"beating the system" tip#40: case study: taking a taxi from JFK to Manhattan
 

No cab drivers in the world are so determined and expert at overcharging their passengers than those on the route from JFK into Manhattan. After years of experience, I can just about manage to avoid paying for pre-existing time on the meter and, when there are other passangers, for more than my proportionate share of the proper mileage charge. If I'm extraordinarily vigilant, I can even prevent the driver from going to Manhattan via Philadelphia. However, I'm almost never able to get a New York cabby to take the shortest, cheapest route I want him to take.

To New York cab drivers, the only legitimate route from the New York airports to midtown or downtown Manhattan is by way ot the Tappenzee Bridge. Even those with the most elementary knowledge of geometry can see with one look at the map that the Tappenzee Bridge is not the shortest route to midtown or downtown Manhattan. The shortest route between two points is, miracle of miracles, not the curved line but the straight line, the Long Island Expressway.

Now, I'm sure the average New York cab driver is unlikely to have read much Euclid. And I'm certain there are some who are so ignorant that they are simply unaware of any alternative route (these are the ones who, when finally make it to 41st street in Manhattan, require detailed directions on how to get to 42nd). Most, though, have simply realized that the Tappenzee Bridge is the longest route they can take to the city which will not get them in trouble with the New York Taxi and Limousine Commission for overcharging.

When you try to get a New York cab driver to take alternative route, he will resist in several ways.

One way is to argue that at that time of the day the Long Island Expressway or Midtown Tunnel is jammed up. Needless to say, it doesn't matter what the time of day is. I've had te argument put to me at two o'clock in the morning on a Tuesday.

How these guys know the Long Island Expressway or Midtown Tunnel is jammed up is a mystery to me. Especially since they never seem to know when the Tappenzee Bridge is jammed up.

It's certainly possible that because of the number of cars or counter-rush-hour lane restrictions, the midtown route is more jammed up. But the way I see it, it has to be twice as jammed up as the Tappenzee Bridge route in order to justify covering twice the distance to avoid it.

If by some miracle, you're able to get a New York cab driver to agree to take you on the midtown route, do not assume that the battle is over. He probably doesn't understand. I mean, so few New York cab drivers today speak english. Who knows what the words, "Midtown Tunnel route," mean in Ukrainian? You're probably lucky not to be sodomized with a large cabbage at the first exit.

Even if your cabby does understand, he is likely to take a broad interpretation of your intent. This is tha cabby who takes you to the Midtown Tunnel via the Tappenzee Bridge - or, at the very least, via the "great circle route" that passes by La Guardia.

Or your cabby may "accidentally" miss the relevant turnoff for the Long Island Expressway and end up at the Tappenzee Bridge that way.

This is a tough one to defend against. You've got to keep an eye on the road and continually warn the driver about upcoming exits without appearing too pushy. If you appear too pushy, then the driver is likely to respond by stopping at each exit along the road and asking you sarcastically wether he should take it.

"This one's to New England," he'll say. "That's somewhere near Manhattan, isn't it?"

Even if the driver eventually takes the fastest route, his stopping every quarter-mile to ask you directions will have turned it into the slowest route.

The ultimate defense New York cab drivers have against taking other than the Tappenzee Bridge route is to get "lost". Once they've got you off the beaten track, your skeletal rent-a-car-map and skimpy knowledge of the topography of Queens is of no use. You're lost, too.

You could try a few plaintive cries of, "You've been a cab driver for forty-two years and can't find your way from the airport to the city?" but it's unlikely to do any good.

It's best just to resign yourself to having been beaten, sit back and wait for the Tappenzee Bridge to come into view.

The overpriced cab ride is one reason I avoid JFK and LAG airports. (I pay 22 bucks from EWR to my house in "Shuttle Billy" or if its
at night "Shuttle Bruce" or "Shuttle Wolf!"

New York City law says the cabbies can only charge a maximum of 35 dollars (Let me double check on this, but I'm sure that's the law.) Plus one thing that bugs me... charging a dollar per bag of luggage (AT EWR I blew a fuse when they wanted to charge me a dollar for my carryone briefcase. I refused to give the driver a tip.)

There are alternate sources if you have few bags. I know Rudi takes the bus to the subway to Manhattan. Supershuttle is also finally in NYC with their flat rates, as well as GreyLine and other bus shuttle services (cheaper than the taxis but can take longer with their several stops.)

If I have to fly in/out of JFK or LAG, I take a local car service back to Jersey. It costs 42 bucks but the fleet's mainly cadillacs, drivers are friendly and know the route and
they never leave me waiting at the baggage carousel.

ALl I can to anyone flying in or out of LAG
and JFK... take some asprin or something stronger and a deep breath! CATMAN

The Greyline got us from EWR to The World Trade Center with ease...a few minutes wait, but only $10. Since there were two of us, I guess a cab would have been about the same price. Anyone know how to retrieve a lost camera that my girlfriend left in one of the NYC cabs?

Aubie... you got a very good deal with the Grey Line Shuttle from EWR to the World Trade Center. By taxi, including tolls and this and that... a ride between those two places can run as much as 30-35 dollars. ANd probably nicer service.

If you did not have much luggage, you could have taken the AirLink shuttle from EWR to Newark Penn Station, connecting to either the Path train to WTC (one dollar) or to midtown
by Path (one dollar) or NJ transit (about 3.50.)

I will e-mail you the number for the Taxi and Limousine Commission shortly and post it here
once I get this "important" letter from work.
CATMAN

Aubie (and everyone else:) The number for lost items in NYC Taxis is to call the Taxi
and Limousine Commission (212) 302-8294.
You hit *1* on the prompter and they will
direct you to lost and found. BE PREPARED TO WAIT ON THE PHONE FOR AWHILE. ALSO: THE ODDS
YOUR ITEM IS STILL THERE ARE 50-50. I lost my friend's camera with her brother's pictures
of Xena/Lucy Lawless when she was Grease on
Broadway in a cab. It was never found, and she still won't let me forget it!

There's a second number for the T-L-C: 212
840-4734, but I think it's the administrative
offices.

Their customer service is said to be improving a bit under MAYOR RUDY (that's with
a "Y" not an "I" like our FLyerTalk member!)

Good luck and let us know what happens. CATMAN

A cab ride from JFK to anywhere in Manhattan is now a flat fee of $30 (plus tolls). It is ILLEGAL for a NYC cab to charge extra for luggage - no matter how much you have, if your cabbie actually helps with your bags, you may want to tip extra.

I'm confused though by the reference to the Tappenzee Bridge. That's no way/no how on the way to Manhattan from JFK, do you mean the Triboro? The Tappenzee is over the Hudson River, not the East River.

------------------
I wish I were 1,000 miles away

Redhead is right,its a flat fee of $30 jfk to manhattan. Its posted at all the cab stands so theres no reason to pay more, I do think they can charge for more than 1 bag but ask the dispatcher before you leave to be sure. So the driver can go any way he wants,the passenger must pay the tolls for 1 direction ONLY.

If any cab driver is taking you into Manhattan from JFK via the Tappan Zee then you are certainly going hours out of your way (The Tappan Zee is way north of the George Washington bridge on teh west side). If you mean via the Tri Borough, then they are probably taking the route of least resistance, it's allmost always the better choice then the tunnels are.

How do they know? There are traffic reports every three minutes on the radio in New York, so they grab one of them every hour or so, and it will say how far the backups are in the tunnels and bridges. If they say the midtown has a 45 minute backup, then you know it will be at least an hour before you consider it again (stations - 1010 on the 1's, 880 on the 8's, and 1350 on the 5's)

(edited to correct times of traffic reports)

[This message has been edited by cordelli (edited 12-22-2000).]

Redhead: Why are you bringing back to the top this 2-year old thread of outdated, incorrect and (I believe) facetious information by the acknowledged alter-ego of Rudi.

Edited/Added P.S. I now see that Rudi himself resurrected this thread (by reference) in a post on The Buzz. But my comments are still appropriate.




[This message has been edited by kappa (edited 12-22-2000).]

FWIW, I found this thread entertaining, now as well as originally, and it does serve to put the unwary visitor on notice that vigilance is always a good policy when dealing with NYC taxi drivers.

(And even I didn't know about the traffic reports on 1350 on the "5's". I have to check to see if my car radio tunes up that high. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif)

The flat $30 fee is only from JFK to Manhattan and not from Manhattan to JFK. Therefore, beware when heading to JFK. Pricewise, you can't beat the subway (A train) and free shuttle deal but you have to be patient and not in a rush. There should be a high speed rail link in a couple of years. Maybe someone will bring this thread back to the top in 2003. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by NYC1 (edited 12-23-2000).]

Construction of the new rail link to the subway and Jamaica train station (Long Island Railroad) has brought traffic to a standstill, particularly on the Van Wyck Expressway. I was driving to JFK on December 10 -- a Sunday night -- and thought I might miss my flight because I did not allow enough time.

The new rail link to the subway should open next year. The extension to Jamaica is set to open in 2002, I believe.

Bruce

1350 is Bloomberg, your AM radio goes from 530 or so to 1600 or so, so it should be fine. I may have the 1350 wrong, but it's bloomberg someplace in the 1300 area.

"AM?" http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I've been avoiding "amplitude modulated" signals now for approximately 35 years! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Except, of course, when passing thru such fringe areas as the Holland or Linclon Tunnels! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

It's actually funny you say that, the way that the FM has gone in New York City, sometimes you find yourself listening to the news 2,3,4 times a day (it's a joke, most people won't get it, but some will) all back to back because the FM is so bad if you happen to be driving into the city. And more then once those traffic reports have been saviors on the last decision of which way to go.

i get on the "a" train at west 4th st., and i am usually checking in for my flight within 1hr10 min.

lonman: You, and Duke Ellington. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

cordelli: I was kidding about the range of my radio. That's what the " http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif" smiley meant. I'm actually pretty familiar with the electromagnetic spectrum in general. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif By the way, Bloomberg (WBBR) is on 1130, formerly the frequency of WNEW-AM.

doc: As for you http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif, it's a good thing the captain on your last flight didn't share your distaste for amplitude modulation. ATC communications are strictly AM. I'll explain why the next time I see you.

NYC1 & bdschobel: Nobody said anything about the JFK rail link being high-speed. Most New Yorkers will be surprised to see it running at any speed. This boondoggle will entail an LIRR trip from Manhattan or L.I. to the always pleasant and efficient Jamaica Station http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif, then a transfer to the monorail, which will be either a small or large pain depending on which platform you start from, then above the Van Wyck to the airport, to monorail stations that are some distance from the front of the terminals, if you've seen them. I predict ridership will consist largely of airline employees and incoming tourists who will take it once.

All this in comparison to the corresponding project well underway at Newark Airport, which also will begin with a train from Penn Station, but entails a stroll across the platform to the monorail at a new station being built just west of the airport (behind the Budweiser brewery), and the existing monorail (when it's fixed http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif) whose stations are IN the terminals. Since the monorail also stops at the rental car center, I predict people from Manhattan taking the train and the monorail to Newark just to rent cars (which are usually much cheaper than renting in Manhattan).


[This message has been edited by RichG (edited 12-24-2000).]

I, too, take the A train - the fastest, cheapest, easier way to JFK. For LGA, I take the E or F to Roosevelt Ave/Jackson Heights and grap the Q33 bus. It's under an hour from Manhattan to AA in the central terminal.

I, too, usually take the A train to JFK and the E/F train plus Q33/Q47 bus to LGA, especially when the cost ($1.35 roughly, with Metrocard and free transfers) is coming from my own pocket. I don't use public transportation if I have a rental car to return or too much luggage to drag onto crowded subways. Less often, I just don't have the time. The A train, in particular, can take forever. I have allowed 2 hours to get to JFK on a Friday evening and still cut it close, once arriving just 45 minutes before my flight. The free shuttle bus from the subway station can be very slow and unbelievably crowded, like a train in Mumbai!

I am looking forward to the new public transportation options that will be available in a year or so: the train to JFK, which will replace the slow shuttle bus, and EWR's monorail extension to the Northeast Corridor main line.

Bruce

I've had a lot of those same challenges in NYC - excess charges for baggage, long routes, etc. However this last time there in September I found a company called Tel-Aviv - 212-777-7777. They send a town car to pick you up at the airport. They have a sign in the window of the car outside of baggage claim with you name on it, or you can pay extra for being met at the gate. Check the price:

$29 from anywhere in Manhattan to JFK; $35 for a new town car.

And I think it's $35 from JFK to Manhattan & the same proce for LGA - I don't know about Newark.


------------------
Ken in Sacramento

Talk to the local pawn shops. They may have your camera, unless it's a popular brand. Then most likely it was a present to someone.

Tel Aviv is one of MANY car services that connect NYC to the three NY metro airports for somewhat similar rates. However, it is also one of several car services that I have recently added to my growing list of companies with which I will never again to do business (the other one this year was Carmel).

Although I have been picked up by Tel Aviv uneventfully in the past, it really is quite a crap shoot. On one occasion, the driver tried to extort cash out of me even though I explicitly had given my credit card number when I reserved the car. Another was so horrid that I demanded that he bring me back to the terminal so I could try my luck with another driver. The last straw was when, after finally helping an inept driver to navigate downtown, he dropped me off two blocks from my hotel because he was "scared off" by an empty police car that happened to be parked in front. Life is too short for nonsense such as this and in NYC there are plenty of choices and loads of competition.

I use a Car Service called Carmel. They will pick you up at LGA,EWR,and JFK and to Manhattan for a flat fee of $25 for the day, and $30 for the night.

Even though the drivers dont' speak english that well, but they are generally courteous, and the flat fee really helps.

Al

AFang or others -

Do you have a # for Carmel? Is the $25/trip for EWR, LGA, and JFK?

Thanks.

Carberry

The shuttle bus from the Howard Beach subway station (A line) to the JFK terminals may be slow, but at least it's free. The Port Authority, which is building the "airtrain" to Howard Beach and Jamaica, is planning on a $5 charge for their new service. Anyone who wants to go only to the long-term parking lot (over the fence from Howard Beach) will be able to ride it for free, however! Again it's the motorists who come out ahead, and it seems to defeat the whole purpose of the "airtrain."

I must respectfully disagree about motorists coming out ahead because they would not be asked to pay $5 to retrieve their cars from long term parking. The motorists who choose to park there are already paying $8 a day for the privilege. Many of these motorists originate somewhere in the NY metro area other than NYC. The 20 million or so people that comprise the "greater" NY area include Westchester, Connecticut, LI, New Jersey and some even more far flung locales.

A truly useful transportation system for travelers requiring access to Manhattan would be patterned after the ones in LHR, or even MXP. Connect from terminal to train and pop up somewhere in the city, with a minimum of waiting, connecting and transferring. As currently conceived, I personally consider "AirTrain" to be somewhat of a boondoggle. IMHO, this is what defeats the purpose of AirTrain. If the NY motorists were to truly come out ahead then NY would do "something" about the Van Wyck, which has always tended to be somewhat impenetrable even before confronted with the barriers presented by AirTrain construction.

Incidentally, if you would like to read other comments on the topic of transportation from JFK to Manhattan, please check out this thread:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum1/HTML/003256.html

You can watch me evolve from a satisfied user of Tel Aviv to a customer who will never travel with them again. Regarding Carmel, when I recently described a very bad experience to one of my clients in NY, he told me that his company had dropped them from their list of approved car services in the city.

Larry U: Who do you recomend? I reallly prefer the sedan service over cabs. When it's company business I need to stay around $45, personal - just the best deal..



------------------
Ken in Sacramento

This is truly a difficult and profound question. If you are looking for a car service for relatively infrequent visits to NY, there are dozens too choose from, the fares are similar ($30-35 from JFK) and I suspect they tend to recruit their employees from "similar" pools of drivers. So it might be an acceptable strategy to choose one and stick with them until they disappoint you.

When this question has come up on previous threads, I do not think there was a clear consensus. We all had our horror stories and if someone had been lucky for a while, the question was "when" not "if" they would encounter problems.

However, if you need to arrange for FREQUENT journeys to/from NYC, perhaps a smaller entity would do the trick. Many frequent travelers have used the same car service over several years and thus have been able to cultivate a fairly trusting and satisfying relationship with their respective drivers. I know that Catman uses the same driver to/from EWR and I use the same driver to transport me from JFK to Westchester. An individual rider may not mean very much to the Tel Avivs and Carmels of the world, but I would presume that your business would be very important to a smaller entity. I guess it all comes down to being a big fish in a small pond.

I intend to use my Westchester driver for all my future forays into NYC. He has about 6-7 other drivers working for him and has usually been able to accommodate me even on short notice. He may price out to be a few dollars more than some of the larger car services but I don't think that the difference will be all that large. For what its worth, his name is "Howard" and his cell phone is 1-347-672-5112. I think that I take pretty good care of him so if you mention my name, he probably won't hang up http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

LarryU: You are absolutely right. Every car service disappoints eventually; Tel Aviv and Carmel are merely a bit worse than the average. Years ago, I remember arguing with both about round-trip tolls back to Manhattan from LaGuardia (both toll and free crossings are available). The strategy of using one until they disappoint and then changing is one that I have used for years.

Another approach is to upgrade (there's a great FT word!) to what are called "black cars" in the Byzantine world of NYC rides-for-hire. No, this has nothing to do with world government or the Tripartite Commission. Black cars are radio-dispatched Town Cars and Cadillacs which are mostly contracted for on corporate accounts and rarely deal in cash. These rides cost a bit more than the trips around the map of the Middle East mentioned above (~$50-$55 to Newark or Kennedy), but the vehicles and the drivers are both noticeably more reliable. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Out of curiosity; does anyone have any experience with the Delta water shuttle from LGA? Do you get miles?

I've used the Water Shuttle from LGA to Manhattan. You get 100 miles each way -- no big deal. The boat leaves you on the edge of Manhattan, not terribly convenient. But it's never delayed, and it's cheaper than a taxi.

Bruce

If you're staying downtown, the Delta water shuttle is very convenient. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

.

[This message has been edited by JS (edited 12-29-2000).]

Luckily I had read this topic before my experience this weekend, and let tourists beware: even natives get *&$(#ed. My two tips for dealing with NY cabbies are these -

(1) be prepared to negotiate and even get out of the cab before it departs the airport if you feel that you are going to be cheated, and

(2) you have to know the routes. Carry a map with you or even look at your route before-hand on the internet, print out door-to-door directions from mapquest.com or other, and have them with you.

Here is my experience - I live in Long Island - just moved there last month and barely know my way around (since I have been out of town most every weekend on mileage runs!) When I fly, if it happens that I will be flying to/from the office, I always take the cheapest and most reliable possible public transportation. If not, I go way out of my way to get my car to the airport. Even when it means getting up at 4 am, driving all the way to EWR, parking, storing my luggage, (or sometimes having to schlep it into the office and back again,) getting the bus into the office and then going back out later that day and so on. I have ended up paying $24/day for parking at LGA unless I can park at the Marriott and use their free shuttle for $13/day, so my three-day weekend would have cost $39 in parking.

I figured that a cab from LGA to my home would be less than this (stupid me, should have checked first!) so I decided to leave my car home, take the train in to the office as usual, then the bus to the airport later that day. I planned to use a cab to get home after my trip. Since my flight got in after midnight, the public buses weren't an option and it is a pain to have to drag all my stuff into Manhattan and back out to Long Island on the train that late anyway.

The first cabbie I got didn't seem to understand where I wanted to go - Baldwin, in Nassau County on the South Shore - so I told him to stop and I got my things and got out. I went back to the starter and got another cab. I got in, stupidly expecting a "reasonable", $30-$40 fare. The cabbie pulled out a book and showed me the fare, $104! I said, "NO WAY! I can take the train or a bus, let me out." He knew that I had just walked out of another cab and started saying, "well how much do you want to pay, we can make a deal." I said that I wouldn't be willing to pay more than $30 because "I drive it all the time and it is not that far!"

This late at night, I didn't feel like doing anything else so we agreed on $60. (He said, "this is half-off!" WHY? Because you have a book showing that it should be more? From where, New Jersey????) But I can imagine that other people wouldn't have been so mad and might have just agreed and been cheated, which is why I am writing this now.

Thank God I had some idea of how to get home and spend my spare time looking at maps, watching traffic reports to get an idea of how the roads are laid out and so on ... since, when he got on the Long Island Expressway - which I had to tell him to take - he didn't turn off on the Van Wyck. "Hmm, that's interesting, I would have taken the Van Wyck! Oh well, we can take the Cross-Island ..." I said. When he got to it, he passed by it too! I then asked him what his intended route was to be. He pretended not to hear me! Or to not understand me. We continued going east.

I asked a couple more times and finally he said that he was "waiting for the Baldwin exit " - for those of you that aren't from Long Island, there isn't one! And by now we were too far north and had gone too far east of where I live. When we approached the Meadowbrook Parkway, I told him to take that. Since I have gotten lost on this road recently, I now know the exact numerical exit to take and was able to tell him this or we might have ended up on Jones Beach.

So the moral is, even though he knew that I was not a tourist - since I had exact directions and knew the roads - it didn't matter. Who knows where we would have ended up and when. I think that these cabbies are just experienced in taking people to Manhattan. Next time I will try the car service or go back to my former method of getting up at 4 am, driving to the airport ........ but remember, you *can* negotiate! And the price ended up right about where classic negotiating studies show it should - in the middle of the first price and counteroffer - $104, $30, middle is $67. I still think that this is a lousy price. His final explanation was that he "had" to charge so much since he was not allowed to pick anyone up on Long Island and would have to come back "empty" even though he said I was his last fare anyway and he was going to go home after. If he could find his way home from there.

I don't know how I find myself in the position of defending New York cabbies, but here goes....

The taxi law says that generally, when taking a passenger to a destination outside the New York city limits, the regular fare is paid to the city line, then DOUBLE fare from that point to the destination, because the taxi cannot pick up passengers outside the city. What the driver said is correct.

Few regular taxi drivers go outside the city very often. Nearly all are immigrants. They really don't know where they are going. You have to help them. This is just understood. We would like taxi drivers to know more, but they only know what they know.

You might want to consider doing what I often do to get from the New York airports to my home in New Jersey: rent a car! I often fly into LGA in the early evening (usually from DCA), pick up a rental car and drive home. Then, I return the car to Manhattan the next morning, to a location near my office. It's very convenient and costs about the same $60 that you paid for a one-way trip. (Having a good contract rental rate helps, of course.)

Bruce

Actually, the rule requiring double the meter outside the City applies only to Westchester and Nassau Counties. Anywhere else (except Newark Airport) the fare is set by negotiation. Here is the text of the fare rules, available on the web at:
http://www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/tlc/html/taxirate.html

For a trip beyond the limits of the City of New York, except for the Counties of Westchester or Nassau, or the facilities of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey at Newark Airport, the fare shall be a flat rate (a flat rate is a definite amount fixed between the driver and the passenger at the start of the trip).

For a trip to the Counties of Westchester or Nassau the fare shall be:

the amount shown on the taximeter for that portion of the trip that is inside city limits, plus twice the amount shown on the meter for that portion of the trip that is outside the city limits; and all necessary tolls to and from the destination shall be paid by the passenger.

For a trip to Newark Airport the fare shall be:

the amount shown on the taximeter plus a surcharge of $10.00; and all necessary tolls to and from the destination shall be paid by the passenger.



[This message has been edited by RichG (edited 01-16-2001).]

Yeah, I know. That's why I said "generally." In this case, the rule I quoted was correct, because the destination is in Nassau County.

Bruce

While reading CozumelJen's post, I was figuring that she did OK. Sixty Dollars to Baldwin from LGA in an NYC yellow cab is a decent deal, and nobody should expect any city cabdriver to know the way once he crosses the city line. Most of them don't even know their way around the outer Boroughs and will look at you with a blank stare if you ask them to go to places like Queens Village.

Scrolling through all the posts in this thread -- I just don't get it. JFK-Manhattan has been $30 + tolls +tip for a really long time (since '97). It translates for me to be
approx $35-38 (depending on whether they take tri-borough).

Car services from city to JFK used to be $27 then moved to $29, now $34/35. Normally there is a $2 off coupon for off hours.
In a decade since I started using car-service for JFK/LGA/EWR I've never had them ever miss an appointment - whatever the time.

Flat rate from JFK to the city is a no brainer, since the dispatcher hands you the card with all the info about rates and tel. # in case you have a problem ;-0

A tip to Laguardia:

For those of you with a sense of adventure, you can take the N train to 30th Street in Astoria. Take the stairs down from the platform, and there is always a gypsy cab that will take you to Laguardia for $10. Just look lost for a minute or so, eventually someone will beep at you. Remeber, always ask the price before getting in (the key for any gypsy cab)