Why LaGuardia is its own puzzle
LaGuardia Airport sits in East Elmhurst, Queens, roughly eight miles from Midtown Manhattan. On a map it looks like the easy one: much closer than Newark, closer than JFK, practically across the river. In practice, it is the only one of the three New York airports with no rail line running into the terminals. The AirTrain project that was meant to link LGA with the 7 train and the Long Island Rail Road was cancelled in 2022, so nothing has replaced it.
What that means for you is simple. Whether you take a bus, a yellow taxi, a rideshare or a pre-booked car, you end up on the Grand Central Parkway, the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway or the Long Island Expressway, and then across one of the East River crossings. The distance is short. The predictability is not. Someone landing at 11 a.m. on a Tuesday and someone landing at 5:30 p.m. on a Friday are taking two completely different trips over the same eight miles.
Your realistic options from LGA
Here is the full menu. Everything else people suggest online is some variation of these:
- The Q70 SBS LaGuardia Link, a limited-stop MTA bus that connects the terminals to two subway hubs in Queens.
- The M60 SBS, an MTA bus that crosses into Manhattan at 125th Street in Harlem, stopping in Astoria along the way.
- Local MTA buses such as the Q47, Q48 and Q72, useful if you are headed somewhere in Queens rather than Manhattan.
- A yellow taxi from the airport taxi stand, which runs on the meter for this trip.
- A pre-booked for-hire vehicle: a car service, black car, SUV or wheelchair accessible vehicle reserved in advance.
- A rideshare app, which you request on arrival from the designated pickup area.
- Driving yourself in a rental, which for a trip into Manhattan is rarely worth the parking cost and hassle.
The buses, explained plainly
The Q70 SBS, branded the LaGuardia Link, is the airport's main transit connection. It runs between the LGA terminals and two points in Queens: Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Avenue / 74th Street-Broadway, where you can pick up the E, F, M, R and 7 trains, and Woodside-61st Street, where you can catch the 7 and the Long Island Rail Road. From Jackson Heights the E and F will put you in Midtown Manhattan without another transfer. Check the MTA for current fare rules and schedules before you count on it, since service patterns and fare policies do change.
The M60 SBS is the other useful one. It crosses the RFK/Triborough Bridge and runs west along 125th Street in Harlem, where it meets the 4, 5, 6, 2, 3, A, B, C, D and 1 trains, and it also stops in Astoria near the N and W. If you are staying uptown or on the Upper West Side, the M60 can genuinely beat a car in heavy traffic because it does not have to fight its way down into Midtown.
The honest caveat: both are city buses. There is no luggage rack, you board with your bags in hand, and then you transfer into a subway system where stairs are more common than elevators. If you are travelling light, alone, and not in a rush, the buses are a smart, cheap and reliable choice, and we will say so. If you are three people with five suitcases and a stroller after a red-eye, the calculation changes completely.
Taxis and for-hire cars at LaGuardia
One thing worth clearing up, because it is the single most common misunderstanding at LGA: the TLC flat fare that yellow taxis use between JFK and Manhattan does not apply here. From LaGuardia, a yellow taxi runs on the meter, plus tolls and any surcharges that apply. If you want to know what the current flat fare is on the JFK route, or exactly what a metered LGA trip includes, confirm it directly with the TLC or with the driver before you ride rather than trusting a number you read somewhere online.
A pre-booked for-hire vehicle works differently. You reserve before you land, you share your flight number so the pickup is planned around your actual arrival, and you get your price quoted through the app or over the phone at the time of booking instead of watching a meter. You also choose the vehicle: a sedan for one or two people, an SUV when there is real luggage, a black car for a business arrival, or a wheelchair accessible vehicle when you need the ramp.
Pickup logistics at LGA change as the Port Authority reorganizes the terminals and their ground transportation areas. Follow the posted ground transportation signage inside your terminal, and stay in touch with your driver by phone or WhatsApp once you have your bags. Do not assume the pickup spot is where it was on your last trip.
Routes, bridges and the traffic that decides your trip
There are three usual ways into Manhattan, and a driver picks between them based on where you are going and what the roads look like at that moment. Via the RFK/Triborough Bridge, a toll crossing, and then down the Harlem River Drive and FDR Drive, which suits Upper Manhattan and the East Side. Via the Grand Central Parkway and BQE to the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, which is not tolled and drops you around 59th Street for Midtown East. Or via the Long Island Expressway to the Queens-Midtown Tunnel, a toll crossing that lands you around 34th Street for Midtown and the West Side.
A few things reliably make the trip slower: weekday rush hours in both directions, a Mets game at Citi Field, the US Open in Flushing Meadows in late August and early September, and holiday getaway afternoons. Separately, Manhattan has a congestion relief zone covering the area south of 60th Street, and trips into it can carry a surcharge depending on the vehicle type and the time. Ask when you book so there are no surprises.
No honest operator will hand you a door-to-door time for this route. Nobody controls the Grand Central Parkway. What you can do is build a buffer, especially heading to the airport rather than from it.
Which option fits which traveler
- One person, a carry-on, midday, staying in Midtown: the Q70 to the E or F is hard to beat.
- Staying in Harlem, Morningside Heights or the Upper West Side: the M60 is often the quickest and simplest.
- A family with children, car seats or several checked bags: a pre-booked car, without much debate.
- A late arrival, a delayed flight, or your first time in New York: booking ahead means you are not negotiating a pickup zone at midnight.
- A business arrival where you want a clean handoff at the door: a black car or SUV reserved in advance.
- A traveler who uses a wheelchair or has limited mobility: request a wheelchair accessible vehicle when you book, since availability varies by time and day.
Booking a car from LaGuardia with Ready Go USA
Ready Go USA runs taxi and car service across the five boroughs and to all three airports. For an LGA arrival or departure you can reserve through the app on iOS and Android, by phone at 212-448-1088 or 917-562-8568, or over WhatsApp. Scheduled reservations are taken Monday through Saturday. The fleet includes private sedans, SUVs, black cars and wheelchair accessible vehicles.
When you book, give the flight number and the terminal, tell us how many passengers and bags there are, and mention car seats or a WAV so the right vehicle is assigned. Payment is made directly by the customer at the time of service.
If you want the airport-specific details, the LaGuardia airport car service page covers pickups and drop-offs at LGA, and the JFK airport car service page does the same for Kennedy, including how the flat-fare situation differs there. For where you are actually going or coming from, see our Manhattan car service page and, if your trip starts or ends in Queens, the Queens car service page.