higgledy

I am a country bumpkin taking a trip to NYC for fun. Does anyone know of a guide to the NYC Subway System for Dummies? Thank you.

nerd

This might get you started:

Getting around New York by Subway
Adapted From: New York City For Dummies, 4th Edition

As a former bumpkin myself, I can assure you that you'll do just fine.

wxguy

More than you will ever need to know - www.nycsubway.org

trainman74

Don't scare the bumpkins! This site contains a ton of info that's very interesting if you're a train fan, but not necessarily relevant if you're just heading to New York to see the sights.

The article nerd linked to is very good; I want to emphasize the points that free copies of the system map are available from the token booth clerks in each station (unless they're out of them -- and, of course, you can look at it in advance)...and New Yorkers are friendlier than most people think.

I don't think that article mentioned specific fares. The regular fare is $2 per ride, although if you put more than $7 on a MetroCard, you get a 10% bonus. However, it's probably easiest to use unlimited-ride MetroCards instead.

guv1976

The bonus on pay-per-ride Metrocards for purchases or refills of $7.00 or more is 15 per cent. A $7.00 purchase yields a card with $8.05 in value; a $8.70 purchase will yield a card with 10.01 in value; etc. The formula is: multiply the amount of value you want by 0.87, and round the result up to the nearest $ .05. (Metrocards are sold in five-cent increments, from $4.00 up.)

Generally speaking, an unlimited daily Metrocard, called a "Fun Pass," makes economic sense if one plans to pay more than four fares in a day. Note that the Fun Pass expires at 3:00 AM on the pay following first use, not the day of purchase. If you first use a Fun Pass at 12:05 AM, it will be valid for almost 27 hours; if you first use a Fun Pass at 11:55 PM, it will be valid for just over three hours. There are also unlimited Metrocards valid for seven conecutive days ($25.00); fourteen consecutive days ($47.00); and thirty consecutive days ($81.00).

Pay-per-ride Metrocards include free transfers within about two hours of paying a fare from subway to bus, from bus to subway, and from bus to bus (with some exceptions). With a couple of notable exceptions, there is no subway to subway free transfer if you exit the subway system, but one can transfer from subway to subway an unlimited number of times if one does not exit the subway system.

The availability of free transfers should be taken into account in determining whether a pay-per-ride or unlimited Metrocard is more economical.

ByeByeDelta

Hi higgledy and welcome to FT! You've gotten some pretty good advice here. There is an NYC dedicated forum where you will likely get even more assistance, so I'm moving this thread over there. Thanks!

ByeByeDelta
AGR Moderator

Hoc

I've never tried it, but I always assumed that the Pay per ride card was not good for the JFK AirTrain. Is that right? Even if I have $5 in value on a pay per ride card, I still need to buy a separate $5 ticket for the AirTrain, right?

sadiqhassan

I have used $5 from my pay per ride to use the JFK airtrain

Cheers,

cordelli

The pay per ride card works on the airtrain. As long as you have the $5 on it, it just takes it off.

I use www.hopstop.com for routing information, put in your starting address and where you are going, it gives you walking directions to the subway, then directions on which train to take, transfers if necessary, then walking directions to where you are going.

The key I find is knowing which direction that you want to go in. It's very easy to get on the wrong train, so when you are looking at a map to see what stop to get off at, also look at the last stop for that train to make sure the train is going in the right direction.

sbm12

Nope... I always use my regular MetroCard at the AirTrain gates. If you only go one way on the AirTrain it messes things up since the balance goes from being an even number to being an odd number, but otherwise it works just fine. An unlimited rides card will not work on the AirTrain.


There are actually two stations where you can do a subway-to-subway transfer leaving the system and going back in, though generally it is not permitted. A transfer between the 63rd & Lex station on the F line to the 59th & Lex station on the 4/5/6/N/R/W lines is permitted.

And while the daily unlimited card benefit kicks in at the fourth ride you take that day, the weekly starts to benefit after 14 rides in a week, or two per day. It also has a benefit of not requiring you to figure out how much money you have left and the details on transfers and everything else. The other rule not mentioned yet about the unlimited is that you can only enter the system once per 18 minutes. If you are actually using the card to go somewhere and do something this shouldn't matter as you'll likely spend more than 18 minutes between the transit and the activity, but it does mean that sharing a card is very hard.

The maps and signage are pretty good throughout the system. But if you're struggling to find your way standing around looking at a map or otherwise looking confused will almost certainly attract someone to offer you assistance. Or just ask someone. If you don't want to risk talking to a random stranger (though you should - we don't all bite and some of us are actually nice) at the middle of each train there is a conductor. They'll be able to help you out when the train is in the station. Just wait at the middle of the platform and you'll see them.

Finally, on weekends construction buggers everything up pretty good. There are signs explaining alternatives, but those are generally targeted at folks who know the system pretty well. Again, if you get stuck, just ask. In addition to there being alternate subway routings listed you might end up on a bus or otherwise headed in the direction you were going.

Oh, and welcome to FlyerTalk!!

S.

Globehopper

Good points!

For a one day so-called Fun Pass (which means the other passes aren't "fun")
the breakeven point occurs at 4.3 rides (assuming that you would otherwise get the Pay Per Ride MetroCard discount for purchasing multiple rides at once).

The two subway to subway transfer mentioned above are great if you want to make a roundtrip or break in journey for one fare! Otherwise, one can also take the subway one direction and a bus the other to ride roundtrip on one fare.

If you're real pikers, it is possible for two people to ride using one unlimited MetroCard-- just enter at two adjacent stations and meet up later (example: enter at Bowling Green Station for an uptown 4 or 5 train; person 2 takes the unlimited ride MC and enters at Wall St Station a couple of blocks north to take the same train).

Compared to London, NYC subway fares are a bargain! And London has the benefit of the so-called congestion charge to help transit improvements!

sbm12

Is the limit 18 minutes at the same station or just 18 minutes in general? I thought it was the later which would render the plan above less than functional unless the walk took 18+ minutes.

Globehopper

The 18 minute limit applies only at the same station or stations linked in a complex, such as the Times Square complex.

guv1976

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8703e/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/104)

The free reentry for pay-per-ride Metrocards at Lexington/63rd Street and Lexington/59th Street stations doesn't actually require you to transfer from one station to another. For example, you can exit the system at Lexington/59th and reenter the system at the same station for free. (The system only records where you enter the system, not where you exit.)

Globehopper

Tis, true.

Also worth noting that if you do use the tariff anomaly to get the free subway to subway transfer, you cannot get another free transfer to a bus as that uses up your free transfer (there may be an exception if you transfer to a bus in Staten Island or to Staten Island Railroad). The subway map is not clear on these points.