KyRoamer

My wife will be arriving LGA on a weekday around 2:10 pm and trying to get to our daughter's apartment on West End Avenue. My wife is traveling with just a small carry-on and is comfortable with big city (Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington) public transportation. What are her best, safe options other than taxi?

I have searched threads. Saw a good one on East 50th. Not familiar enough with NYC to get from there to West Side. Daughter uses a shared van service but says it can take forever.

wanderlust_jules

Does this help at all:

http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/nyct/service/airport.htm

I would imagine from 106 & b'way she could catch a cab or take the 1 train a few stops and then walk all the way west.

themicah

The shared van services only make sense if you have too much luggage to carry and don't want to pay for a taxi, or if you are averse to public transportation. Shared vans are dirt slow (usually at least as slow as public transit) and aren't all that much cheaper than a taxi.

Taxi is the most comfortable, easiest and almost always fastest way. Taxi should be under $30 with tip and toll from LGA to 71st and WEA.

If she wants to take public transit:

1. Before leaving LGA, buy a Metrocard. They're available from almost all newsstands, and $10 will buy a card with $12 credit.
2. Walk outside and look for the public bus stop. Take the M60 bus (it only goes one direction). The bus will drive along Astoria Blvd in Queens, then take the Triboro bridge to Manhattan and drive along 125th St. Buses only take coins and metrocards (NO paper money). Fare is $2.
3. She should signal for a stop as soon as they pass 5th Ave, and get off at the 6th Ave (aka Lenox Ave) stop. On the northwest corner of 125th and 6th Ave, there will be an entrance for the downtown #2 and #3 subway. Note that this is the middle of Harlem. It is perfectly safe on a weekday afternoon (I would not hesitate to send my own mother there), but as in any Big City, mrs. mshaikun should keep an eye on her belongings at all times, a firm grip on her purse, and keep everything zipped.
4. Take the 2 or 3 subway (whichever comes first) four stops to W 72nd St (and Broadway). If she used a metrocard on the bus, the subway will be a free transfer when she swipes the same metrocard at the turnstile within 2 hours of boarding the bus. If she paid with coins on the bus, she'll need to buy a metrocard or single-ride card for the subway, which is another $2 (buy either from the station agent or a vending machine).
5. The W 72nd St stop on the 2/3 subway is right around the corner from 71st and WEA. And she'll arrive with $10 in metrocard credit to use while visiting the city.

KyRoamer

Thanks themicah.

Those are great directions. What with the M60 running every 10 minutes, it ought not be too difficult to catch.

ijgordon

I live in this neighborhood and it's usually about $35 with tip and toll (and I'm not that generous! . Make sure the taxi driver exits the FDR Drive at 96th St (95% of the time they will, you do NOT want to go to 71st St. on the east side). Tell him (or her!) after crossing the park, to go down Columbus and turn right on 71st St -- this will be the fastest way with the traffic lights.
For the public transportation option, themicah's advice is perfect. It should take about 50 minutes including the ~5 minute walk from the 72nd St. subway exit. Taxi in mid-afternoon will probably take 30-35 minutes.

themicah

Your taxi bill is coming to $35 instead of under-$30 because you're taking the Triboro. Cabbies prefer the Triboro (presumably because they get to drive at higher speeds on the bridge and rack up a higher fare). Cheap people like me don't like it, because it involves (1) a toll, and (2) a couple extra miles as you go north on the Triboro from Queens to Manhattan and then backtrack south through Manhattan. If you cut through Astoria's side streets and take the 59th St bridge, you knock out the $4 toll and about two extra fare-accumulating miles (i.e., another $4 plus the tip you'd pay on that $4). At peak periods the 59th St bridge can be horribly backed up and should be avoided if the cabbie gives you a hard time about going that way, but at off-peak periods it's a breeze and will save you both time and money.

Analise

At peak periods, I would never take a taxi. Nothing is worse than sitting in traffic while the meter keeps increasing... .

I never take the Triboro for the very reasons you give above. I always take the 59th St Bridge. Lower level for downtown, upper level for uptown.

ijgordon

And nothing's worse than sitting on a bus in traffic...last I checked the only way in or out of LGA is by road, at least until USH decides to fulfill its business plan...

Hmmm....definite food-for-thought for a 10-year resident of Manhattan. Part of me would just rather be moving at highway speeds than sitting at traffic lights in Astoria, but I guess I'll have to give it a try and see for myself exactly how much faster/cheaper that route is vs. the Triborough.

themicah

The major traffic bottlenecks are the bridges and tunnels (and to some extent the streets of Manhattan). At peak times, you can take a bus or taxi to the subway in Queens and eliminate those bottlenecks. Of course if you're headed to the UWS, this isn't as convenient, since no subways go directly from Queens to the UWS. But for those going to midtown or downtown, a taxi or bus to the N or E trains (or the 7, F, R, V or W) and then taking the subway the rest of the way is both more reliable and significantly cheaper than taking a taxi the whole way.

A good cab driver will take Crescent Ave from Astoria Blvd to the bridge, which is pretty quick and has very few traffic lights. There isn't as obvious a "best choice" headed out to LGA. I've had some drivers take 29th, and others take Northern Blvd part of the way. Regardless, I've found from my neck of the woods (Hell's Kitchen) unless traffic is terrible, the 59th St bridge is FAR cheaper than the Triboro. The farther uptown you go, however, the more attractive the Triboro starts to look.

Analise

To each his own. At least the bus ride to the subway is not a long one. To be stuck in traffic on the GCP in a taxi is enough to skyrocket my blood pressure.

Taking Steinway or 21st St toward the 59th Street Bridge is not a bad way to go. I live in the east 50s so it's MUCH quicker to take this route than go out of the way to the Triborough only to have go downtown on the FDR which can also be backed up. Perhaps it all depends on where you're heading.

ijgordon

I completely agree on the subway to Queens, I recently discovered the F train to black car for $12 and 25-30 minutes from my office on 6th Ave, which is at least as fast, if not faster, than a car service all the way during rush hour. Keeps my budget under control too... Although if I need blackberry/cellular service during the trip, then the car will have to be the way to go.

However, as you say, this does not work as well going to the UWS because of the subway transfers required, and the best option I've found is the M60 to the 2/3 as was outlined earlier in this thread, but during rush hour you'll hit the same bridge traffic as in a cab. I think this is why I sometimes prefer JFK or EWR so I can go by rail the whole way.

BTW, how do you get FROM Laguardia TO the E/F/V/R/7 station in Queens by cab? Yellow cab? What does that usually run with the meter?

themicah

Yellow cab will work. The meter should be about $9-10, depending on time of day and whether you get caught in any traffic.

ijgordon

Cool, thanks. So when the black car charges $12 -- do they really mean $12, or is it $12 + tip?

You can tell I don't spend much time in NYC outside of Manhattan...

Blumie

Have them take the BQE to the Jackson Heights exit (I cannot remember if the exit is marked "Roosevelt Avenue" or "Broadway," but it absolutely is marked one of the two and makes no mention of Jackson Heights. At the lights at the top of the exit ramp, take a left, and this will take you directly to the Jackson Heights subway station (E/F/V/R/7) at the next big intersection. The meter will be $7-$8. I always give an overly generous tip to allay my guilt (since they all would prefer a fare into Manhattan from LGA) and give the driver $10. (You should also know that they get a "shorty" ticket from the dispatcher at LGA entitling them to cut to the front of the line if they return to LGA after dropping you off, so there really is no reason to feel guilty.)


Since the fare is $10 by yellow cab with a generous tip, you should not feel obligated to tip the black car drivers. Sometimes I do, but often times I do not. I'd be curious to know what others do.

Analise

The driver will probably want a tip especially if he jumps out of the car to help you with your bags.