<p>Just a warning about CTLimo from BDL - don’t plan to do it after 6pm. Our daughter’s flight landed at 6:30, she was told a shuttle would come at 9pm (she missed the 6pm shuttle). It didn’t show up. At 9:15 she called and was told it would come at 9:30. At 9:45 she called and the dispatcher told her to take a cab instead, and that CTLimo would pay for it. Now it looks like CTLimo will not pay for it. </p>
<p>They have never failed to pick her up at Phelps Gate and get her to the airport. But quite frequently she ends up waiting for hours when returning to Yale (both at BDL and LGA). This time was the worst! So I don’t think we will be using CTLimo for rides from the airport to Yale again.</p>
<p>In the future we will do one of the following:
figure that she’ll take a cab from BDL ($120+tip)
fly her back to LGA where she can take a train to New Haven
look into flying her back into New Haven (this looks really inconvenient)
make sure a friend can come to the airport to pick her up</p>
<p>Ground transportation has been really frustrating and really the only downside to her going to Yale. I really envy you folks who live close enough to drive your child back and forth.</p>
<p>We have flown out of & into LGA. There is a bus city bus that will get you to the 125th Street train station. The ride is about a half hour and it let’s you off within feet of the station. Then the student can hop on Metro north. </p>
<p>Once they arrive in NHV, they can catch a cab to campus. I believe it’s the M60 bus, they will need quarters because the bus doesn’t take bills. It does get quite crowded at times, we have been known to walk back a few terminals to ensure a seat before the bus fills up with passengers. It can be a bit of a pain, but still better than waiting up at BDL. What a headache. I believe it’s better than the shuttle to GCS, the shuttle driver has to unpack the shuttle and it can take awhile to first arrive at GCS, then to unpack all the luggage. Just another option.</p>
<p>How much would it cost to take a cab from LGA to Grand Central (or the 125th St. station, or any other convenient Metro North stop)? Her suitcase was 40 lbs this time, which might be a little unwieldy up and down bus steps.</p>
<p>Hmmmm not sure TBH. Probably a 20 minute ride? I can ask a friend who lives in Harlem and get back to you on that later! She is a mom that I met while our DDs were doing the summer program at Choate. She runs to LGA often to send her DD off to summer programs and other locales. So she will have a good sense about timing.</p>
<p>Maybe 50-60 bucks? </p>
<p>There are steps at the 125th train station. About 30 or so to reach the platform.</p>
<p>I can also ask if the M60 goes to GCS. Once she gets off the bus, there are no steps. The bus ride will be about an hour from LGA to midtown Manhattan.</p>
<p>The most direct route is still CT Limo from LGA. One stop shopping. No need to switch bus/train/stations. They can be a pain in the butt but w/lots of luggage, I’d go that route. When I travelled back and forth to NYC w/less, I’d do Metro North.</p>
<p>Is there any possibility of a parent accompanying her? A reasonable alternative is to book a flight into Bradley with an auto rental. If you book the car it in conjunction w/your plane tickets, a great deal can sometimes be had. Hartford is about 45 minutes away. Also, if flying alone, the CT Limo betwen NH and BDL is simply a much shorter ride. I used BDL almost exclusively my later years as an undergrad and every time I’ve flown back to NH since.</p>
<p>One Christmas break she flew back to LGA and CTLimo left her sitting for 2 hours, and then she had a 2 hour ride to campus. The 4 extra travel hours were hard on her, and she ended up getting back pretty late at night. Since then we have flown her back to BDL. The van usually gets there about an hour after she lands - so she only has 2 extra travel hours. But this time it was much longer - she waited 3+ hours, and then they told her to take a cab. At one point they tried to tell her that she had missed the van, but since she had been outside watching, we know that isn’t true. This adds to our mistrust of the CTLimo people. </p>
<p>Flying into BDL is probably the best option if you can get there early enough in the day. Unfortunately, we live in a small town and it is impossible to fly there directly, and, as a result, impossible to get there early. It seems that CTLimo runs very few shifts after 6pm, which is what makes them unreliable after that time. I think that probably also applies to LGA, which is why she was left sitting there that one time.</p>
<p>Anyway, I was just looking for other options to get her home from the airport. One is to continue to use BDL and use a taxi (expensive). Another is to use the bus/train option from LGA, which I think will work most of the time with only a small bag. Thanks for the link to the ground transportation busses to Grand Central, that may be the way we go next time. Thanks also for the info on the steps at the 125th St. station and the guestimate for the taxi fair - that will help us make plans.</p>
<p>Mostly what I want is something reliable - I want to know she will get home that night, eventually, and not be left waiting and wondering at an airport. </p>
<p>Just spoke to Harlem friend, she says it’s a flat rate of $30-$40 to 125th street from LGA. It’s roughly 45 minutes depending on traffic. I bet you can map-quest it to have a better sense. She says she will find out definitively this evening. She always drives to LGA. Please pm me so I can remember to follow up. </p>
<p>Something that I’ve found super convenient is flying into Newark and taking Amtrak from the Newark airport station to the New Haven station. It’s a $35 ticket and a 2.5ish hour ride. There is a free train from the terminal to the train station, so no cabs are involved (except maybe from the New Haven station to campus). Super easy and flying into a larger airport like Newark is generally cheaper than flying into Bradley (a relatively small airport). Just something for all the new Yale families to consider for future travel :)</p>
<p>Have to disagree on the CT Limo, T26E4–they have become unreliable and difficult to book. The best we have found lately is GO Shuttle from LGA. They are on time, reliable, and wonderful to work with. One trip home for Christmas my son left his phone on the shuttle. It was after hours and the driver had gone home for the day. But the next day the driver went back and found the phone, and they mailed it immediately to us. Wonderfully helpful. I believe here is the link: <a href=“http://www.2theairport.com/”>http://www.2theairport.com/</a></p>
<p>We always have DD fly into JFK or LGA because transportation is more reliable up to Yale because many shuttle companies service the JFK/LGA to Yale route.
We only use GO (Primetime) Shuttle these days. </p>
<p>Tried CT Limo once before but
Their website is terrible.
The travel time take LONGER because they make more stops along the way.
Booking was always sketchy; had to do it both on the internet and on the phone??
The cost is similar to GO Shuttle. </p>
<p>Go Shuttle costs $54 each way. You book on the internet; no additional phone calls needed. They will depart from JFK or LGA whenever you call them (after you have picked up your bags); you don’t have to wait for a particular time for them to leave. They make much fewer stops than CT Limo does. Travel time is approx 1 1/2 hours. DD has NEVER had a problem with GO shuttle except for move out this year when she was not at Phelps Gate on time GO Shuttle called and she spoke with the driver and he waited the 5 minutes for her to arrive with her bags. Thank goodness that GO Shuttle waited, or we would have had to schedule another flight from JFK to LAX.</p>
<p>I have heard that transportation from Bradley is harder because you are relying only on CT Limo (I checked the other shuttle companies and no one goes to Bradley).</p>
<p>I’ve heard that you can fly into Newark EWR and take the AMTRAK train, but it might be hard if you are managing with a bunch bags, especially if you are a non-mass transit type of CA person The train ticket might be $35 if you book way in advance, but I’ve also seen the ticket price at $85 one way. Also you have to wait for the next train (up to 2-3 hours), whereas GO shuttle comes immediately.</p>
<p>@tamara6,
Have your DD fly into LGA or JFK and use GO Shuttle. 0 - 15 min wait for shuttle, 1 1/2 hr trip to Phelps Gate at a cost of $54.</p>
<p>Really, GO Shuttle is really there in just 15 min? Even at, say, 7:30pm? It seems that all her flights end up arriving in the 6:30-7:30 range. If that is true, then we will definitely use GO Shuttle in the future. Thanks!!</p>
<p>I have looked into the Newark thing, but Amtrak was always in the $85 range, and the flights there are somehow way more expensive than to BDL or LGA from our location.</p>
<p>If her flights are that late, then the 125th station not be good for her…there’s a lot going on & if you aren’t familiar with the area, then it can be quite intimidating. In the morning and afternoon are a better time to venture into that area! The GO Shuttle sounds like a better option. </p>
<p>Well, at times my son had to wait up to 30 minutes. However, even when arriving late at night, he has never had a problem. So, as I stated above, it has been definitely our first choice for our son this year for convenience and reliability.</p>
<p>Thnx for the update of the declining service of CT Limo. Even when I posted above, I was biting my lip – it wasn’t the greatest back then. Seems like worse now. I like the idea of Newark and then Amtrak. May have to try that option!</p>
<p>@ tamara6,
My DD usually arrives JFK or LGA at 9:30 pm each time (we hate early morning flights). No problems ever with Go Shuttle. Always arrives at Yale well before midnight but more like 11 pm.</p>
<p>Besides Go Shuttle and CT limo, here was my research from 1.5 years ago:
CT limo round trip $68 each way: $95 RT (I think the prices have changed with the new website)<br>
Go airport shuttle $54 each way: $108 RT
QConn shuttle: $44-$54 each way extra $5 off with “Yale” special promo (but you have to take an intraairport shuttle to one specific terminal and all QConn departs from the specific terminal)<br>
Red Dot $67 each way</p>
<p>Didn’t want to deal with the going to one terminal for QConn, so I figured I’d pay a little more for Go Shuttle just to save on the hassle factor.</p>
<p>Go Shuttle has always worked well for us. The only time that I used CT limo, they were so late (over 30 mins) that I was biting my nails wondering if she was going to get from Yale to JFK on time for her flight.</p>
<p>The issue with the Newark/Amtrak option is going to be the Amtrak fare. It can be pretty reasonable if booked in advance–there’s also a “Student Advantage” card that may provide a discount. But the fare can vary quite a lot depending on time of day and when you book.</p>
GO Shuttle called and she spoke with the driver and he waited the 5 minutes for her to arrive with her bags. Thank goodness that GO Shuttle waited, or we would have had to schedule another flight from JFK to LAX.</p>
The train ticket might be $35 if you book way in advance, but I’ve also seen the ticket price at $85 one way. Also you have to wait for the next train (up to 2-3 hours), whereas GO shuttle comes immediately.</p>