Yes — the B15 is Brooklyn’s direct bus to JFK, the only MTA bus from Brooklyn to the airport. It leaves Bedford-Stuyvesant, runs south through Crown Heights and East New York, and ends at the AirTrain JFK station at Lefferts Boulevard, inside the airport grounds. From there the AirTrain carries you to your terminal free. The qualifier is the last half-mile: no MTA bus pulls up at a terminal door, so the trip is one bus plus one free train, not a single vehicle to departures. The fare is $3.00, the bus runs 24 hours, and Bed-Stuy to a terminal is usually under 90 minutes outside rush hour — budget two hours door to terminal and you will not miss the flight because of the bus.
The B15: Brooklyn’s direct bus to JFK Airport
The B15 starts at Marcus Garvey Boulevard and Broadway in Bedford-Stuyvesant, by Woodhull Medical Center, runs south through Bed-Stuy, Crown Heights, Ocean Hill and Brownsville, then east along New Lots Avenue and Linden Boulevard through East New York, crosses into Queens on Conduit Avenue and ends at the Lefferts Boulevard AirTrain station. The MTA timetable describes it as Bedford-Stuyvesant to JFK AirTrain via Marcus Garvey Boulevard and New Lots Avenue, effective August 31, 2025, with 24-hour service since April 11, 2004. That overnight service is why the B15 matters: early-morning and late-night flights are when subway connections thin out and taxi surge bites, and the B15 is still running. The fare is the standard $3.00, paid by OMNY or MetroCard, and the ride is a long local run of about 70 stops — fast at 3 AM, slow through East New York at 5 PM. From southern Brooklyn the answer changes: the B15 does not serve Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst or Sheepshead Bay — from there it is a subway to a B15 stop or a different route entirely, so check the MTA trip planner for your address.
The other JFK buses are worth naming. The Q10 and Q80 run from Kew Gardens in Queens to the same Lefferts Boulevard station, the Q3 serves the airport area from Jamaica, and the Q6 and Q7 carry JFK in their names but serve the cargo area and Travel Plaza, not the terminals. None goes to a terminal door — every MTA bus at JFK ends at Lefferts Boulevard, and the AirTrain does the last leg. The public transportation to LaGuardia Airport is the parallel page for LaGuardia, where the bus does pull up at the terminal, and the public transportation options to reach LaGuardia Airport covers the same question from the other direction. The travel between JFK and EWR airports matters if the trip continues to Newark, and the how to get between terminals at JFK explains the free AirTrain move inside the airport.
- B15 route: Bedford-Stuyvesant to JFK AirTrain, via Marcus Garvey Blvd and New Lots Ave
- B15 fare: $3.00, paid by OMNY or MetroCard
- B15 hours: 24 hours a day, every day
- B15 terminus: Lefferts Boulevard AirTrain station, inside JFK grounds
- AirTrain from Lefferts Blvd to terminals: free
- AirTrain fare at Jamaica and Howard Beach exits: $8.75
Heavy Bags or a 4 AM Flight? Ride Direct to Your Terminal
From the bus stop to your terminal: the free AirTrain hop
The step travellers get wrong is the fare. Riding the AirTrain between terminals is free, and riding it from Lefferts Boulevard to your terminal is free too — the Port Authority charges the $8.75 fare only at Jamaica or Howard Beach, the two stations that connect to the subway and the Long Island Rail Road. Board at Lefferts Boulevard, ride to Terminal 1, 4, 5, 7 or 8, and you pay nothing beyond the $3.00 bus fare — the cheapest way to reach JFK from Brooklyn, against $8.75 plus a $3.00 subway fare from Jamaica, and a taxi meter starting at $3.00 plus $3.50 per mile. The trade-off is time and luggage: the B15 is a local bus with about 70 stops, the AirTrain hop adds a transfer with bags, and a suitcase on a crowded local bus at rush hour is nobody’s idea of comfort. If the flight is early, the bags are heavy, or the party is more than two people, the $3.00 saving stops being a saving. The baggage transfer options between JFK terminals covers what happens to bags at the airport end, and the restrictions on what you can bring in a cab to JFK Airport is the taxi-side version of the same question.
When a direct JetBlack car beats the B15
The B15 wins on price and on the clock — it runs all night, costs $3.00 and cannot surge. A private car wins on everything else: it picks you up at your door in any Brooklyn neighbourhood, takes you to the terminal door, and carries the bags in the trunk instead of on your lap through 70 stops. The JFK–Manhattan economy sedan is $65 flat, and a Brooklyn pickup is priced as its own written per-trip quote — the $65 is the Manhattan number — fixed once given, with no surge and no meter. An economy sedan is $45 an hour with a 3-hour minimum, which is the hourly floor, not a trip price. Child seats are available for a fee of about $35 per seat, confirmed at booking, wheelchair-accessible vehicles are provided, and cancellation is free before confirmation and $31 in total after confirmation. One person with a backpack at 3 AM should take the B15; a family of four with four suitcases at 5 PM should price the car, because four bus fares, a transfer and an hour of local stops cost more in time than the quote costs in dollars. Making a reservation for a specific time and date is how the early flight is covered, paying for car service online or in advance explains the payment, and the transfers from JFK Airport to Manhattan and the closest of New York’s three major airports to Manhattan put the Brooklyn trip in the wider picture of getting to and from the airport.
Is there a direct bus from Brooklyn to JFK Airport?
Yes u2014 the B15. It runs 24 hours from Bedford-Stuyvesant via Marcus Garvey Boulevard and New Lots Avenue to the Lefferts Boulevard AirTrain station inside JFK. From there the AirTrain to your terminal is free. No MTA bus goes directly to a JFK terminal door.
How much does the bus from Brooklyn to JFK cost?
$3.00 for the B15, paid by OMNY or MetroCard. The AirTrain from Lefferts Boulevard to the terminals is free, because the $8.75 AirTrain fare is charged only at the Jamaica and Howard Beach exits. The whole trip costs $3.00 in total.
How long does the B15 take from Brooklyn to JFK?
Usually under 90 minutes from Bed-Stuy to a terminal outside rush hour, but the B15 is a local bus with about 70 stops, so rush-hour traffic through East New York slows it down. Budget two hours door to terminal and you will not miss the flight because of the bus.
Does the B15 serve all of Brooklyn?
No. The B15 serves Bedford-Stuyvesant, Crown Heights, Ocean Hill, Brownsville and East New York on its way to JFK. It does not serve southern Brooklyn neighbourhoods such as Bay Ridge or Sheepshead Bay u2014 from there, take the subway to a B15 stop or check the MTA trip planner for your address.
Sources
- MTA — B15 bus timetable, effective August 31, 2025: Bedford-Stuyvesant to JFK AirTrain via Marcus Garvey Blvd and New Lots Av, local bus service, accessed 2026-11-08
- Wikipedia — B15 (New York City bus): Woodhull Medical Center to JFK Terminal 5, 24-hour service added April 11, 2004, truncated to Lefferts Blvd AirTrain station March 27, 2022, accessed 2026-11-08
- NYC Bus Times — Taking the bus to JFK and LaGuardia, updated October 29, 2026: four routes end at Lefferts Blvd AirTrain station, AirTrain $8.75 at Jamaica and Howard Beach, free between terminals, accessed 2026-11-08
- JFK Fly — Public buses and airport transfers at JFK: B15 connects JFK with East New York, ends at Lefferts Blvd AirTrain station, operates 24 hours, accessed 2026-11-08
- JetBlack Transportation — owner-confirmed facts: JFK–Manhattan economy sedan $65 flat, Brooklyn priced as a per-trip quote, economy sedan $45 per hour with 3-hour minimum, child seats about $35 per seat for a fee, wheelchair-accessible vehicles, cancellation free before confirmation and $31 total after, accessed 2026-11-08
