September 22, 2004
Airport troubles, pondering solutions
Gotham Gazette takes something of an urban planning look at the hassles of getting to New York City's airports, but the story does have a few nuggets of interest to travelers: When tourists get to the city, however, they face what respondents to a readers' poll last year in Conde Nast Traveler magazine designated the worst airport in the country: JFK. The same poll found La Guardia to be the fourth worst.
Public transportation to the airports is poor and underused; a 2002 report by the Federal Transit Administration found that only eight percent of JFK passengers used public transportation ... while five percent of La Guardia passengers did.
After almost a year in existence, the (JFK) Airtrain is nearing its goal of 34,000 daily riders. The majority of these passengers use the Airtrain not to get to and from the airport, but to get around the airport itself. Those who connect to the subway pay five dollars to use the Airtrain; those who use it to travel around the airport itself do not have to pay a fare to do so.
Newark International Airport has undergone a $3.8 billion renewal, which was topped off in October 2001 by the opening of the Newark Airtrain. The new system, by connecting to New Jersey Transit, allows passengers to get from Penn Station to the airport in 20 minutes, and then to individual terminals in another 10 minutes. In my Arrivology section, I'm pretty harsh on the prospects of taking Airtrain to JFK from Manhattan, but just this past weekend I saw there is indeed an elevator from the Howard Beach subway platform up to the Airtrain platform. Waiting to hear from people who've actually taken this route with luggage. My next trip is out of La Guardia, so I can't first-person it for bit.
September 22, 2004 08:30 AM in Arrivology
Comments (1)
®Copyright 2006, All Rights Reserved
|
