NYC Subway Tips

NEW YORK SUBWAY TRANSPORTATION TIPS

The subway is the quickest way to get around town. And at a little over $2 per ride, plus free transfer, anywhere in NYC, this is a deal that is hard to beat; particularly over the cost of street or garage parking, cab fare, or wear and tear on your feet!

You can use this site to help get directions and/or plan your trip(s) around NYC:
http://www.hopstop.com/?city=newyork

As for fares, the system is straightforward: a ride on the Subway costs $2.25. While it is possible to purchase a single fare card, it's almost always a better value to at least purchase a "pay-per-ride" Metrocard of at least $4.50. This will allow you to make certain transfers you will not be allowed to do with a single-ride farecard. In addition, if you purchase a pay-per-ride Metrocard worth more than $8, you will get a 15% bonus (e.g., if you buy a $45 Metrocard, you will get $51.75 -- or 23 rides -- worth of fare). Up to four people are also allowed to ride on a single pay-per-ride Metrocard; simply slide (or, in the case of local buses, "dip") your card once for each person.

For tourists who want to make multiple trips in a short time, the Unlimited Ride cards can be a good value. The options range from a 1-day "fun pass" for $8.25, a 7-day card for $27, and a 30-day card for $89. As a rule, if you plan to stay in New York City for more than 3 days, the 7-day card is the best idea for a stress-free stay; purchase the card, ride the Subway (and local buses) whenever you want, and forget it. Note that, unlike a pay-per-ride card, an Unlimited Ride card is only valid for one person; the same card cannot be used twice at the same station within 18 minutes.

To use a Metrocard in the Subway, with the colored side facing you, quickly slide the card through the turnstile slot back to front in the direction of the arrows on the bottom of the card. To use a Metrocard on a bus, be sure the colored side of the card is facing you and the clipped corner is pointed up. Then "dip" the card into the slot and wait for the beep confirming the card was read properly. Bus drivers are generally reasonably patient helping tourists insert the card correctly.

Remember: Once you go through a gate or turnstile, you have to pay again to get back in. So before you get caught up in the mad dash and go where everyone else seems to be going, make sure you are headed in the right direction.

For up-to-date information, visit http://www.mta.info/

Understanding the NYC Subway

There are SEVERAL trains in New York. However, most run of the same line, with some trains being EXPRESS trains and others being LOCAL trains. EXPRESS trains stop at only CERTAIN stops...not every single one. The LOCAL trains stop at EVERY stop.

If you're unused to NYC subways, take the LOCAL trains. At least you will be sure that you don't miss your stop, if the Express train does not stop at your particular stop.

When you're in the station looking for which direction you should go in, you need to figure out two things. 1) what line do you need? 2) what direction?

The line you need will be a number or a letter. NYC doesn’t discern subway lines by color (even though the map shows colors in order to read better). You will need to know whether you're going UPTOWN or DOWNTOWN, WESTSIDE or EASTSIDE. Keep in mind that from outside, for many stations, you have to choose your direction before entering.

To find out which way the subway is going, just look for the name of the last stop. Grab a subway map from one of the stations (or print out the PDF below) and plan the easiest route to your destination.

http://mta.info/nyct/maps/submap.htm

NYC Airports and the Subway

Depending on which airport you fly in/out of, there are subways available from either JFK or LaGuardia. JFK is farther, but the there is a subway that can take you from that airport directly to New York City. From LaGuardia, you'll have to take a bus to Queens first before you can get onto a subway.

From JFK it will take 1-2hrs to get into the city, but LaGuardia can be as fast as 30mins because it is closer. If you are flying out of JFK, make sure you leave the city at least 3hrs ahead of time to make sure you make it to the airport on time. You do not want to miss your flight out!!

General Subway tips

If you're staying more than a day buy a weekly unlimited pass ($21.00). Single fare cost $2.00. You will save money buying unlimited pass.

Take a few minutes to orient yourself with the subway map. You can pretty quickly see which train brings you back to your hotel. I found out that subway workers are a lot nicer to you if you say, "Where can I catch the 6?" than if you say, "How can I get to 575 Broadway from here?"

Sometimes you'll run into a swipe mechanism that repeatedly rejects your card. This starts out as mildly embarrassing and then escalates into a seriously maddening situation. The solution: you have to fold up a piece of paper and run it through the swipe mechanism, to clean it out. The paper comes out black with dirt and presto, magic-o, your metro card works the next time through.

Remember to always have your metrocard ready and out when getting to a turnstile, so as not to create a line behind you as you dig through your bag.