Everyone that has been to New York tells me that the taxi fares there are expensive. Coming from a country whose currency has to be multiplied by 4 to make 1 USD, I'd take their word for it.
There are several ways of getting around New York on the cheaps - bus, subway, walk. I didn't get a chance to experience taking the bus, but here are my tips on getting around New York via Subway in what little time I had there.
How to read the New York Subway Map
You can download a copy of the map here. I printed this out and it was really useful to me there, but of course you can get one by asking a staff from any subway station.
1. Understand is the station keys.
Solid black dots - Local services only, which means only routes that state "local" will stop here.
White dots - All routes will stop there.
Solid black line - There will be a free subway transfer, within the subway itself, means it all underground.
White line - The free transfer is outside the station, meaning you'd have to exit the station and go back in, but your metrocard won't be charged.
It's really easy to tell which line you need to take my pinpointing the station you want to go first, then you'll see the station alphabet stated on that station. For Example, Chambers St states 1,2,3 below it. That means these 3 routes will stop there. There are also Express routes, which mean they only stop on white dot stations, like orange route D in the map below.
2. Know your bearings
Are you going North, South, East or West? Or rather, in the direction of the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens or Brookyln? There are 5 boroughs to New York City - Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, Staten Island. If you're at Grand st station, and you wanted to get to 36 St via line D, go down the subway station and follow the directions of the signs that say "To Downtown & Brooklyn". If it was vice versa, just follow the directions of Uptown, Queens, The Bronx or Manhattan.
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| Photo credits : https://mrmac7.wordpress.com/2011/02/ |
3. Know the day & time of your travel
Some routes only run during the day, and some routes don't run on weekends. Some routes are changed at night, some only operate during rush hours. There are changes to the system all the time, so a better overall guide would be the check out their website on each line here. I tried not to take the subway too late at night for safety reasons, but normally if there was a certain route you wanted to take but was unavailable, it'd be clearly stated when you reach the track and there'd also be an indicator of which train you should take instead, otherwise you could ask the staff at the ticketing counter.
Metrocard & Fares
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| Photo credit : http://www.elinformador.net |
If you're not going to be in New York for a long time and rather not buy a prepaid metrocard, a single ride ticket is 3 USD per trip. I was there for 2 weeks and that was adequate enough for me to get a metrocard. The cost of a metrocard is 1USD, and it charges 2.75USD per trip. When you top up anything more than 5.50USD, they automatically reload an additional 11% bonus to your card, call it a value add. You can top up your card at any subway station, their machines take both cash and credit cards. For additional info about unlimited ride tickets or reduced fare cards, check it out here.
Since the rate per trip is fixed no matter what distance you go, it's better to use the metrocard only when it's not a very walking friendly distance. And in New York, nearly everywhere is walking friendly. The best thing is New York City follows a grid system, where it's super easy to get your bearings right. Or if you'd like to try a little trick I found, if you look up and you see the empire state, it means you're going north. If you're walking towards the world trade center, it means you're going south. But since you probably can't see these 2 iconic buildings all the time shaded in the concrete jungles of the city, I'd guess this really isn't the best thing to bet on.
I hope this post has helped you get a better idea of the NY subway system. Happy travels!
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