition all fall within it. The duty applies to taxis, shuttles, charter vans and the FlyAway, and there is a strong argument that Uber and Lyft owe it while a passenger is aboard, though no published California appellate decision has settled the point.
Charter-party carriers and the CPUC insurance tiers
A shuttle van, charter bus or limousine carrying passengers for hire in California generally operates under a charter-party carrier permit from the Public Utilities Commission, identified by a TCP number on the vehicle. Public Utilities Code 5391 requires each permit holder to keep in force “adequate protection against liability imposed by law.” The Commission sets the amounts in General Order 115-G by seating capacity, counting the driver: a vehicle with a seating capacity of 8 persons or less must carry $750,000; 9 through 15 persons, $1,500,000; and 16 persons or more, $5,000,000.
The size of the van tells you the floor of the policy behind the driver: a ten-seat hotel shuttle starts from $1,500,000 under the order, and a full-size charter coach from $5,000,000. The permit holder is not always the name on the door. A hotel that runs its own courtesy van answers for its driver as an employer; one that contracts the run to a charter company brings that company’s permit and policy into the case. Taxis are regulated separately and carry their own commercial policies. A booking through a shuttle brand that uses partner carriers may put you in a partner’s van, so the driver’s TCP number and the carrier name on the permit are the details to write down.
Rideshares at the airport: the insurance periods and the 2026 change
Uber and Lyft rides are governed by Public Utilities Code 5433, which sets coverage by period. While the driver is logged in and waiting for a request, including on the island across from Terminal B, TNC insurance, which the company or the driver’s rideshare policy may supply, must be primary at $50,000 per person and $100,000 per incident for injury and $30,000 for property damage, plus at least $200,000 per occurrence in excess coverage. From acceptance of a request until the ride is complete, TNC insurance must be primary at $1,000,000 for death, personal injury and property damage. That $1,000,000 figure did not change in 2026.
What changed is the uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. Under SB 371, effective January 1, 2026, section 5433(b)(2) requires the company to provide UM/UIM coverage of $60,000 per person and $300,000 per incident “from the moment a passenger enters the vehicle of a participating driver until the passenger exits the vehicle.” Before the change the required figure was $1,000,000. The coverage is primary over any other UM/UIM policy and is solely the company’s obligation, but it applies only while you are in the car; if an uninsured driver hits your Uber on the way to pick you up, it is not triggered.
Two other parts of the statute help passengers. Section 5433(d) states that company coverage “shall not be dependent on a personal automobile insurance policy first denying a claim,” and section 5433(f) preserves suits against the company above the required coverage. If another driver caused the crash, that driver’s liability policy is the first source of recovery, and your own auto policy’s UM/UIM may sit behind the company’s $60,000 if that driver is uninsured. Our post on being injured as a passenger in an Uber, Lyft or a friend’s car walks through how those layers stack, and our rideshare accident page covers the claim process.
What to do in the first hour at the airport
Passengers and witnesses at an airport are about to leave town, so the evidence has to be gathered before the next flight boards.
- Report it. On airport property, call the Airport Authority police or ask a terminal employee to summon them, and get a report number. On the FlyAway or a surface street, LAPD or Burbank police take the report.
- Identify the carrier. Photograph the TCP number, the carrier name on the door or permit, the plate and the driver’s name. For a taxi, get the cab number and company. For a rideshare, screenshot the trip screen showing the driver, the vehicle and the times.
- Photograph the vehicle inside and out, the seat belts, the step or lift, the loading zone, and any construction barriers or signage.
- Get contact information from other passengers before they board. A text from a fellow passenger that day is more useful than a subpoena a year later.
- Get medical care the same day. Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center on Buena Vista Street in Burbank has a 24-hour emergency department a short drive from the airport. Tell the provider you were a passenger so the chart records it.
- Calendar the six-month date if an Authority vehicle or the FlyAway was involved.
- Do not give a recorded statement to the carrier’s insurer or the rideshare company until you have spoken with a lawyer.
Burbank and Van Nuys specifics
Airport traffic concentrates at the loading islands, on the Hollywood Way and Empire Avenue approaches, and on the ramps to the 5 and the 134. Burbank police generally handle the surface streets and the Airport Authority police the terminal area. Our Burbank injury page covers the courthouse and local hospitals, and our Van Nuys injury page covers the FlyAway terminal’s part of the Valley. Our office is in Chatsworth and we represent injured passengers throughout California.
Fault is divided under the pure comparative negligence rule from Li v. Yellow Cab, so a passenger who stood up before the van stopped sees a reduction rather than a bar to recovery. Injuries on a charter coach, a hotel shuttle or the FlyAway are handled through our bus accident page, which explains how carrier maintenance and driver records are obtained.
Key points
- An Authority-run shuttle or the Van Nuys FlyAway is a public entity vehicle: present a written claim within six months under Government Code 911.2 to the Airport Authority or the City of Los Angeles.
- Hotel shuttles, charter vans, taxis and rideshares are private carriers under the two-year limit of Code of Civil Procedure 335.1, and every paid carrier owes “the utmost care and diligence” under Civil Code 2100.
- Charter-party carriers must carry insurance set by CPUC General Order 115-G by seating capacity including the driver: $750,000 for 8 or fewer, $1,500,000 for 9 to 15, and $5,000,000 for 16 or more.
- Rideshare liability coverage during a trip remains $1,000,000 under Public Utilities Code 5433; since January 1, 2026, UM/UIM is $60,000 per person and $300,000 per incident and applies only while the passenger is in the vehicle.
- Get the TCP number, carrier name, a police report and passenger contacts before anyone boards.
Frequently asked questions
Is a hotel shuttle at the airport a government vehicle?
No. A hotel shuttle is operated by the hotel or a charter company under contract, and the claim is a private one with the two-year deadline. Of the options at the airport, the Authority’s own vehicles, the LAWA-run FlyAway and public transit buses carry the six-month government claim requirement.
I was hurt on the Van Nuys FlyAway. Who do I make the claim against?
The FlyAway is run by Los Angeles World Airports, a City of Los Angeles department, so a written government claim to the City is due within six months of the injury. Because the buses appear to be run by a contractor for LAWA, the claim and any lawsuit should also name the operating company.
An uninsured driver hit my Uber while I was riding from the airport. What coverage applies?
Since January 1, 2026, the rideshare company must provide primary UM/UIM coverage of $60,000 per person and $300,000 per incident from the moment you enter the vehicle until you exit. If your injuries exceed that amount, your own auto policy’s UM/UIM may apply above it, and the statute preserves a claim against the company above the required limits.
Does the new terminal change any of this?
The law does not change, but the locations do. As of this writing the replacement terminal is scheduled to open in October 2026, and the rideshare island, shuttle stops and taxi stands will move with it. Photograph the signage where your crash happened.
If you were hurt in a shuttle, taxi or rideshare at Hollywood Burbank Airport or on the Van Nuys FlyAway, call Manoukian Law Firm at (818) 818-5031 or reach us through our contact page. Consultations are free and there is no fee unless we recover for you.
