I used AirTran and the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) on Saturday to go from JFK to Penn Station.
17:47 arrive at AirTran
18:04 arrival of Red Line train
18:25 arrive at Jamaica Station
>Swipe out of AirTran turnstile using MetroCard $7.75
18:28 arrive at LIRR
>Purchase LIRR One Way Off Peak Jamaica to Penn Station using MTA eTix app $7.75*
18:31 depart Jamaica to Penn Station express
18:55 arrive Penn Station
Total time: 1h8m
Total cost: $15.50 (could have been $12.25)*
*On weekends, you can save by using an LIRR CityTicket for just $4.50. I didn’t realize this and I’m unclear if it’s an option on the eTix app. Here is the CityTicket website. It’s a great program but I believe more awareness would increase usage. I’ve embedded my ask to the MTA in case they reply with an answer. [23 November edit: MTA replied confirming the ticket is available during the valid window and I’ve validated this is true]
Is the CityTicket available on the MTA eTix app @MTA? https://t.co/mWSxIlEham
— John Track (@johntrack) November 18, 2019
The digital signage at AirTran is pretty! I appreciate how it is location-aware i.e. it showed trips originating from Terminal 4, and that is where I was located. I did, thought, still get on the train that was at the station, and that turned out to be the Yellow Line. The signage was pulsing between yellow and white and I did not understand that meant the train was a Yellow Line train. I’d like to see badging on the train itself like trains have on the subway.
The transition from AirTran to Jamaica station has a turnstile and this is a significant potential time delay; it’s the first time money is required on the journey. An efficient traveler will already have a MetroCard with $7.75. If not, there are ticket kiosks but the risk is you will be arriving with a lot of other travelers and all their luggage.
I already had the MTA eTix app which made purchase straightforward, and I was able to use ApplePay. Adding OMNY to the AirTran/Jamaica Station turnstile would be a great addition that would easy the burden on the ticket kiosks.
Each line of the AirTran is scheduled to arrive every five minutes. Due to maintenance this was increased to every 16 minutes. This made the train crowded!
Resources:
Blog on the redesign of the AirTran digital signage. I recommend clicking through to the article at the bottom “figuring out how to best represent the AirTrain system in a small on-screen space” https://adamfishercox.com/portfolio/airtrain-arrival-signs/
JFK AirTran website https://www.jfkairport.com/to-from-airport/air-train
MTA AirTran website https://new.mta.info/travel-to-airport/AirTrain-JFK
MTA CityTicket website https://new.mta.info/fares-and-tolls/cityticket