B757 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 150; Flight Crew Total 14275; Flight Crew Type 4097
Situational Awareness
Conflict Ground Conflict; Less Severe; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Ground Event / Encounter Vehicle
Air Traffic Control Provided Assistance; General Flight Cancelled / Delayed
Human Factors; Airport
LAX Ramp Tower cleared us to push back. After both engines were started and after the salute/end marshaling signal; the First Officer obtained clearance to taxi to the top of the alleyway. I observed a white van disappear behind the FO's side window. The van appeared to be on our side of the solid white line depicting the boundary of the alleyway. As I slowed the aircraft to a stop; the van disappeared and a white pickup truck following the same path stopped abeam the First Officer's side window. The FO advised Ramp Tower that we would like all of the ground equipment to move to the terminal side of the white line before proceeding with our taxi. We were stopped for about 20 minutes while one vehicle after another drove into that same spot and stopped apparently oblivious to our attempt to taxi out of the alleyway. After the [first] truck was a catering truck and then a lavatory service truck. Ramp Tower called the company with no help and finally called Airport Operations who sent a sedan with hazard lights to chase the ground vehicles out of the aircraft taxi path.LAX [airport diagram] notes that the alleyway is extremely congested and confined. It cautions there is an 'extreme jetblast hazard area' and aircraft must remain on the taxiway centerline. The wing tips are not practically visible during taxi from the 757 flight deck. There are reference points to predict the path of the aircraft structure; and some of the vehicles appeared low enough and some appeared far enough to avoid collision. However; with at least half a dozen ground vehicles of all different sizes driving and parking fully on our side of the solid white boundary lines there was no way to determine with certainty that ground collision could be avoided or that the drivers were assuring that. So; I did not move the aircraft until all of these vehicles were on the terminal side of the white line. In that 20 minutes numerous aircraft were delayed both inbound and outbound. The drivers and ground employees on foot all seemed oblivious and most never even looked toward our aircraft. They all appeared preoccupied with their own duties.
B757 Captain reported ground vehicles failing to yield to his aircraft during taxi out of an alleyway at LAX; causing a twenty minute delay.