<p class="ingestion featured-caption">Uber Shuttle is a new airport service offering from three locations in Midtown Manhattan to LaGuardia Airport.Konrad Krajewski/Shutterstock</p><ul class="summary-list"><li>Uber launched an $18 shuttle service from Midtown Manhattan to LaGuardia Airport.</li><li>The service offers a cheaper airport-transfer option amid rising air travel demand.</li></ul><p>One of the challenges of living in a prominent transit hub like New York City can be navigating your way to and from its airports.</p><p>Many New Yorkers who've traveled have a story to tell about switching between two subways and a bus to make it to the airport or overpaying for a cab. Depending on the location and time of the day, a <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.laguardiaairport.com/to-from-airport/by-taxi">taxi</a> to LaGuardia Airport — one of the city's three airports — can cost anywhere from $24 to $44, excluding tips and tolls, while an Uber can cost up to $100.</p><p>But a new, third option could soon eliminate the high costs or stress associated with getting to and from LaGuardia.</p><p>Last week, Uber announced the launch of a new $18 shuttle service from three Manhattan locations to LaGuardia Airport and back starting October 8.</p><p>Now that air travel has returned to its pre-pandemic levels — last year, about 32.4 million people flew into LaGuardia, a 4% increase from 2019, per The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey — frequent flyers are also hoping for pocket-friendly airport transfers.</p><p>According to a report compiled by <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/pre-book-airport-transfer-market">Future Market Insights</a>, the pre-booked airport transfer market, which allows people to book their pre-or post-airport travel rides in advance, is expected to reach $11.2 billion this year.</p><p>Given that 15% of Uber's bookings came from airport rides last year and the lack of cheaper alternatives from Midtown Manhattan — the most affordable route right now requires travelers to take a subway into Queens and then catch a bus — coupled with a growing industry, the company's decision to launch shuttle services is a means to capture a slice of this open market by offering reasonably priced alternatives, often to its own ride-hailing services.</p><p>"I am on a mission to bring this affordable shuttle service to, honestly, as many airports as we can," Camiel Irving, Uber's head of rides operations for the US and Canada, told <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.wsj.com/tech/personal-tech/uber-will-now-take-you-from-manhattan-to-laguardia-for-18-65e55247">The Wall Street Journal </a>last week.</p><p>Some social media users, though, pointed out the difference between the $2.90 bus fare and Uber's price, suggesting that Uber was simply reinventing public buses at higher costs.</p><p>Still, many others — including the passengers I met on a ride when I trialed the new shuttles — were thrilled to have a steady, cheap, and convenient alternative.</p><p>To test the new service, I took a shuttle from Penn Station to LaGuardia's Terminal C and returned from the airport to Port Authority.</p><p>Here's how my experience went.</p>