Bally Heck, we'll assume me and 3 mates leap into the mighty Ford at say 40mpg. Thats an average of 160mpg per passenger
Two hours is more tricky though
I'm not saying aircraft are inefficient compared to other current options, (although sea transport is best on a mpg per tonne basis - mind you speed isn't too hot) just that compared to something running in a vacuum (no drag) supported on superconducting magnets (no power required) and using regenerative braking to stop (getting back almost all the energy back you put in to accelerate), they do look a tad profligate.
kala, old Harry, stuck an "floating" bridge at the mid-atlantic ridge, that is the sections were buoyant and held down by cables, with enough slack in the bridge to last a good few years.
Mycroft, you cure that problem, by having a large mass (stray asteroids would work nicley, also giving you a carbon source for the diamond filament that needs inventing before construction, Bucky balls would work too) in geostationary orbit with the elevator coming down from it, and indeed one going up from it for "slingshot" launches. That way if the tether comes lose at the base nothing dramatic happens at all. The only problem is a sever above ground level, in that case only the portion below the break comes down, the rest stays where it is (roughly). Worst case scenario isn't too bad really, as only the tower bit comes down, and thats only going to weigh a few thousand tonnes.
The best has to be the incremental cost to orbit though, its in the region of a few pounds per tonne in energy terms, assuming what goes up eventually comes down as well (link 2 cars together, one goes up one goes down, your only paying to lift the difference between the 2 cars weights)
And for those in a hurry, how about just hitching a ride up in your BoeingBus A7157 glider? "ladies and gentleman, this is your captain speaking, we're just reaching our starting height of 200 miles above Africa and we'll be starting our glide into New York in just a moment"
Somehow I don't think that will catch on, for a start getting the gliders back to the site will be a bugger