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Gadling's top five US Airports for public transportation
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$.
And stay tuned for Gadling's worst US airports for public transportation coming up.
Filed under: Transportation, Budget Travel
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
travelerwannabe Jan 23rd 2008 12:03PM
I have to disagree about BART. It is clean and efficient, but it doesn't cover the entire Bay Area: it doesn't go to the North Bay (Marin). For that, you have to take BART into San Francisco (the best stop is Civic Center) and catch a Golden Gate Transit bus.
Iceman Jan 23rd 2008 12:26PM
Atlanta's MARTA really sucks in general, but it does connect the airport to downtown and the other business district midtown.
Same with LA's otherwise substandard train system - it does get you from LAX to downtown or Hollywood.
New York's JFK has the Airtrain, and there's another train to Newark - LaGuardia is the most inconvenient of New York's three airports to get to by mass transit.
The DC Metro will get you to Reagan, but getting to Dulles is a major pain - you have to take the Metro way out, then get a shuttle bus.
Miami gets my vote for major city airport with the worst public transportation.
LateNightLarry Jan 24th 2008 12:33AM
Have to agree with Travelerwannabe... BART does not cover the entire Bay Area. If you want to go north of Richmond, say to Napa or Vallejo, you're out of luck. Anything in Marin or Sonoma Counties, there is regular bus service, at least along the Hwy 101 corrider. There is limited bus service, generally during commute hours from Vallejo to the nearest BART station in Richmond, but to get there from Napa County you have to change buses (and carriers) several times. Better just to plan on renting a car to get to Napa, because it will take 3-4 hours by public transport.
mtmanal Jan 24th 2008 8:50AM
Miami (MIA) has soooo much construction getting into & out of the terminal & parking that even the construction workers get lost /confused on a daily basis...it's an ever changing situation at a bad airport to begin with...
mtmanal Jan 24th 2008 8:56AM
If you were to ask for directions to local public transportation at MIA...they would ask you back "what's that?".No fun getting in & out with auto either....So muck construction going on..even the construction workers get confused on a daily basis...
Worldflyboy Jan 30th 2008 11:16AM
My vote is for Philadelphia. They have a train that runs into Center City that runs every half hour and is on time 99% of the time. In Center City you can connect to transportation all over the region by train, subway, or El. At the airport the train leaves you off in each terminal between the arriving and departing terminal so it is convenient for all.
Skip Jan 28th 2008 9:05PM
Minneapolis airport light rail connects to/from several downtown locations for $2.00 peak - $1.50 off peak--longest ride is under 30 mins---runs along a well traveled suburban route, and the transfer you get is good for any bus- any direction for 2.5 hours---tough to beat that!
William Feb 7th 2008 3:39AM
I have never heard of any one taking the train from Beauvais Airport into the city.
RoadScholar Dec 21st 2011 4:39PM
You must be kidding about LaGuardia.
It may be inexpensive to ride the Q33 to the Jackson Heights subway center but it takes forever and it's hardly convenient for someone carrying a suitcase and carry-on bag. The AIrTrain systems at JFK and Newark are admittedly overpriced but they get you to rail or subway lines that get you into New York City very quickly. With a good connection, you can ride the Long Island Railroad from Penn Station to Jamaica, transfer to AirTrain and be at your terminal within 35 or 40 minutes.
The bizarre part of this is that there is lightly used rail line about half a mile from LGA. True, there's no station there and it would probably cost megabucks to build one there, but that could get someone from LGA to Penn Station in less than half an hour for a lot less than a taxi. The rail right of way is owned by Amtrak and is used by trains running between Penn Station and Boston.
EW Jan 22nd 2008 10:43AM
Note on Chicago - It is not the El that runs to the burbs, it is the Metra. But the Metra is accessible via two main downtown stations, both within walking distance of El stops.
ennuimec Jan 27th 2008 1:15PM
The el's purple, yellow, and blue lines all run to the suburbs.
EW Jan 28th 2008 10:41AM
Those El lines run to nearby suburbs, but do not cover the metro-Chicago region. For that, you need the Metra.
DaveM Jan 22nd 2008 1:40PM
CDG may have good access to Gar du Nord, but try getting to Montparnasse.
Marilyn Terrell Jan 22nd 2008 2:18PM
I'd like to recommend BWI-- they have a free shuttle from the airport to the Amtrak and MARC train commuter line station, and from there it's about 25 minutes to Union Station in DC. The MARC train is Mon-Fri only but cheaper than Amtrak. Newark also has New Jersey Transit access, much easier than getting from LaGuardia or JFK to Manhattan.
ATOMISCHE Jan 22nd 2008 3:07PM
The Q33 BUS takes a fairly meandering route through Queens on it's way to LGA. If you get stuck behind a double-parked truck, you'll be late.