Where Can I Find Ground Transportation Options Such as Taxis or Rental Cars at Terminal A? 5 Honest Answers for 2027

At EWR Terminal A, taxis wait at the official stand on Level 1 near Door 5, rideshare pickups are across the street on the arrivals level, the AirTrain links you free of charge to NJ Transit trains and the rental car center, and the Newark Airport Express bus runs to Midtown Manhattan. One warning before you walk anywhere: if your ticket says Terminal A, it means Newark — LGA Terminal A, the Marine Air Terminal, is closed to the public with no commercial flights operating, so there is no ground transport to find there.

Picture landing at Newark on a weekday morning, bags in hand, with a meeting in Midtown in two hours. The question is not which option exists in theory — it is where to stand, what it costs, and which one actually gets you there. Terminal A is the airport’s new terminal, opened on January 12, 2023, with 33 gates, and its ground transport is all on the arrivals level: no shuttle to another building, no second terminal to reach first.

Written by David Williams · Fact-checked by Alex Freeman, Editor-in-Chief · Last verified November 2026

First, which Terminal A are you landing at?

There are two Terminal As in the New York airports, and only one of them takes passengers. Newark’s Terminal A is the new $2.7 billion terminal that opened in January 2023, serving Air Canada, American, JetBlue, and United flights, among others. LaGuardia’s Terminal A is the historic Marine Air Terminal, and the airport’s own page states it is currently closed to the public with no commercial flights operating; a private operator, Modern Aviation, is based there. Its last scheduled tenant, Spirit Airlines, ceased operations in May 2026. If your boarding pass says Terminal A and your flight is a scheduled commercial flight, you are landing at Newark — follow the signs for baggage claim and ground transportation on the arrivals level, and do not head for LaGuardia. If you are flying into LaGuardia instead, check how to book airport transportation from New York LaGuardia for the terminals that are actually operating, and how to get to LGA Airport using public transportation if you are travelling light.

Taxis at Terminal A: where to stand and what they cost

Taxis are available curbside at the arrivals level of each terminal, and at Terminal A the stand is on Level 1, near Door 5. No reservation is needed: join the official line and a dispatcher directs you to the next available cab. Take the receipt the dispatcher gives you, and only use the official pickup area — the airport warns against accepting rides from anyone not in an official uniform who offers transportation or luggage help. Fares to Manhattan are set by zone, not by a single flat rate: Zone 1, Battery to W 13th St, is $60; Zone 2, W 14th St to W 50th St, is $65; Zone 3, W 51st St to W 96th St, is $70; Zone 4, W 97th St to W 185th St, is $75; and areas above W 185th St are $80. Tolls and surcharges sit on top of those zone fares, and a realistic all-in total to Midtown lands around $95 to $120 once the Hudson River tunnel toll, surcharges, and a tip are in. Do not expect the JFK $70 flat fare here — Newark has no equivalent, and a taxi from Newark runs on these zone fares instead. For the charges that sit outside any quoted fare, see the additional charges for tolls or other expenses.

Rideshare and a pre-booked car

Uber and Lyft both operate at EWR. At Terminal A, the rideshare pickup is directly across the street on the arrivals level — follow the Ride App Pickup signs, and confirm the pickup point in your app before you cross, because the zones differ by terminal. There is also a cheaper shared option: the Uber Shuttle, a shared service bookable in the Uber app, runs to Manhattan with stops at Penn Station, Port Authority, and Grand Central. A pre-booked car service is the alternative for travellers who want a driver waiting with the flight tracked and a price agreed in writing before the car moves. JetBlack prices EWR trips as a written per-trip quote — there is no published fixed fare for this airport on this page, so get the number in writing and check whether tolls and surcharges are inside it. You can make a reservation for a specific time and date, and request specific vehicle features or amenities such as a child seat, which costs about $35 per seat and is confirmed at booking, or a wheelchair-accessible vehicle. A driver who is professional and punctual is part of the service, not an upgrade — but a feature you never asked for is a feature the car may not carry. If you are changing airports rather than heading into the city, see how to travel between JFK and EWR airports.

Train and bus: the cheapest way out of Terminal A

The cheapest way into Manhattan is the AirTrain plus NJ Transit. The AirTrain is free between the terminals, parking, and the rental car center; from Terminal A, take it to Newark Liberty International Airport Station, then board an NJ Transit Northeast Corridor or North Jersey Coast Line train to New York Penn Station. One adult ticket costs $17.25 with the AirTrain fee included, and the train itself takes about 30 minutes. Buy the ticket in the NJ Transit app or at a machine before you board — buying on board costs an extra $5. Two warnings matter. First, the AirTrain link to the train station is currently replaced by free shuttle buses on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. while the new AirTrain is built: arriving rail passengers take a bus from the station to their terminal, and passengers leaving the airport take the AirTrain to P4 Station and transfer to a bus. The AirTrain runs normally on weekends and outside those hours, and service between the terminals is not affected — but allow extra time and follow the red-banner AirTrain Construction Partial Outage signs. Second, NJ Transit trains do not run between about 2 a.m. and 5 a.m., so a red-eye arrival needs a car or a bus instead. The direct bus alternative is the Newark Airport Express, which stops at every terminal and serves Grand Central Terminal, Bryant Park, and Port Authority Bus Terminal, at a $23.50 flat fare. If your destination is not near Penn Station or a bus stop, the train’s low fare stops looking cheap once a second taxi or subway ride is added — that is the point where a door-to-door car earns its price.

Rental cars: a brief honest note

Rental cars are the one option this page does not recommend for a Manhattan trip, and the reason is simple: a rental car from EWR means paying for the car, the tolls, Manhattan parking, and the drive back, for a trip the train does in about 30 minutes for $17.25. If you do need one — because your destination is beyond the city, or you are driving on from New Jersey — the Rental Car Center is reached by taking the AirTrain to the Terminal A station and then walking approximately five minutes. Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz, National, Payless, Sixt, and Thrifty all operate there. Check the rental company’s toll policy before you leave: ask whether its E-ZPass transponder carries administrative fees on top of the tolls, and whether you may use your own transponder instead.

How to choose in sixty seconds

• Going to Midtown and travelling light — take the AirTrain and NJ Transit for $17.25
• Going somewhere the train does not reach, or carrying heavy luggage — take the taxi stand at Level 1 near Door 5, or a pre-booked car with a written quote
• Watching every dollar and heading to Midtown — take the Newark Airport Express bus at $23.50, or the shared Uber Shuttle in the app
• Arriving between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. — the train is not running, so book a car or take a taxi
• Needing a car beyond the city — take the AirTrain to the Terminal A station and walk five minutes to the Rental Car Center

Whatever you choose, settle the price before you travel: a taxi’s zone fare plus tolls, a rideshare’s app estimate before you confirm, a train ticket bought before boarding, or a car service quote in writing. You can pay for your car service online or in advance, and you can pay for your car service to the airport in advance — paying early does not fold tolls, surcharges, or a tip into a fare that excludes them, so read the quote’s exclusions before you pay.

Questions travelers ask

Sources

• Newark Liberty International Airport — Frequently Asked Questions: Terminal A taxi stand (Level 1, Door 5), Manhattan taxi zone fares, Rental Car Center access, Newark Airport Express stops, Uber and Lyft availability, Uber Shuttle, accessed 2026-11-11
• Port Authority of New York and New Jersey — AirTrain Newark Partial Service Outage: shuttle buses replace the AirTrain link to the Airport Train Station Monday–Friday 5:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m., accessed 2026-11-11
• LaGuardia Airport — Terminal A: currently closed to the public, no commercial flights operating, Modern Aviation based at Terminal A, accessed 2026-11-11
• Port Authority of New York and New Jersey — First Flights at EWR Terminal A: $2.7 billion terminal opened January 12, 2023, 33 gates, published 2023-01-13
• Blade — How Much Is a Taxi from Newark Airport to Manhattan: metered/zone fares, $95–$120 realistic all-in total, updated 2026-11-01
• VoyageWindow — Newark Airport to Manhattan: NJ Transit $17.25 with AirTrain included, about 30 minutes to Penn Station, AirTrain fee $8.75, updated 2026-10-19
• JetBlack Transportation — owner-confirmed service facts (24/7 dispatch, written per-trip quotes, Economy Sedan $45/hr with 3-hour minimum, $44 first-mile per-mile tier, child seats ~$35/seat for a fee, wheelchair-accessible vehicles provided, cancellation free before confirmation and $31 total after), confirmed 2026-10-26, accessed 2026-11-11

JetBlack Transportation · 34 W 34th St, New York, NY 10001 · +1-646-214-4828 · Prices verified November 2026 and subject to change — confirm your fixed quote in writing before you travel