The top 10 easiest U.S. airports to get to

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The top 10 easiest U.S. airports to get to
Boston, D.C., other places to skip the cab lines, traffic and high fares

By George Hobica
Updated: 6:37 p.m. ET Sept 6, 2007

Some airports, like Denver's, aren't known for easy and cheap public transportation to the city center. But, in Airfarewatchdog.com's experience, these 10 U.S. airports make it easy to skip cab lines, traffic and high fares.

Boston Logan: The Silver Line Rapid Transit Bus Service (SL1) will take you from Boston's Logan Airport straight to South Station, which is Boston's central transportation hub. There are also shuttle buses to/from the Blue Line subway train to each airport terminal.

Washington Reagan National: The Washington D.C. Metrorail stops at the B and C terminals in this airport. From Terminal A, you can take a short bus ride to Terminal B or C to get on the train.
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San Francisco International: Hop on the Airtran at any terminal, for no cost, and get off at the Garage G/BART station stop. From there you can access the Bay Area Rapid Transit (San Francisco's train system).

New York John F. Kennedy: You can get on the Airtrain for $5 at each terminal, and access the New York City Transit Authority subway or the Long Island Railroad. Get off at Airtrain's Howard Beach exit for transfer to the A subway train, or at Jamaica Station for transfer to the E, J and Z subway trains and the Long Island Railroad.

Minneapolis-St.Paul International: The light rail trains stop at the Lindbergh terminal, then proceeds to key locations such as the Mall of America and downtown Minneapolis. From the Humphrey terminal, there is a shuttle bus to the Lindbergh terminal. However, the airport hopes to have light rail service to both terminals by Autumn 2007.

Chicago O'Hare: The Airport Transit System (ATS) is a free train that connects all terminals to a Metra subway/train station. You can take the Metra to numerous locations in downtown Chicago.

Philadelphia International: The SEPTA (Philadelphia's public transit system) connects directly to all terminals in this airport. You can hop on to the R1 high-speed rail line, which goes straight into downtown Philadelphia and other transportation hubs.

Portland International: Portland's MAX light rail stops at the airport's central baggage claim. It's the last stop on the red line, which goes to downtown Portland and the City Center.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International: MARTA (Atlanta's train system) stops at the airport's baggage claim area. This service will take you to downtown Atlanta within 20 minutes.

Baltimore/Washington International: A free shuttle will take you from the terminals to the BWI Rail Station. From there, you can take the Maryland Rail Commuter Service (MARC) to either Penn Station in Baltimore or Union Station in Washington D.C.
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Link

This is based on rapid transit but the should talk about highway access. The Ted Williams makes it really easy to get to Logan and makes the Silver Line connection possible. Good to see Boston is on the top of a positive list for once.
 
I can't believe JFK made the list. A 2 hour subway ride on the A...which is nonetheless only $2. But then the 15 second Airtrain ride is $5! People swear by the LIRR option, but it's kinda inherently silly to have to deal with commuter rail to get to an airport that's subway-accessible. NYC desperately needs something like the Heathrow Express in London.

LaGuardia was only slightly better for me since I lived on the M60 bus line but I have no idea how anyone else gets there without a cab.

In comparison, getting to Logan is now a dream.
 
The E is a much better option than A for getting to Manhattan.
 
If you're traveling to/from midtown LIRR is definitely the way to go. Trains are at least every 15 minutes offpeak and every 7 or 8 minutes during the peak. The trip to Jamaica takes 20 minutes, and AirTrain from there is another 12-15 minutes. I think a 40-45 minute $10 trip from Midtown is pretty reasonable. Its been a while since I was in London, but my recollection is that it took roughly the same amount of time to get to Heathrow from central London.

And since LIRR is the biggest commuter rail system in the country, JFK actually has terrific transit access from NY suburbia (or at least the third of it that lives on LI) via one transfer at Jamaica.
 
Yeah, I guess my issue is that the LIRR isn't really dedicated. You have to jockey with LI commuters.
 
Yeah but that's also true for Boston's Silver Line, or the L lines connecting to both of Chicago's airports, or BART in SF, or DC Metro. I think Philadelphia is the only US airport with a dedicated transit service.
 
From what I recall, the Silver Line had separate buses going to Logan vs. the SBW stops...or at least that was the case the last time I was at South Station.

In any case, it was never really that burdensome to take transit to the airport in Boston. Conditions are always worse when the airport is relatively away from the city.
 
The airport-bound Silver Line buses (SL1) still make other stops along the way (Courthouse, WTC, Silver Line Way), which mixes you with commuters to the South Boston Waterfront.
 
Silverline

The problem with the SilverLine is the need to mix with road traffic while getting to/from the Ted Williams

At the very least the T + Turnpike and Massport should conspire together to build:
1) Private entrance / exit from Ted to SilverLine -- no need to get into surface traffic to get to/from normal entrance / exit to Ted
2) A covered moving walkway to/from BED to World Trade Station ? then there would be no need to stop anywhere to / from Ted before SilverLine Way

Ideally they would also provide:
3) Underpass at D street to avoid surface traffic entirely
4) Electrical power for the SL-1 through the Ted and all the way around the Terminals ? then there would be no need to switchover power at SilverLine Way ? leave that for the buses going to the Marine Industrial Park and City Point

If the above was done then the SL-1 would be in the top-of-the-world-class in connecting downtown with the airport

Even just doing 1), 2) which can be done for cheap {the private entrance is already there for emergency vehicles ? need to accommodate a private exit} would make a major improvement over existing Sl-1 which h in turn was way better than the old Massport bus to the Blue Line ? especially if you originate on the Red Line

From Alewife any terminal at Logan is now regularly accessible in 45 minutes and without the switch to diesel power and the sometimes traffic at D Street and the other surface drive it could be less than 30 minutes reliably

Ironically, when the ramps to the Ted were closed the SL-1 got to use the emergency vehicle ramp and the trip was the shortest ever

Westy
 
Re: Silverline

whighlander said:
2) A covered moving walkway to/from BED to World Trade Station ? then there would be no need to stop anywhere to / from Ted before SilverLine Way
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Whose bed?
 
Re: Silverline

whighlander said:
4) Electrical power for the SL-1 through the Ted and all the way around the Terminals – then there would be no need to switchover power at SilverLine Way – leave that for the buses going to the Marine Industrial Park and City Point
Click to expand...

I would think it would be easier to electrify SL2. I dont know why it wasnt
 
BED was supposed to be BEC

BED is a typo

I meant BEC {Boston Exposition Center}

The Moving Walkway in a tube would allow travelers to get to the BEC from the Silver Line protected from the weather.

Westy
 
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