EAST ELMHURST — LaGuardia Airport customers taking Uber, Lyft and other ride-sharing cabs will have to leave even more time to escape the airport, after the traffic-plagued airport relegated riders using the companies to a single lot 10 minutes away from the entrances.
The pickup spot for riders using "for-hire vehicles" including Uber, Lyft, Gett and livery cabs was moved Wednesday to a centralized area west of Terminal B — which is a shuttle bus ride or 10-minute walk to the central terminal, according to the Port Authority.
The move will not apply to yellow cabs, according to officials. App-based ride-sharing vehicles will still be able to drop passengers off at the airport departure gates, officials said.
Port Authority officials urged air travelers to use public transportation while they are in the midst of their multi-billion dollar renovation — which has snarled traffic so badly that some fliers had to get out on the side of the Grand Central Parkway and walk after a recent snowstorm.
Traffic has gotten so bad that the Port Authority recommends drivers use Waze, the free crowdsourced navigation app, to get around.
They will be inputting information on lane closures and traffic incidents into the app as they happen, officials said.
Public transportation options to the airport include the Q70 bus, which will be free April 5 through the 17th. Riders can connect to it from the 7 train and the Long Island Rail Road in Woodside and the E, F, M, R and 7 trains in Jackson Heights.
With the upcoming Passover and Easter holidays, the Port Authority expects more than 800,000 passengers to fly out of the airport.
