This weekend I'm using Carmel for trips between LGA / Midtown and Midtown / JFK. The fares are prepaid but I know tolls are additional. What are the tolls between both airports and Manhattan? And is 15% OK for the tip or should it be higher? (I'll only have one small carry on so no hefting of bags will be involved).

I assume I only tip on the base fare amount???

Thanks

Assuming the driver takes the Midtown Tunnel and not the bridge, Carmel drivers have E-Z Passes and you will not be charged the full amount of the posted toll. Rightly or wrongly, tipping has gone up to about 20% of the bill. That does not mean that you must pay that amount.

Your driver will probably take the Queens Midtown Tunnel to and from midtown. He or she might take the RFK (Triboro) Bridge for the trip between LGA and Manhattan. The toll each way for either the bridge or tunnel is 8.00 ($5.54) with EZ Pass.

A savvy driver might opt for the Queensborough (59th St) Bridge, which might work if there is a traffic jam on a major highway. This bridge has no toll but is accessed through local traffic rather than fed by major highways--could be fast, could be slow.

Most drivers will take the tunnel.

Driver rarely use the free 59th St bridge since it often takes you through a lot of extra heavy traffic - rather than on highways.

20% tip for the driver (of the fare) unless they haul a lot of luggage around you - then more.

great -- so (probably) $8 toll each trip + 20% tip

I'll plan on $15-ish extra for LGA > Midtown and about $20 extra for midtown > JFK

thanks

There is a back way from LGA to the Bridge that some drivers know and bypasses all highway traffic. And many drivers live in Queens.

We always take the 59th Street Bridge from the airports. Just tell the driver that's how you want to go. They will take Grand Central Parkway and get off at the last exit before the Triborough Bridge. Then go through Astoria, ending up on Crescent Street which leads right onto the bridge. No toll.

We live downtown so the Bridge presents another problem.

Yes, depends on where you are headed.

But if the goal is to get there at the lowest price, and traffic not a deterrent, you might opt for the 50th Street Bridge and save the toll.

I live not far from the Manhattan end of the 59th Street Bridge so it makes sense for me. And since the car service and taxis from the airports are a flat rate, it makes financial sense if you are not fixed on getting there the fastest way.

But why take a car service FROM the airport? Yes, if you eschew car service and choose yellow cab you might wait on line for a taxi but lines are not normally too terrible (yes, there are exceptions and they can be maddening)

I guess we all have our own habits and preferred ways of doing things..we use Allen/AJ TO the airports, and take taxis FROM the airports. Carmel is always more expensive; we've called them many times and attempted to use their "coupon" and they still come out more pricey.

I've lived in Manhattan for more decades than I care to admit and do not think I've ever paid a toll from the airport since I just take the bridge....don't think the Bridge is any more crowded on a normal day than the tunnel.

And if you try really hard while you're crossing the 59th Street Bridge, you may catch a whiff of the bread baking at the Silvercup Bakery. But that would require a trip back in time to my childhood trips over the bridge to visit my grandparents.

Never mind.

Thanks . . . But it is too late (I was on a red eye during these latest posts and arrived a LGA around 11:15 AM. So the driver took the tunnel . . . Heck, it's only money

Squeezed in the Neue Gallery and lunch in the cafe before my room was ready.

Great start. Nothing else planned today until a late-ish dinner with friends.

Tomorrow it is department store windows, Sea Grill for dinner and the Rockettes late (show starts at 10 PM) and fly out Monday.

Not helpful to janisj, but for others reading this thread. . . if you are staying downtown, another option would be the Williamsburg Bridge, which has not toll. I live in the East Village and often use this option.