Editor’s Note: Public transit options to LGA need more promotion

New York’s transit officials have long been trying to convince travelers there’s a better way for getting out to the city’s airports. They even used a catchy jingle, “Take the Train to the Plane,” when $4 got travelers from Manhattan out to John F. Kennedy Airport via an express subway ride and bus transfer at Howard Beach, a service that ran from 1978 to 1990.

As the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey now mulls alternatives to the scrapped AirTrain plan for LaGuardia Airport, Gov. Kathy Hochul has made the Q70 bus in Queens a free ride. That means travelers can pick up the bus in Queens for free to get to LaGuardia. The bus already was a free transfer for anyone coming off a subway train connection.

However, the public transit options for LaGuardia aren’t just limited to this Queens bus route. The M60 that travels along 125th Street in Harlem accomplishes the same from Manhattan. And for the $2.75 fare, it’s the most accessible way to get to LaGuardia. Travelers who need a car ride, of course, have their personal rides, taxis and black cars, among other options. The public option may not be as comfortable, but it’s certainly far less expensive, and one that deserves greater attention. As inflation continues to rise, saving on travel costs will go a long way to helping people go on trips for business, pleasure and the recovery from the impacts of COVID-19. 

It may even be worth a new catchy tune. But taking a train, to the bus, to the plane, will certainly need some creativity in the lyrics department.