By James DeWeese
Lafayette, who has kept his hand in transportation matters since joining the Legislature decades ago and a close watch on the now-delayed city takeover of the private bus lines, would like to see the newly renovated Jackson-Heights-Roosevelt Avenue transit hub become a jumping off point for an express shuttle to the nearbyairport.
Lafayette said last month that he had pitched the idea to the MTA's top brass, representatives from the Port Authority and the mayor's Albany staff but was still waiting to hear back about the plan, which would also include using empty, outgoing subway cars to provide exclusive service to ticketed passengers between Manhattan and the station located at 74th street.
“That's about half an hour to LaGuardia for $2,” he said in an interview with the TimesLedger. “That's a pretty good deal.”
Spokesmen for the New York City Transit Authority and the Metropolitan Transit Authority said they could not comment on the proposed plan because the press offices had not received any information about it.
With renovations to the subway station and bus terminal – which services the 7, E, F, R and V trains as well as number of buses destined for the nether regions of the borough – slated to be completed by this winter, travelers would have plenty to do while waiting to catch the airport shuttle.
Eight stores will fill a shopping center on the E-train concourse, and Lafayette said he would like to see a coffee shop similar to Starbucks at the bus station.
With new elevators, the transit hub will be 100 percent accessible for passengers with disabilities, Lafayette said.
The plan makes perfect sense for everyone involved, he contended.
Travelers would get a quick bus ride to the airport. Those who live around the airport – the yearly passenger load of which is expected to rise to 30 million within a decade – could see a 15 percent reduction in area traffic because travelers would be taking the bus instead of private cars or taxis. And the MTA would get more riders, he said.
All with a minimum of disruption, Lafayette said.
Most of the air traffic at LaGuardia during the weekdays, he said, is commuters who leave in the morning and return at night. Because of their schedule, most would be traveling on the transit system against the regular flow of rush hour subway service, helping to fill otherwise empty trains.
“It's good for MTA – they pay more fares and get more people,” Lafayette said.
Most business travelers and day trippers whose LaGuardia, Lafayette said, are light packers, making the subway-and-bus solution a viable alternative for getting to the airport.
“Cabs take longer,” Lafayette said of the projected 30-minute, Manhattan-to-LaGuardia trip.
The 74th Street/Roosevelt Avenue subway station and transit hub has been undergoing its first major overhaul in more than 70 years.
The $132 million redesign to the station that handles more than 42,000 riders a day is scheduled to be completed by this winter, months ahead of schedule.
“I want the buses in the terminal by Christmas,” Lafayette said of the vehicles which, displaced by construction, have been parked along the already congested streets.
Reach reporter James DeWeese by e-mail at news@timesledger.com, or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 157.
