Landing Gear

How many days a week, on average, do you drive in New York City? For me, the answer is seven and I find traffic problems much more frequent.

The first sentence you posted makes as much sense as saying that's the reason Newsradio 88 broadcasts the Yankees; "because it gives them something to talk about."

sbm12

Given that most of the suggestions above involve mass transit I'm not so sure your driving habits matter to answer the OP's question, but I doubt that really matters.

As for how often the roads are such that it will materially affect getting between JFK and midtown should the OP choose to go with a taxi, towncar or one of the bus services, I'll stand by my previous assertion that the number of unexpected "incidents" which materially affect the transit times are relatively low.

Landing Gear

Let me connect the dots for you. I drive every day so I pay careful attention to the traffic reports which also included information about problems with the transit system. There are plenty of both.

sbm12

And I ride the transit system nearly every day and pay lots of attention to it as well. I believe you are exaggerating the frequency and significance of the issues.

RooseveltL

I'm not moderator but the back and forth is not solving anything as you both have an opinion and I can easily side with both of you - as you are both right.

On one hand - if I told someone to drive from JFK to/from LGA I would tell them it takes 45-55 minutes even though without traffic (only available at 1-4am) the route can be accomplished in 17 minutes easily. The norm on the VWE & GCP is slow down which happens constantly and not worth mentioning (even in normal traffic reports) just add the time.
On the other hand - Occasionally, there is an overturn vehicle on the GWB or Lincoln Tunnel or Rt 1/9 S towards EWR over Skyway which makes the normal 20 minutes delay translate into an unbearable 2 hrs. If one is going to an airport - it is important to listen for the infrequent hiccups that could make you miss a flight.

Landing Gear

That sums it up.

sbm12

Yes, but it makes more sense to me to plan based on things working and then, if one of these hiccups does occur, know how to get around it (i.e. switch from taxi to mass transit or vv) rather than assume that it is going to be 3 hours in each direction because a truck might overturn somewhere in the tri-state area. It comes down to reasonable expectations IMO.