Inspired by discussion of a train between New York's LaGuardia Airport and Manhattan, FiveThirtyEight's Nate Silver set out to find the cities that quickly get travelers from the airport to downtown.

Among the nation's 40 busiest airports, Minneapolis was tops for shortest travel time via transit.

The only three with public transit faster than cars: Minneapolis, Chicago and Honolulu. Maybe. Depending on traffic.

While the Twin Cities' light rail takes travelers directly from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to downtown Minneapolis, Silver, the statistician and writer, pointed out that traffic here isn't bad, so a car "can be a good option."

The upshot: Travelers from MSP to downtown Minneapolis can't go wrong.

Silver's calculation for taking public transit to downtown Minneapolis on a weekday, including a wait, was 30 minutes. His drive time was 35 minutes.

Something generic to tie in with story, plz -June 2, 2011- Minneapolis, MN- In this photo:] Riders take the light-rail during morning rush hour. Once derided as a ìtrain to nowhere,” the Hiawatha light-rail line carries enough riders over 12 miles that it’s cheaper to run than city buses. The daily cost per passenger mile of operating the Hiawatha between Bloomington and downtown Minneapolis is nearly half that of metro buses throughout the Twin Cities, according to the federal government. The Hiawatha also has proven cheaper to operate than most other light-rail lines in the nation. ORG XMIT: MIN2013051618123087 ORG XMIT: MIN1305161816551207

There was no indication Silver, who made his calculations from his desk via the internet, attempted to get from the airport to downtown St. Paul. If he had done so on the 54 bus line, he would have zipped down West Seventh with limited stops.

As for Manhattan, he analyzed the eternal dilemma faced by all travelers into and out of New York: LaGuardia, Newark or JFK?

Silver's methodology and analysis can be found here: 53eig.ht/188PfUq

Rochelle Olson