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LaGuardia AirTrain May Cost $4.20 Per Rider, Port Authority Says

LaGuardia AirTrain May Cost $4.20 Per Rider, Port Authority Says

Construction of the AirTrain to LaGuardia Airport is likely to end up costing between $4.20 and $7 dollars per rider when spreading the price over a 50-year life span, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said. 

The authority said it came up with that estimate by dividing the project’s $2.1 billion construction cost by between the 6 million and 10 million riders it estimates will take the train annually over a half-century. 

LaGuardia AirTrain May Cost $4.20 Per Rider, Port Authority Says

The latest figures come after the authority said per rider cost estimates published Sept. 10 by government watchdog group Reinvent Albany were “deeply flawed and disingenuous.”

“While the math on ridership and capital projects can be complicated, the ‘cost per rider’ needs to recognize that the project is expected to operate 365 days a year over at least 50 years with an initial ridership of between 6-10 million annual passengers,” the Authority said. 

The project is meant to provide a faster link between Midtown Manhattan and the airport and allow travelers to avoid traffic that leads to and from the airport. The estimated number of riders is likely to climb if train usage parallels what JFK AirTrain saw, and that could lower the capital costs per passenger even more, the authority said.

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