Since living abroad, I always pride myself on my ability to navigate public transportation. That being said, the New York subway system gave me a run for my money. It took me longer than I expected to master the underground world of old train cars and rat-ridden tracks. Even now, I have moments of confusion, frantic episodes of refreshing my phone, and entering the wrong platform. Today I am sharing my tips on how to successfully ride the New York City subway.
Express vs. Local
First things first, you must distinguish whether you are riding an express train or a local train. This can be difficult, even after months of living in New York. As a local, we hate local trains {ironic?}. As tourists though, local trains can be great.
A local train stops at every designated stop on a subway line. This means you won’t be surprised, or need to wonder if your stop will be skipped. Local trains can be identified on the subway car by a circle. This means the letter or number of the subway line {ex: 6} will be displayed in a circle, rather than a diamond. This is how you will know you are riding a local train. Local train stops are displayed as black dots on the subway map.
If your train arrives and the number is displayed in a diamond shape, you can bet you are riding an express train. Express trains skip a number of local stops, only stopping at express stations. These will be displayed as white dots on the subway map. As you can imagine, express trains are a lot faster, if you know where you are going.
Local trains also stop at express stops. For example, Grand Central Station appears as a white dot on the subway map. However, local trains will also stop at Grand Central Station. Let’s say you are riding the local 6 train {not to be confused with the express 6 train}. As you see below, the local 6 train {green line} stops at 23rd, 28th, and 33rd going uptown. The next station after 33rd is Grand Central Station. The local train will stop here {even though it’s displayed as an express stop} and then travel on the 51st street.
The best way to avoid confusion is to download a map of the subway in PDF form. This way you can easily see which subway lines stop at each station – it’s literally labelled next to each stop.
Metro Card
Physically, compared to London’s Oyster cards, the New York metro cards are a joke. Essentially, they are flimsy pieces of paper that could easily be ripped in half. I appreciate the need to reduce plastic waste, so I commend the city for doing so {even though I doubt that was their intention in the first place}. Just be sure to keep your metro card safe because they are easy to lose, and nearly impossible to replace.
There are multiple ‘packages’ you can purchase with your metro card. The card itself will cost you $1.00. At that point it’s a matter of deciding how often you’ll utilize the card. If you are visiting for a week or more, I suggest purchasing the unlimited 7-day metro card for $32.00. This will pay for itself if you ride the subway 13 times over your week – that breaks down to riding the subway an average of less than twice a day. If you live in New York, or plan on staying for at least a month, buy the unlimited 30-day metro card for $121.00. Trust me, it pays for itself very quickly, especially if you are commuting to work via subway. If you will be in New York for less than a week, purchase a metro card for $1.00 and add at least $5.50 to your card in order to receive the reduced price of $2.75 per ride instead of the single ride cost of $3.00. For more information about ticket prices, check out the MTA website here.
In regards to using the metro card, make sure you swipe quickly when entering the turnstile. There is nothing worse than standing there for more than a couple seconds while you simultaneously look like a tourist and hold the line up as you do. I mean, let’s be honest, I’ve been that person more than a handful of times {even as a resident of New York}. But once you get the hang of it, it becomes second nature.
Single Zone System
New York subway system operates on a single zone, therefore you are charged a flat rate regardless of where you are traveling to within the system. This is both a blessing, and a curse if you don’t own an unlimited metro card. You can go from Brooklyn all the way to the Bronx for $3.00, but it will also cost you $3.00 to travel a measly two stops down the tracks.
Uptown & Downtown
Direction is one of the biggest mistakes people make when it comes to the subway. I say people, not tourists, because even New Yorker’s make this mistake at times {though they will never admit it to you}. You have to be aware of which direction you need to head before entering the subway station. There are many stations within the city that have designated entrances for trains heading uptown and downtown.
You don’t want to make the common mistake of entering a platform heading downtown, when you actually need to go uptown. The reason for this being, exiting and re-entering on the opposite side of the street will cost you another flat rate fee of $3.00 {for a single purchase ticket}. You will also have to wait approximately 15 minutes before re-entering the station. They do this to avoid people swiping their unlimited metro card for multiple entries {for multiple people} on one journey.
The best way to avoid this is to make sure you read the signage before heading underground. If the station is not labeled with ‘uptown’ or ‘downtown’, both platforms are available regardless of which entrance you use.
Four Stations, One Name
This is one of the more frustrating aspects of the New York City subway system. You will soon come to realize, there are multiple stations with identical names. New York is a very large city, set on a grid where certain avenues and streets are extremely long. Therefore, they require multiple stops. For example, there are four 96th St. Stations. Yep – wtf.
I was only just becoming familiar with the New York subway system {as in less than a week of experience}, when I began attending interviews throughout Manhattan. Ironically enough, I was scheduled to interview with the company that eventually hired me around noon one afternoon. I knew I needed to get off at 53rd St. Station. Unfortunately for me, there are two 53rd St. Stations in Manhattan. Want to guess which one I arrived at with only 20 minutes to spare before my interview? Yeahhhh, the wrong one.
I quickly had to walk, since I couldn’t re-enter the subway. Obviously I made it in time for my interview since I received a job offer later that afternoon. However, you can imagine the added stress it caused prior to sitting down to meet my potential new boss. Just something to keep in mind when navigating your way around the big apple.
Empty Subway Cars
Let’s just say – there is a reason they are empty. No, it’s not a miracle. It’s one thing if the entire train is empty prior to arriving. But, if this isn’t the case, and it’s a sole car that’s empty, stay away. It usually has to do with a broken AC/heater or a rancid smell. These are the most popular reasons, however it could be a number of things. Just take my word for it and don’t risk it.
Weekend Schedule
I’ve mentioned this multiple times on the blog, and by now we all know the weekend subway schedule was the bane of my existence last year. Most weekend schedule changes are due to construction, seeing as it’s easier to accomplish on Saturdays and Sundays, as opposed to busy week days. Although I understand it, I never truly accepted it. I would always forget about the change in schedule and then arrive at my platform only to see the neon construction tape closing off my express line train.
It’s not the end of the world, but each time one of my trains would be closed, I instantly had to reroute, resulting in a late attendance to most events in the city. Essentially, I turned into ‘that’ girl, constantly apologizing for being late. Not a great title to have.
Make sure you are constantly aware of schedule changes by downloading the MTA app on your smartphone. This way, you can prepare accordingly, and avoid being ‘that girl’… or boy.
Avoid Rush Hour
Try your best to avoid the subway between 7:30 AM – 9:30 AM and 4:30 PM – 6:30 PM on weekdays. Everyone and their mother are commuting to and from work during these hours, making it impossible to efficiently travel via subway. There were multiple times last year that I would have to wait for one {occasionally two} trains to pass me by before I could board at all. You will see traffic monitors at the busy stations during these peak hours. If you do – I suggest running in the opposite direction.
No one wants to be wedged between two armpits at any point in their life. But this is especially true while on vacation – at least for me. That beings said, you’ll have nothing to worry about on the weekends. Just be wary of the time if you plan to take the metro during the week. Plus, as mentioned in my previous post {here}, this is prime ‘happy hour time’ in New York. Therefore, you might as well kill two birds with one stone, and take full advantage.
Etiquette
There is some pretty specific etiquette that should be followed on the subway. Firstly, always wait for everyone on the subway car to exit before attempting to enter the car. People will instantly think you are an asshole if you rush into the car before everyone has exited – because you are an asshole if you do that. Secondly, don’t lean against the poles in the subway cars. You aren’t a stripper, there is no need for anything more than your hand to be on that pole. If you are leaning against it, it eliminates the possibility for others to grab hold.
Third, when entering and exiting a subway station, stand on the right side of the escalator or walk on the left side. Whatever you do, don’t stand on the left. Fourth, always always always give your seat up for the pregnant or elderly. It’s straight up RUDE if you don’t. This means you have to be somewhat aware of your surroundings {not spacing out while listening to music or getting lost in a book}. You don’t want to suddenly look up and see a pregnant woman struggling in front of you because you failed to be a decent human being. It’s not a good look.
And finally, move down. If you are in a crowded subway car, don’t just stand halfway in, halfway out of the row. And don’t stand near the door forcing everyone entering and exiting to have to maneuver around you. Move as far down the subway car as possible to allow the maximum amount of people into the car.
The Yellow Line
Just like you are supposed to ‘Mind the Gap’ in London, it’s essential that you ‘Watch Your Step’ in New York. Especially when it comes to the yellow. This was one of the first pieces of advice I received from a New Yorker when I moved to the big apple. It’s true that people will indeed push you onto the subway track if you aren’t careful – I’m not kidding. Of course the people doing this are not in the right mind unfortunately, but nonetheless you don’t want to be the unlucky victim of their rampage. My best piece of advice is to lean up against on the pillars underground and simply stay far away from the yellow line. I know it’s tempting to overcrowd the area during rush hour, but I think we can all agree it’s not worth risking your life.
Safety
And finally, let’s talk about safety. This was something I constantly worried about living in New York. That being said, I never found myself in any truly dangerous situations on the subway. The only time I felt uneasy was when I found myself alone, or with a few others, on a platform after dark. It’s never extremely comfortable to be a young woman alone underground, especially when you come across such a vast variety of characters on the subway. Again, I never had any real issues, but if you do come across this predicament, I suggest just remaining outside of the actual platform until you hear the train arrive.
In general, I was initially worried about riding the subway anytime after 9:00 PM when I first arrived in New York. It all seems laughable now. In reality, I was more alone on subway cars between the hours of 8:00 PM – 10:00 PM, then I ever was after 11:00 PM. This was mostly the case on weekends {when I would typically go out in Manhattan}, and it always felt comforting to have a full subway car on my way to Brooklyn at midnight or 1:00 AM. I rarely ever took Uber’s home {sorry Mom}, and I always managed to get home safe and sound. That being said, I lived very close to my subway station {as in around the block}. If I had lived any further, I would have taken a cab. Of course this all depends on where you live, but it’s still best to take necessary caution.
If you do find yourself to be somewhat alone on a subway car at night, I suggest entering one of the cars closest to the train operator. This way they will be able to hear you if you need to yell out to someone, plus it’s just comforting to know a responsible adult is close by.
What would you add to this list to help others master the New York subway system?
