2018 saw the start of the Color Tour Podcast. My aim as part of it’s first year was to get from every Airport to the City I was working in using Public Transport. This proved an interesting challenge, but one I enjoyed. Here is a breakdown of how it worked at each airport and how much it cost and saved me. All prices are approximate and are in $US
Stop 1 Brooklyn
Color Tour Podcast EP 1 Vincent Taylor
Not an easy first stop. Especially after an 18 hour flight from OZ.
Train 1 JFK has 8 terminals but getting on the Airtrain to Jamaica Station was the easy bit!
Trains 2 and 3 I had been on the Long Island Railroad to Penn Station, in Manhattan before, so figured I would take the cheaper subway option to Brooklyn. Good idea till I jumped on the first train that was going the wrong way, luckily I realized and bailed after 1 stop and went back. Wasted 30mins.
Trains 4 and 5 Got on the correct train to Broadway Junction then changed to get to Lafayette. This took me through Brownsville, famous for being where Mike Tyson grew up.
Train 6 Barclays Centre to 36th Street.
Duration 2 hours, $7 Multiple Trains
Taxi $70
Stop 2 Taipei.
Color Tour EP 3 Paul Hanrahan.
There is a brand new high speed train at Taoyuan airport which is a really fast and reliable service to the city.
Taipei Main Station is very busy so do a little research as to what MRT stations you need to connect to.
Train 1 New Airport Link to the City.
Train 2 MRT to hotel
Duration 60 mins $6 Train
Taxi $30
Stop 3 Chicago.
There is a fantastic Airport train and Subway network in Chicago. The best I have come across in the US.
Train Airport link to Melrose train station.
Walk to a central hotel
45mins
Duration 50 mins $12 Train
Taxi $40
Stop 4 Sydney
The South Coast line passes through both the International and Domestic terminals en route to the City. From the stations before and after the Airports the fare is $4 to the City but if you buy a ticket at the airport station the fare jumps to $12. Very easy, drops you at Central Station in Sydney with an easy change to Circular Quay on Sydney Harbour.
Duration 25 mins $12 Train
Taxi $30
Stop 5 Auckland
The NZ Airport Express will take you from the Airport to a very central city location in around 45 minutes. Great bus with lots of luggage space.
Duration 45 mins $12 Airport Bus
Taxi $40
Stop 6 Perth
Hats off to Western Australia. This is the best deal of all. It is a local fare from the Airport to the City. Very easy and all for around $3.50
Duration 35mins $2.50 Local Bus
Taxi $25
Stop 7 Adelaide
I got on the local bus here. It was more expensive then a local fare but still very reasonable. Lots of space for baggage.
Duration 20 mins $4 Bus
Taxi $25
Stop 8 Beijing
Color Tour Podcast still to be released with Kevin Shaw.
The last time I visited Beijing it was a 40 min taxi drive with a taxi driver that didn’t understand any English (not his fault) so you needed a printed Chinese translation. The Airport train is right outside the International terminal and the only downside is there is no AC outside so I melted very quickly. Easy dual language ticket options makes it easy to get to the City interchange. Brand new trains was fantastic
Duration 30 min $6 Train
Local MRT 3 stops $70c
Taxi $25
Stop 9 London
Color Tour Podcast Jet Omoshebi
After a 22 hour trip from Australia, the last thing you want is to get on a Tube. Although a Taxi heading into London or navigating the M25 at 7am is not a fun option either. The Heathrow Express is a fast option but I had to get to my mum’s place via Soho so making the Tube the best public option.
I was carrying my suitcase, laptop bag and a BMD Mini Panel. I had to drop the panel in Soho and made the big mistake of picking the only Tube station without a lift. So 120 steps twice as I couldn’t carry all 3 bags together! I decided the laptop had to stay with me so I left the Mini panel at the bottom, took the case to the top, then headed back for the mini. Luckily nobody saw my battered suitcase as a suspect package or worth stealing.
Duration 50 mins $5 Tube to Soho
Taxi $65
Stop 10 Amsterdam
I have been lucky enough to have visited Amsterdam many times, normally on planes or ferries. This time I decided to go on the Eurostar from London St Pancaras Station. Easy check in, baggage inspection only 10 mins, nice coffee and croissants in the departure lounge. Incredibly fast train, straight into Amsterdam Central Station.
Duration 3.5 hours $75 via Eurostar
Plane $120
Stop 11 Los Angeles.
The one I was dreading. Los Angeles is not known for it’s public transport system and I had never seen any signs encouraging a public bus option out of LAX.
I did some research before landing and knew I needed a Car Park Bus to Lot C. This took a little hunting, up and down lifts chatting to bus drivers etc. Once on the Lot C bus it dropped me at the LAX transit center where with the help of a local I jumped on a local Bus to Venice Beach. Nice to see a digital info board showing the cross streets. Too easy.
Duration 50 mins Car Park free Bus then local bus $3
Taxi $35
Stop 12 Toronto
Color Tour EP 8 Eric Whipp and Wade Odlum Alter Ego coming in 2019
Very new Airport train giving very easy access to downtown Toronto. You can buy a combined Airtrain and local ticket at the airport. This can then be used for the duration of your stay on buses, trams and trains before using it for the Airport return.
Duration 35 mins $12 Train
Taxi $40
Stop 13 Singapore
The last and maybe the easiest journey of the year. Singapore has an Airport station at the end of it’s MRT line, so making it incredibly easy and cheap to commute to the City. All lines are very well sign posted with lots of ‘Next train’ info.
Duration 30 mins $1 MRT
Taxi $20
That’s it. My year on public transport. A great way to get to know the City and it’s people.
