NYC Airports and Metronorth - Gripe! Gripe! Gripe!

Posted on | April 12, 2009 |

There I was the other day, rushing to catch a train on MetroNorth to one of NYC airports. I hustled and made it to the train station with two minutes to spare. It was mostly uphill and with full load of luggage weighing in at close to eighty pounds. Yippee! I made it in time. Wouldn’t you know it? The train was late….yet again.

At least I wasn’t late for my flight. Lately, in order to save money, yes, the economy has hit me pretty hard, I decided to give public transportation to NYC airports a whirl, necessarily even more wholeheartedly than I’ve ever threatened to do so before.

Then, ultimately, really folks, what planet was I on when I thought that I could get on the M60 bus to the airport at 125th Street in Manhattan at rush hour with all of that luggage? No way. No how. I was forced to take a cab to the airport because the buses were jam packed. Of course I griped to myself the whole way

Image by matt.hintsa via Flickr

there, what kind of city doesn’t have a train to the airport? NYC airports, of course.

A last minute fear popped up after exiting the train on the way to the bus stop. What if traffic is backed up over the RFK, (formerly, the Triborough) Bridge? How would I explain to my wife on the other end that because of traffic I missed my flight? I can’t even imagine how much a new flight on short notice might have cost.

Having said that I’ve threatened to take public transportation to the airport, it is usually the thought more than the reality that has prevailed. The reality is that I am dismayed by the amount of waiting entailed with public transportation, including MetroNorth. I am faced with the self-inflicted conundrum of “is it really worth a fifty dollar cab ride to avoid a wait of an hour or more?” I usually opt for a cab but not anymore. Cash has been a little tight lately and I am cutting costs everywhere that I can.

One of my favorite cheapie rides is the Airlink bus from the Westchester (NY) County Airport. It basically costs two dollars for a trip using your Metrocard. Your transfer is good for two hours on the system and it will drop you off at the White Plains train station where you can transfer. It’s a crying shame that there is no way to go directly to Port Chester from that airport on public transportation to hook up with MetroNorth.

So unfortunately it takes nearly two hours to do what would be a half-hour drive in a car. How much is my time worth? I go to great lengths to schedule flights when public transportation is operating. Again, go figure! A metropolitan area as large as New York City and there is still no way to get from Westchester County to any airport for a 7am flight using public transportation. It’s worse on weekends.

MetroNorth trains generally run late between stations, especially when you need to rely upon them the most. The first train to the city on weekends is about the worst. I am almost always inclined to take the train before the train I would really like to be on to avoid being late. My theory is that if the train before the one I should be on doesn’t show up then I have enough time to rush home, get my car, and drive.

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Hello and welcome to my blog. It’s all about travel, My Travel Tips For Travel. I travel a lot and what better way to express my opinions about my travels, whatever it may be by: car, plane, bus, train, or boat and yes, even walking and bicycle; It all fits here. Your comments are also welcomed and are appreciated, good bad or ugly, write it here! Maybe you’ll find some common thread on your own travels and share it with us all.

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