Besides walking, riding the subway is the preferred mode of transportation for New Yorkers. Some 3.5 million people ride it each day. The subway is quick, inexpensive, relatively safe, and pretty efficient, as well as being a genuine New York experience.
The subway runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The rush-hour crushes are roughly from 8–9:30 a.m. and from 5–6:30 p.m. on weekdays; the trains are relatively uncrowded the rest of the time.
The subway fare is $2 (half price for seniors and those with disabilities), and children under 44 inches tall ride free (up to three per adult).
Finding the entrance and getting on board
You can easily locate a subway entrance along the sidewalk by looking for a set of stairs that heads underground. Most stops also have signs above them that list the lines that run through those stations.
 | Some subway entrances close at night. Each stairway has a globe on top of it that's supposed to tell you whether the entrance is open (green for open, red for closed), but the globes aren't always accurate; look down the stairs to find out whether the entrance is open (a big clue is if there's a locked gate at the bottom of the staircase!). |
The famous New York City subway token was phased out in 2003 and now the only way to gain entry to the subway is with the MetroCard, a magnetically encoded card that debits the fare when swiped through the turnstile (or the fare box on any city bus). After you're in the system, you can transfer freely to any subway line that you can reach without exiting your station. MetroCards also allow you free transfers between the bus and subway within a two-hour period.
MetroCards can be purchased from each station's staffed token booth (which is what they're still called, even though the token itself has been phased out), where you can only pay with cash. At the ATM-style vending machines now located in just about every subway station, you can pay with cash, credit cards, and debit.
You can usually find a subway map inside each subway car, on the platform, and on the wall in the subway station. You also can get a detailed subway map from the token booth inside each station.
Getting where you want to go
If you need directions in the subway, trying to get information from the token-booth attendant can be frustrating. The acoustics are horrible, the people behind you are impatient, and it's difficult to make yourself heard (and even harder to understand the resulting directions). Instead, pick out a friendly or knowledgeable face; you'd be surprised how willing New Yorkers are to help out.
The orientation of the subway system is mainly north-south (or uptown-downtown); you can find only a few points at which the lines go straight east-west. To travel up and down the west side (and also to the Bronx and Brooklyn), take the 1, 2, 3, or 9 line; the A, C, E, or F line; or the B or D line.
The N, R, Q, and W lines first cut diagonally across town from east to west and then snake under Seventh Avenue before shooting out to Queens.
The crosstown S line, the Shuttle, runs back and forth between Times Square and Grand Central Terminal. The 7 line also goes from Times Square to Grand Central Station (with a stop at Fifth Avenue). Farther downtown, across 14th Street, the L line works its own crosstown magic.
Lines have assigned colors on subway maps and trains — red for the 1, 2, 3, 9 line; green for the 4, 5, 6 trains; and so on — but nobody ever refers to them by color. Always refer to them by number or letter when asking questions. Within Manhattan, the distinction between different numbered trains that share the same line is usually that some are express and others are local.
Express trains often skip about three stops for each one that they make; express stops are indicated on subway maps with a white (rather than solid) circle. Local stops usually come about 9 blocks apart.
Directions are almost always indicated using "Uptown" (northbound) and "Downtown" (southbound), so be sure to know what direction you want to head in. The outsides of some subway entrances are marked "Uptown Only" or "Downtown Only"; read carefully, because it's easy to head in the wrong direction. After you're on the platform, check the signs overhead to make sure that the train you're waiting for is traveling in the right direction. If you do make a mistake and get on the wrong train, it's a good idea to wait for an express station, like 14th Street or 42nd Street, so you can get off and change for the other direction without paying again.
Staying safe
To keep yourself safe in the subway, heed this advice:
- At night, use the off-hours waiting areas, which are usually close to the exits to the street. They're clearly marked with signs overhead.
- Don't tempt thieves by displaying money or valuables on the subway.
- Don't try to stop a subway door that's closing. You can end up with a bruised hand or arm — or something more serious. Just wait for the next train.
- Always stand a few feet back from the tracks on the subway platform.
- Avoid subways late at night, and splurge on a cab after about 10 or 11 p.m. — it's money well spent to avoid a long wait on a deserted platform.
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