Comment by jeffbee

9 hours ago

My hot take is that anyone who would take a taxi from JFK to Manhattan, along the most well-served transit corridor on the continent, is probably a psycho and we shouldn't ask for their input on transportation topics.

9 comments

jeffbee

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estearum  9 hours ago

JFK to Manhattan is actually not that easy for a newcomer. JFK → Airtrain → LIRR → Subway is a very stupid design.

That said, yes GP is obviously a psycho.

sib  9 hours ago

There are many, many, many airports to which it is easier to travel via public transit from their associated city than it is from Manhattan to JFK. For example, all of these global-top-25 airports have single-train access:

London Heathrow (LHR)

Tokyo Haneda (HND)

Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS)

Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG)

Frankfurt (FRA)

Dubai (DXB)

Seoul Incheon (ICN)

Guangzhou (CAN)

Shanghai Pudong (PVG)

New Delhi (DEL)

Madrid Barajas (MAD)

Beijing Capital (PEK)

Chicago O'Hare (ORD)

Denver (DEN)

  • jwagenet  8 hours ago

    I don't get the gripe. AirTrain gets you to A,E,J,Z, and LIRR, all of which get you to "Manhattan" or a significant number of intermediate destinations in about an hour. LGA is far worse.

    • crazygringo  5 hours ago

      Having to take AirTrain beyond the terminals at all is annoying. LIRR should just go to JFK directly. AirTrain is slow as molasses, and the fact that it costs money is absurd. It works and I'm glad it exists, but it's nothing like e.g. the Paris RER connecting CDG.

      You generally never want to take A/E/J/Z because they're sooo much slower than LIRR, unless you live along them.

      Yes, LGA is far worse.

      1 reply →

crazygringo  9 hours ago

You do realize that public transportation doesn't provide luggage carts? That you can't take those out of the airport?

If you're traveling with a family or group, it really is often going to be much easier to take an XL Uber than deal with turnstiles and transfers and stairs and everything.

  • QuercusMax  9 hours ago

    So what you're saying is if you're not in a big group or traveling with family, you absolutely SHOULD take public transportation.

    • crazygringo  8 hours ago

      ...no? Maybe re-read the first half.

      I've come from abroad with two large checked bags, a carry-on, and a backpack. You think I'm trying to take all that through the subway?

      Obviously, yeah if you're traveling solo with a carry-on, most people take public transportation.

      Or not, if it's 1 am and you don't want to be waiting 20 minutes for each connection.

      Also, if you're a tourist new to the city after a long flight, the last thing you want to do is figure out the massively complicated transit system. Just having someone take you straight to your hotel where you can shower and sleep and deal with jet lag can be an important priority.

CPLX  9 hours ago

Oh my sweet summer child.

I've got news for you about how dysfunctional New York City transit planning has been and the status of transit to our three giant airports.