THE definitive New York City guide for airport transfers

by Grant Martin on

One of my pet peeves as a frequent traveler is making complex transfers in from airports into the city. The worst is when I just assume that the metro attaches to airport, I can just mosey down from my gate, into the subway, out and into my hostel or hotel — only to find out that you have to take minibus k22 from terminal 1 to the city’s suburban center, transfer to a rickshaw then take that 4km into the city.

When I was younger, I was shocked when I found out that America’s largest city didn’t have direct subway connections to their airports (I heard that this was because the city wanted the profits from the cab companies — anyone else hear that?). So I had to figure out how to get out from LaGuarda or Newark or JFK into Manhattan, a task not too difficult but daunting for a first time visitor. I still get mixed up at LGA between the Q45 and Q33 buses.

Luckily, we now have our good friends at Flyertalk who have put together an excellent guide on transfer in from the city’s three co-terminals. At the Flyerguide, users take a comprehensive look at options, prices and routes, all in a convenient wiki form so that it can be maintained and updated en masse.

I wish they had one of these for every city.

Gadling’s top five US Airports for public transportation

by Grant Martin on

Public transportation plays a critical role in the structure of a metropolitan area. In addition to supplying cheap transportation suited for all city dwellers, it’s an economically and socially conscious alternative to gas guzzling personal vehicles. This network should support the city, be inexpensive and be well connected to the airport. It should also be well organized so that travelers can connect from the terminal into the public transit system and to their final destination easily; it’s part of what makes a city fluid.

Europe’s got it down. Anyone can plop down at Charles de Gaulle, hop an RER and be into the city center in a half hour. Even if you fly into Beauvais you can take a train down into Gare Du Nord at a reasonable pace.

But what about the US? In the land of SUV’s, twelve dollar cheeseburgers and McMansions, are we that well connected?

Some of us are. We at Gadling have compiled our list of five favorite airports that are best connected to public transit. We’ve ranked them by virtue of their accessibility, cost, ease of transfer into the city and reach of the system. And the winner?

  • Chicago: Both O’hare and Midway are well connected to the El — the former on the Blue Line northwest of the city and the latter on the Orange Line southwest of the city. Chicago’s elevated trains run deep into the loop and extend like fingers into the suburbs, and you can get almost anywhere in the city for that $1.75
  • Washington DC (Reagan): While DC’s metro system does have annoying graduated fares depending on how far you travel, you have to admire its accessibility to the city. One can be off the airplane, across the street, through the subway and into Chinatown in a heartbeat.
  • San Francisco: The Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is solidly connected to SFO and parametrically covers the entire San Francisco Bay. They too have a graduated fare system, but the cleanliness and efficiency of the system are well worth it.
  • Boston: Despite its early closing time, Boston’s MBTA is also well connected to the Logan airport. Three or four stops on the blue line will take you to the subway center, where you can connect to nearly anywhere in the system, all for no more than 2$.
  • New York (Laguardia): Even though most people hate the three New York co-terminals, you have to give LGA credit for being the cheapest to get to. If you’re in one of the smaller terminals you can quickly get out of security and onto the M60 or a Q33 down to Roosevelt, then transfer anywhere in the city, again for 2$.

Your city not on here? Leave a comment and tell us why you think it belongs.

And stay tuned for Gadling’s worst US airports for public transportation coming up.

Public Transit Swatches

by Dave Luna on


Here’s a glamor shot to brighten up your Thursday. This gorgeous photograph comes from Ludd who collects samples of upholstery swatches from public transports all around the world. Neat, but is it art?

Public transport upholstery — like a motel comforter — is designed to please the eye and hide pesky stains. (Gross.) That idea sounds like one created by an engineer which is probably why the patterns come out looking like Jackson Pollock rejects. Have a gander at the collection, and marvel at the horror.

(via Boing Boing)