+ azdr0710 Posted October 4 Share Posted October 4 (edited) experienced traveler here and I prefer public transport over "car service" and limos, especially when alone..... will be needing to get from LaGuardia (LGA) to NY Penn Station late on a weekday afternoon in a few weeks....may've done this as a kid holding Mom and Dad's hands, but that would've been in a cab..... summarizing, looks like the cheap(!) way is to take the free Q70 bus from Terminal B or C to either the subway or LIRR (one stop further) and go on one or the other right to Penn.... https://new.mta.info/guides/airports/laguardia/lga-to-nyc is this the way regulars do it?......I'll have a small duffel and a light backpack and can walk long distances........I have an old Metrocard, but don't know if it's still reloadable.....I also have the MTA/TrainTime app...... or, for a few more bucks, is there a direct option to Penn from LGA that doesn't require any change at all?...... hints, cautions, new ideas?.....thanks Edited October 5 by azdr0710 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pubic_assistance Posted October 5 Share Posted October 5 For cheap transportation with limited luggage I always take the bus to the subway unless it's late at night then..yes. bus to LIRR is the better (safer) option. (When traveling from Kennedy it's AIRTRAIN to LIRR) + azdr0710, + BOZO T CLOWN, mike carey and 2 others 2 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike carey Posted October 5 Share Posted October 5 35 minutes ago, azdr0710 said: I have an old Metrocard, but don't know if it's still reloadable.....I also have the MTA/TrainTime app...... The Metrocard I have in my wallet has an expiry date stamped on the back (bought in Apr this year, expires end of Jan 25) but for bus/LIRR obviously you don't need one. With the subway option I believe you can use a contactless credit card or smart device wallet on the OMNY reader. (If you're using JFK for a return flight a Metrocard is the only option for the air train.) + azdr0710 and + FrankR 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ jrhoutex Posted October 5 Share Posted October 5 I just returned from NYC from last weekend's trip. I didn't see anyone using Metrocards. The OMNY readers are now functional. I set up one of my credit cards as a "transit" card in my iPhone, then used my iPhone to tap the OMNY reader to pay for subway fare. The Q70-SBS bus transfer from LGA to 74th ST/Roosevelt Station (subway connections) or WoosideAve/61st (for LIRR connection) is now free. You pay once you enter the Roosevelt Station/Woodside Station. Advanced planning my save transit costs. If you qualify for a reduced-Fare, you can apply for a reduce-fare metro card, then use the number assigned to active an OMNY account so you can use your phone to tap the OMNY reader for the reduced-fare. It took under 30 days to apply and get a reduced-fare metro card. All of the buses and subways have OMNY readers now. Here is link on the OMNY readers. OMNY OMNY.INFO Homepage Here is a link on MTA's reduced-fare MetroCard. Reduced Fares NEW.MTA.INFO Reduced fares are available for riders who are 65 or older or riders who have qualifying disabilities. DMICS, + azdr0710 and pubic_assistance 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ nycman Posted October 5 Share Posted October 5 10 hours ago, azdr0710 said: I prefer public transport over "car service" and limos You lost me. grin To answer the question (only because I love you), the bus to subway option is the one preferred by locals. (Now get a car service you cheap ass bitch….sorry, I couldn’t resist.) thomas, pubic_assistance, + azdr0710 and 2 others 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pubic_assistance Posted October 5 Share Posted October 5 34 minutes ago, nycman said: You lost me. grin To answer the question (only because I love you), the bus to subway option is the one preferred by locals. (Now get a car service you cheap ass bitch….sorry, I couldn’t resist.) For us locals....all of this is about time of day. You're crazy if you take a car service into Manhattan arriving at LaGuardia during the day. Traffic will be horrendous and will take you twice as long (if not three times as long) as the public transportation options. So while an Uber may seem more "classy" it's the worst choice between 8:00 AM and 7:00 PM. A real New Yorker is well familiar with public transportation options for this reason. + nycman, + BOZO T CLOWN, + azdr0710 and 5 others 2 2 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alfstoria Posted October 20 Share Posted October 20 (edited) On 10/4/2023 at 7:57 PM, azdr0710 said: experienced traveler here and I prefer public transport over "car service" and limos, especially when alone..... will be needing to get from LaGuardia (LGA) to NY Penn Station late on a weekday afternoon in a few weeks....may've done this as a kid holding Mom and Dad's hands, but that would've been in a cab..... summarizing, looks like the cheap(!) way is to take the free Q70 bus from Terminal B or C to either the subway or LIRR (one stop further) and go on one or the other right to Penn.... https://new.mta.info/guides/airports/laguardia/lga-to-nyc is this the way regulars do it?......I'll have a small duffel and a light backpack and can walk long distances........I have an old Metrocard, but don't know if it's still reloadable.....I also have the MTA/TrainTime app...... or, for a few more bucks, is there a direct option to Penn from LGA that doesn't require any change at all?...... hints, cautions, new ideas?.....thanks I’m a regular user of LGA. If you don’t mind taking the overground subway stairs, you can take the M60 (there are machines nearby, or you can use OMNY). Get off just before the bridge at the N/W (yellow line)Astoria Blvd stop , Queens; that will take you on a single subway ride to 34th Street. I agree that taking a car or Uber from any airport to Midtown Manhattan during the day can be a nightmare. We’re close to starting to charge a-another -midtown toll/surcharge, so the subway is the best option. I rarely take the M70 to go over the bridge; it will take me all the way to Upper Manhattan. even if the N/w are running in only one side, Astoria Blvd always has both directions Have a great trip! Edited October 20 by Alfstoria + azdr0710 and thomas 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ azdr0710 Posted October 22 Author Share Posted October 22 me again....... with this OMNY thing, it looks like I can just tap my tap-able credit card at the turnstile headed to a subway?....and I don't have to buy a Metrocard or whatever at those wall machines on the way to the turnstile?........do I tap again on the way thru the exit turnstile, too?...... or what do I have wrong here?......do all subway station have the OMNY?.....is it the way to go? thanks for the answers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike carey Posted October 22 Share Posted October 22 1 hour ago, azdr0710 said: me again....... with this OMNY thing, it looks like I can just tap my tap-able credit card at the turnstile headed to a subway?....and I don't have to buy a Metrocard or whatever at those wall machines on the way to the turnstile?........do I tap again on the way thru the exit turnstile, too?...... or what do I have wrong here?......do all subway station have the OMNY?.....is it the way to go? thanks for the answers! The subway was swipe as you enter with the old cards and still is when you tap on with OMNY, and it's on all subway stations and buses. It's a flat fare so there's no point in making you tap off. I assume it's the same on buses, and as I read it you get a free transfer if you tap with the same card (or device) on both modes on the same trip (I don't know what the time limit is for a transfer). If you take 12 trips within a week, regardless of what day your first trip is, any further trips in the week are free if you use the same card. You don't need to register, just use the same card each time. I'd say it is the way to go. Sydney has a more complex fare structure with distance based fares and separate fares on trains, buses, and light rail, so you have to tap on and off on each mode (ferries you only tap on before boarding). The credit card option works with that here and manages it, and applies transfer discounts between modes, cumulative fares (that is, not separate fares) if you have to change buses, and daily and weekly (Mon to Sun) fare caps. + azdr0710 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pubic_assistance Posted October 22 Share Posted October 22 7 hours ago, azdr0710 said: do I tap again on the way thru the exit turnstile, too?...... New York's subway is pay-one-price. It's not priced by district and distance the way many systems are in Europe. Just use your phone pay app on entry and you can travel anywhere on the system with that payment. There are various free transfers from bus to subway or subway to bus, as well. + nycman and + azdr0710 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ azdr0710 Posted October 25 Author Share Posted October 25 Success in the big city! Seamless transfer from Terminal B to Penn. Wow, that OMNY tap thing is fantastic! Free entertainment on the subway! Melting pot of humanity at Roosevelt in Jackson Heights. Great new terminal building. Thanks to all repliers! + Lucky, + Vegas_Millennial, mike carey and 5 others 3 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike carey Posted October 25 Share Posted October 25 6 hours ago, azdr0710 said: Success in the big city! Seamless transfer from Terminal B to Penn. Wow, that OMNY tap thing is fantastic! Free entertainment on the subway! Melting pot of humanity at Roosevelt in Jackson Heights. Great new terminal building. Thanks to all repliers! Welcome to New Amsterdam! + azdr0710 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ nycman Posted October 26 Share Posted October 26 2 hours ago, mike carey said: Welcome to New Amsterdam! Now go home. grin mike carey, randeman, + azdr0710 and 1 other 1 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ Lucky Posted November 15 Share Posted November 15 All of these years I have trusted NY cab drivers, but this trip both leaving LGA and going back I got the tourist treatment. They drove all over the place and ran the bill pretty high. Should have taken the bus! + Charlie 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ BenjaminNicholas Posted November 15 Share Posted November 15 1 hour ago, Lucky said: All of these years I have trusted NY cab drivers, but this trip both leaving LGA and going back I got the tourist treatment. They drove all over the place and ran the bill pretty high. Should have taken the bus! I never get into a NYC cab without telling them how I want to get there. DMICS, + Vegas_Millennial, + Charlie and 1 other 2 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SouthOfTheBorder Posted November 15 Share Posted November 15 (edited) 2 hours ago, BenjaminNicholas said: I never get into a NYC cab without telling them how I want to get there. that can be tricky - there are so many closures that you wouldn’t know about like parades routinely on the east side w major closures, construction, street fairs, security perimeters, accidents, etc. vast majority of taxi drivers are honest & know what they’re doing. I watch closely the first few moves and make suggestions if appears off-course. They almost always have a valid reason for doing what they’re doing if you ask. Rule of thumb - never get in a taxi when public trans will do. It’s faster & cheaper 90% of the time. I’ve never experienced the “tourist treatment” - they can tell very quickly if you live there or not. just by now you give the address. Edited November 15 by SouthOfTheBorder + Vegas_Millennial and + azdr0710 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ BenjaminNicholas Posted November 15 Share Posted November 15 3 hours ago, SouthOfTheBorder said: Rule of thumb - never get in a taxi when public trans will do. It’s faster & cheaper 90% of the time. Well, yeah, that's always the case, but that's also an apples to oranges within the conversation. If the taxi driver tells me something is running slow or there's closures, I always give them the shot to reroute. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ Charlie Posted November 16 Share Posted November 16 4 hours ago, SouthOfTheBorder said: that can be tricky - there are so many closures that you wouldn’t know about like parades routinely on the east side w major closures, construction, street fairs, security perimeters, accidents, etc. vast majority of taxi drivers are honest & know what they’re doing. I watch closely the first few moves and make suggestions if appears off-course. They almost always have a valid reason for doing what they’re doing if you ask. Rule of thumb - never get in a taxi when public trans will do. It’s faster & cheaper 90% of the time. I’ve never experienced the “tourist treatment” - they can tell very quickly if you live there or not. just by now you give the address. Lucky must have forgotten how to give the address, because he used to be a Manhattanite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ Lucky Posted November 16 Share Posted November 16 When we exited the cab, the meter read over $70. It would have rang up another ten for that last block as traffic was at a standstill. When I saw the credit card bill, I noted that the cab driver had lowered the fare to $65. + Charlie 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randeman Posted November 19 Share Posted November 19 (edited) On 10/25/2023 at 10:02 PM, nycman said: Now go home. grin OMG...When I lived in NYC metro I used to say something similar, especially when slowed by a group of tourists walking six abreast down a street near Times Square. "Thanks for your money, now go the fuck home." 😝 Edited November 19 by randeman + nycman, + azdr0710, thomas and 1 other 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ Lucky Posted November 19 Share Posted November 19 Same sentiment here in the desert when we get overrun by snowbirds. Go home! + Charlie and + azdr0710 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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