Cabs are the quickest way to get to La Guardia: study

A yellow cab is still the fastest way to get to La Guardia Airport, despite the proliferation of new transit options, according to an informal test.

Members of Global Gateway Alliance, an airport advocacy group, raced each other from Midtown to La Guardia using seven modes of transportation.

The quickest ride was a taxi, hailed from the GGA office on 39th Street and Sixth Avenue. It took only 25 minutes and cost $ 33, including a 20 percent tip.

The group’s second-fastest method was NYC Airporter, a private express-bus service from Grand Central. That trip cost $ 13, less than half the cost of the cab, but took 44 minutes — all without air conditioning.

Hot or not, it still beat out Uber, the smartphone app service, which, at 48 minutes, was the group’s third-fastest option, although a technical glitch caused the passenger to wait 23 minutes for the $ 44 trip in a Lincoln town car.

The app told testers it would only take five minutes for a car to pick them up, but then the ride disappeared from their phone screen. By the time a car finally came, it took 25 minutes to get to La Guardia.

The trip took about the same time as a Citi Bike ride, which cost the biker just $ 2.50 after he borrowed his pal’s electronic key. But since there’s no Citi Bike station at the airport, that option is off the table.

Another tester caught the No. 7 train at Bryant Park, and made it to La Guardia in 56 minutes after transferring to the Q70 bus. This trip cost only $ 2.50, a much cheaper option than Uber, but it was eight minutes longer.

It took the same amount of time to catch an LIRR train to Woodside and then transfer to the Q70 — but that trip cost $ 8.25.

GGA’s slowest trip was taking the No. 4 train from Midtown to the new M60 Select Bus Service route in Harlem. At only $ 2.50, it seems like a steal, but at 61 minutes it’s hardly worth it.

The bus ride from Harlem itself was only 29 minutes, making it a convenient option for someone living or working uptown.

“The survey found what passengers across the city and the country know all too well — there isn’t an easy, hassle-free way to get to and from La Guardia,” said Global Gateway Alliance Chairman Joe Sitt.

“Either you are charged an arm and a leg, or you have a long trip on public transportation.”

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