LaGuardia Airport offering free bus service for Presidents Day weekend

EAST ELMHURST, Queens (WABC) -- LaGuardia Airport is offering free bus service over the Presidents Day weekend, to alleviate road congestion.

Last week, passengers were jumping out of cabs and sprinting across highways to make their flights, during the backup after the snowstorm.

With nearly 300,000 passengers expected to use LaGuardia this Saturday, Sunday and Monday alone, the Port Authority says there will be six free days of the MTA's Q70 Select Bus Service, which provides non-stop service linking the main terminals of the airport (Terminals B, C and D) with New York City subway and Long Island Railroad transit hubs.

"We're going to need to reconfigure fundamentally how we do business there, because it's not going to all fit on high volume days," Governor Andrew Cuomo said.

The LaGuardia Link Q-70 buses will also be free beginning Thursday at midnight, through next Tuesday night.

The non-stop service links LaGuardia's main terminals with transit hubs in Jackson Heights and Woodside.

The Port Authority is also encouraging travelers who arrive at the airport by car to park in the Long-Term Lot (P10) for $18 a day.

Drivers should enter the lot via the LaGuardia Airport entrance at the 82nd Street Bridge; and not use the 94th Street Bridge.

Daily and hourly lots adjacent to the terminals are expected to fill quickly, have limited availability and are $59 a day. Also, drivers seeking to meet arriving passengers can park for free for up to three hours in the Cell Phone Lot (Lot P5) near Terminal D.