Taxi alternatives take off

       Getting to the airport on the outskirts of town used to be a simple proposition - catch a taxi, even if it meant sitting in traffic.
       But in recent years the number of options has grown, especially at some of the biggest airports, with direct trains and shared-ride services. The additional options are cheaper and also more reliable, in many cases, if there is a lot of traffic on the highways.
       Shared-ride transfers offered by firms like SuperShuttle in the US and Go Airport Shuttle, which operates in North America and Britain, can be more time-consuming than a taxi or limousine ride, but are significantly less expensive. And fast trains - like the Heathrow Express and Gatwick Express in London and AirTrain JFK and AirTrain Newark in the New York area - are less expensive than a taxi and often faster.
       These alternative modes of transport are becoming more attractive to business travellers, said Dave Kilduff, managing director of ground transportation consulting for the CWT Solutions Group,because in "this type of economic environment, corporations are turning over every rock to save money."
       And services like the Heathrow Express "are not only faster, they're keeping people off the road,they're environmentally friendly," he added.
       In the first six months of this year, the number of travellers whose flights ended at Heathrow was down 8.9 per cent from the period a year earlier. But Heathrow Express's share of those passengers rose 1.6 per cent in that period. Similarly,passenger traffic at La Guardia, Kennedy International and Newark Liberty International airports declined 9.4 per cent in the first five months of this year compared with the same period in 2008.
       But passenger traffic on the Kennedy and Newark AirTrains was 1.4 per cent higher in the first five months of this year than the same period last year.
       William DeCota, director of aviation at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, estimates that during peak travel times on weekdays, one-third to one-half of passengers on the Kennedy and Newark trains are business travellers.
       Perhaps the biggest attraction is the cost savings. A single on the AirTrain JFK, which picks up travellers at the Howard Beach and Jamaica train and subway stations, costs $5(171 baht).People flying out of Newark can take a New Jersey Transit train from Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan to Newark Liberty International Airport,where they pick up AirTrain Newark;the one-way fare for the trip is $15.
       By contrast, a one-way cab ride from midtown Manhattan to Kennedy Airport is $45, plus tolls and tip, while a oneway taxi ride from the midtown area to Newark can go as high as $90, plus tolls and tip. Depending on traffic, an AirTrain transfer can also be quicker than a cab.
       Kenneth Lin, a senior planning manager in New York for Parsons Brinckerhoff, consultants to the Port Authority on construction of the AirTrain JFK, says he's a fan of public transport,including AirTrain JFK."It's cheaper than a taxi and more reliable during rush hour. It reduces stress, as it is less idiosyncratic than taxis, and it usually arrives on time."
       The Heathrow and Gatwick rail links - both of which have economy and first-class cars - offer significant time savings: the Gatwick Express travels to Victoria Station in 30 minutes, while the Heathrow Express takes only 15 minutes to get to Paddington Station. During rush hour, those journeys could take triple the time in a taxi. A return economyclass fare on the former costs ฃ28.80 (1,604 baht) and a return first-class fare,ฃ48. The economy fare on the latter is ฃ32 return, with ฃ50 for first-class return.
       Money saved by using these trains is also significant: During rush hour, a cab ride from Heathrow to Paddington can cost as much as ฃ80, without a tip, while one from Gatwick to Victoria Station can cost as much as ฃ90 without a tip.
       To lure business travellers, Heathrow Express has installed Wi-Fi and mobile phone service; Gatwick Express offers mobile phone service and refreshments.
       The two top providers of shared-ride service are SuperShuttle, which is owned by Veolia Transportation and serves 33 airports in 26 markets in the US, and Go Airport Shuttle, a group of franchised operators that serve 80 airports in 36 cities in the US plus Toronto and London.
       Both companies set a 15- to 20-minute window of time for collecting people from their homes, offices or hotels.Passengers travel to the airport in a van with others picked up along the way.
       A taxi ride may be faster, but will certainly be more expensive. A one-way SuperShuttle ride to La Guardia from the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in midtown Manhattan is $14.15, and slightly higher from a Manhattan home or office.SuperShuttle typically requires a pickup three hours before a flight departure.
       ShuttleFare.com, a web site that lets travellers book many types of airport transfers, including those offered by SuperShuttle and Go, recently introduced a corporate discount programme that waives its normal $4 service fee per booking, and discounts fares by seven per cent.
       Matthew Holdrege, director o f international sales for Strix Systems, a wireless broadband manufacturer in Newbury Parks, California, said he found train transfers particularly attractive "as long as you travel light." But, he added,"If I'm travelling with my wife, who can have a lot of luggage, she may prefer the princess treatment. So forget about public transportation."