Gadling’s worst five US Airports for public transportation

Earlier this week we wrote up a brief article rating some of the best connected airports in these great United States. What’s the value of a top five list without the sadistic benefit of a bottom five list though? Fear not Gadlingers, it was easier to create this list then the top five, with these airports rated above and beyond the worst connected to public transportation. Again, we’ve not only ranked them by accessibility but also cost and proximity to the city in question.

  • Detroit: We can thank the automotive lobby for this one. With barely any train service in the city and a metropolitan airport halfway between downtown Detroit and Ann Arbor, nobody can easily get to DTW. There are a couple of public buses, but they only appear to run in specific directions and to be honest with you, I’ve never seen one on the grounds.
  • Newark/New York: While EWR is connected to NJ transit, it costs freaking 14$ to get there from Penn Station and THEN you have to take the stupid airtrain around the airport. Half the time the latter train is broken down, and if you forgot your ticket from NJTransit you have to pay extra for the privilege to transfer to your dumpy terminal. Terrible.
  • Los Angeles: SoCal vehicle mentality seems to require people to drive everywhere in the city. The lackadaisical subway system doesn’t even consider coming close the airport and even then most people are afraid to use it.
  • Las Vegas: Nevada seems to think that if people are going to Vegas to gamble that they have enough money to pay for a cab into town. Not everyone comes to the city to gamble!
  • Washington DC (Dulles): IAD has the Washington Flyer, which will at least connect you to the Orange Line in NOVA, but it costs nine bucks and takes an extra half hour to get there. Transferring downtown takes even longer and the Flyer can be affected by traffic. With all of those stipulations, the 2$ I pay for the New York Laguardia bus looks like a dream.

Don’t agree or think that your city belongs on the list? Let us know!