The Port Authority’s AirTrain at JFK opened last Wednesday, to some fanfare and a few misgivings. We feel that it is far from bad news when the first new mass transit line in memory opens in New York City, and that we can now only wait and see whether the various criticisms of AirTrain come to pass in the form of low ridership. The Campaign supported the AirTrain plan’s approval in 1999 as a workable ― if not ideal ― addition to the region’s mass transit network.

Complaints emphasize the problem of transferring from the Long Island Railroad or subway to the AirTrain at Jamaica Station, especially with luggage, and its high fare, especially where the train substitutes for the formerly free bus linking airport terminals to the Howard Beach A-subway station.

According to the NY Post, the Port Authority expects the AirTrain to attract 11,000 daily paying riders, and many more using the train as a free circulator within JFK. The Port Authority’s Newark AirTrain sees about 3,500 daily riders who transfer from NJ Transit or Amtrak, out of 30,000 total riders (MTR #432).

Journalists who ran afternoon train vs. cab races from Midtown to JFK on AirTrain’s first day saw both LIRR and subway AirTrain connections soundly beat taxi trips to JFK terminals.

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