Just got off a Greyhound, FlixBus, Megabus, or NJ Transit bus at 8th Ave & 42nd St and have a flight to catch? The subway under the terminal gets you to JFK and LaGuardia for a single fare, and Newark has its own airport bus from the terminal. Here's every option, with official fares.
All three start underground or on the block: the 42 St–Port Authority Bus Terminal subway station (A, C, E) connects to the terminal through underground passageways, and the Newark bus boards on 41st Street right outside.
$11.75 · about an hour
$3.00 · allow about an hour
$23.50 · about 50 min
Sources: JFK Airport, MTA, Newark Airport · Verified September 2026
JFK is the farthest of the three airports but has the easiest rail link from the bus terminal: the E train leaves from right under your feet and runs straight to the AirTrain at Jamaica. No transfer until the AirTrain.
Board a Jamaica Center-bound E at 42 St–Port Authority and ride to Sutphin Blvd–Archer Av–JFK Airport (about 37 minutes on the MTA's daytime timetable). Follow signs up to the AirTrain and ride to your terminal. $3.00 subway + $8.75 AirTrain, paid separately. The E runs at all times.
Take the A from the downtown / Brooklyn-bound platform to Howard Beach–JFK Airport, then the AirTrain. Only A trains to Far Rockaway (or the weekday rush-hour trains to Rockaway Park) stop there. A trains to Ozone Park–Lefferts Blvd do not connect to the airport, and from about 6 AM to midnight they alternate with Far Rockaway trains.
Ride the A, C, or E one stop downtown to 34 St–Penn Station ($3.00), take the LIRR to Jamaica ($5.25 off-peak CityTicket, $7.25 peak), then the AirTrain ($8.75). Walk the eight blocks down 8th Avenue instead and it's $14.00 / $16.00. Worth it at rush hour, less so with heavy bags. Full walkthrough on Penn Station → JFK.
Manhattan ↔ JFK cabs are a $70 flat fare plus tolls, tip, and $2.75–$8.50 in fees that vary by time of day (the TLC lists a $5 surcharge on weekdays 4–8 PM). The meter shows the fixed price. Uber and Lyft are priced by the app and surge at busy times. Travel time is entirely traffic-dependent, so leave generous margin at rush hour.
Uber Shuttle is a shared shuttle booked in the Uber app, and one of its listed Midtown stops is 330 West 42nd Street, near the bus terminal entrance. You can reserve up to 5 seats up to 3 days ahead; fares vary by time and demand. JFK also lists authorized shared-ride vans (Airlink New York, ETS Air Shuttle) that you book directly.
Sources: JFK Airport public transit, MTA JFK guide, MTA A and E timetables, JFK taxis, NYC TLC, JFK van & shuttle services, Uber Shuttle · Verified September 2026
Is there a direct bus from Port Authority to JFK? Not a scheduled public one. The old NYC Airporter / NYC Express Bus that used to run from 42nd Street is not on JFK's list of authorized van and shuttle services, and we could not confirm it is operating, so don't plan around it. If you want a "shuttle," the realistic choices are Uber Shuttle or a pre-booked shared-ride van from the airport's authorized list.
Step 1: Find the subway. Inside the terminal, follow signs for the A C E subway. The 42 St–Port Authority Bus Terminal station connects directly through underground passageways, so you never go outside.
Step 2: Tap in and head for the uptown / Queens platform. Tap a contactless card, phone, or OMNY card ($3.00). The E toward Queens runs north first (to 50 St, then under 53rd Street to Queens), so it boards on the uptown side. The destination sign should read Jamaica Center.
Step 3: Get off at Sutphin Blvd–Archer Av–JFK Airport. It's the stop before Jamaica Center. Follow the AirTrain signs up to the Jamaica AirTrain station.
Step 4: AirTrain to your terminal. Pay the $8.75 AirTrain fare (it's separate from the subway fare and unlimited passes don't cover it) and ride to your terminal.
LaGuardia has no rail link, but the same E train you'd take toward JFK stops at Jackson Heights, where the free Q70 LaGuardia Link bus runs nonstop to the terminals. From Port Authority that's one subway ride and one free bus.
Board a Jamaica Center-bound E on the uptown side at 42 St–Port Authority and get off at Jackson Heights–Roosevelt Av (about 17 minutes on the daytime timetable). Walk up to the Q70 stop at Roosevelt Av & 74 St. The Q70 is free, runs nonstop to Terminals C and B (about 15 minutes in typical traffic), and comes every 6–10 minutes on weekday daytimes. It runs 24 hours, about every 20 minutes overnight.
Times Sq–42 St is linked to the Port Authority subway station by an underground in-system passageway, so the transfer is free. Take the Queens-bound 7 to 74 St–Broadway, the same station complex where the Q70 stops. The E is usually the simpler choice from Port Authority since you board it right under the terminal.
The M60 SBS runs along 125th Street in Manhattan, stops in Astoria, Queens (where it meets the N and W), and serves all LaGuardia terminals. From Port Authority, take the uptown A to 125 St, or the N/W from Times Square to Astoria. One $3.00 fare covers the subway and bus if you use the same card within two hours. Handy only when the E or Q70 is disrupted.
There's no flat fare to LaGuardia; the meter runs. *The Port Authority estimates $30–52 between LGA and Times Square / the Theater District (quoted for rides from the airport), before tips, tolls, surcharges, and congestion pricing. Uber and Lyft set their own prices and surge.
Sources: MTA LaGuardia guide, MTA LaGuardia Link Q70, MTA E timetable, LaGuardia Airport, LGA taxi estimates · Verified September 2026
Flying from Terminal A? The Q70 serves Terminals C and B only. The MTA says to reach Terminal A by shuttle from Terminal B, so add a few minutes. LaGuardia's terminals are A, B, and C.
Late-night E trains run local in Queens. The E is express in Queens at all times except late nights, so the ride to Jackson Heights takes longer overnight. The Q70 itself runs 24 hours but less frequently overnight. Check the MTA app before a very early flight.
Port Authority is the one Midtown spot with a direct bus to Newark. The Newark Airport Express drops you at the curb of your terminal, which skips the AirTrain entirely. The NJ Transit train from Penn Station is cheaper but adds a trip to 34th Street and the AirTrain.
Boards at Port Authority on 41st Street between 8th and 9th Avenues and stops at Terminals B, C, and A. $23.50 one-way, $39.50 round-trip ($12.50 one-way for seniors 62+); a ticket is valid on any scheduled departure. On the January 2026 timetable, buses leave Port Authority every 15–45 minutes (mostly every 15–30 during the day) from 4:30 AM to 12:27 AM on Mondays and Thursday–Sunday, and from 7:15 AM to 12:30 AM on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Walk eight blocks down 8th Avenue or ride the A, C, or E one stop to 34 St–Penn Station ($3.00). Take an NJ Transit Northeast Corridor or North Jersey Coast Line train to Newark Liberty International Airport station, then the AirTrain. The $17.25 ticket includes the AirTrain. Get off at the airport station, not Newark Penn. Details on Penn Station → Newark.
NYC cabs charge the standard metered fare plus a $20 Newark surcharge and tolls, and passengers also cover the driver's return tolls. Lincoln Tunnel traffic can make this no faster than the bus at rush hour.
Sources: Coach USA stop information, Coach USA timetable (revised January 2026), Newark Airport public transit, NYC TLC · Verified September 2026
AirTrain Newark outage — affects the train option, not the bus. From September 8 through October 29, 2026, on weekdays from 5 AM to 3 PM, the AirTrain does not run between the terminals and Newark Airport Rail Station. Free shuttle buses replace it every 4–5 minutes; allow about 15 extra minutes if you take NJ Transit. Weekends are unaffected. The Newark Airport Express stops at the terminals themselves, so it isn't affected.
Early flight on a Tuesday or Wednesday? The current Airport Express timetable has no departures from Port Authority before 7:15 AM on those days (versus 4:30 AM the rest of the week). For a dawn flight midweek, take NJ Transit from Penn Station or a cab. Coach USA recommends arriving 2 hours ahead for domestic flights (Terminals A and C) and 3 hours for international flights from Terminal B.
Flying from Terminal A? Newark Airport says Terminal A isn't directly connected to the AirTrain, so train riders walk about 15 minutes or take a shuttle bus. The Airport Express stops at Terminal A's curb, which makes it the easier pick for Terminal A.
If your bus arrives in the morning and your flight is in the evening, you don't have to drag a suitcase around Midtown. Port Authority has no public lockers, but these services use shops and hotels around the terminal and Times Square. Book on your phone, drop your bags, and pick them up on your way to the airport. (Affiliate links — disclosure.)
Compare locations and hours in the luggage storage guide.
Intercity buses run late. Build in a buffer. A bus from Boston, DC, or Philadelphia can easily arrive well behind schedule. Don't book a tight bus-to-flight connection. Plan the airport leg from the time you actually walk off the bus.
Uptown for the E, downtown for the A. At 42 St–Port Authority the Queens-bound E boards on the uptown side, while the A to Howard Beach boards on the downtown side. It's the most common wrong-platform mistake for JFK-bound riders here.
Read the A train's destination sign. Far Rockaway (or rush-hour Rockaway Park) goes to Howard Beach–JFK. Ozone Park–Lefferts Blvd does not. If in doubt, take the E instead: every Jamaica Center-bound E stops at Sutphin Blvd for the AirTrain.
The subway fare and the AirTrain fare are separate. Tap in for the subway ($3.00), then pay $8.75 at the AirTrain. Unlimited MetroCards and passes don't cover the AirTrain.
Traveling in a group? For JFK, the $70 flat cab fare split three or four ways gets close to the transit fare per person, with no stairs and no transfers. For Newark, compare a rideshare quote against four $23.50 bus tickets.
Port Authority is being rebuilt. The terminal is in a multi-year replacement project, so entrances and signage change. Follow the posted signs to the subway or to the 41st Street side for the Newark bus. See our Port Authority Bus Terminal guide for the layout.
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