Getting Around New York City – Taxi, Subway, Bus
Getting Around New York City – Taxi, Subway, Bus
Getting around New York City is fast and easy, thanks to the MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority), which operates all public transportation in the city like subways, commuter rail roads and buses. It can be intimidating at first to navigate the public transportation system in a new city, but when you spend a little bit of time to understand how to use the buses and trains in NYC to your advantage, you can save big bucks during your New York trip.
Taking a Taxi Cab
Taxi cabs in New York City are easy to find – they are bright yellow colored with a light on top. If you’re hailing a cab from your hotel, then your concierge will be able to help you, but if you are hailing one from the street, just stand on the side walk and extend your arm onto the street and wait for an empty cab to stop. Taking a taxi is easy and cheap if you are a group of up to 4 people, but not necessarily the fastest, since traffic jams are a common sight in new York.
Riding the Subway trains
The subway is the fastest and cheapest method of travelling in Manhattan. However, with over 20 subway lines and 468 train stations, navigating the New York subway system can be confusing, but follow some of our tips below and you’ll be on your way soon.
- Get a subway map which will tell you which train line to ride to get to your destination.
- Subway maps are FREE and you can get them from the ticket booth at any subway station.
- You will need to purchase a Metro Card to travel on the subway. The fare is $2.50 per ride – no matter how far you travel. Once you come out of the turnstile at a station, you will have to pay again to get in. If you don’t get out of the station anywhere, you can stay on the subway for as long as you like.
- Each subway line is denoted by a letter or number – like the 1 train or A train and each of these trains go to different places. You might have to change from one train to another to get to the place you want to go to. That’s where the map comes in handy.
Riding the MTA Buses
Buses are denoted by a letter and number like M42 (M denotes Manhattan bus and 42 denotes the route number.) Buses are VERY slow, especially with the Manhattan traffic, they can be very time consuming. But if you are not in a hurry and are looking for a relaxed sight-seeing afternoon, we would suggest taking a ride on an MTA bus along a scenic route and enjoy the sights of the city as it passes you by. This is something you would not be able to do on the subway since all trains run underground in Manhattan.
- When you use the Metro card to ride the subway using your Pay-per-ride MetroCard, you will receive a FREE ride to any bus within 2 hours. The FREE ride which is called a “transfer” is automatically added to your MetroCard and will be deducted when you use your card on the bus.
- We recommend taking the M42 (which runs crosstown along 42nd St – the trip starts at the UN building and passes Grand Central Terminal, Chrysler Building, New York Public Library building, Bryant Park, Times Square, Port Authority Bus Termianl and takes you all the way to the Intrepid Museum) or the M34 (you will see Empire State Building, Macy’s Herald Square, Madison Square Garden and Jacob Javitz Center).
More info about Getting Around New York City
You can find details about the using public transportation in New York at the MTA website. Here are some direct links to some useful resources:
Subway Map
Manhattan Bus Map
Other MTA Maps
