Subway, New York City

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“There are no words that can tell the hidden spirit of the wilderness, that can reveal its mystery, its melancholy and its charm.”
— Theodore Roosevelt, (1858-1919) founder of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, his hometown

The 81th Street subway stop serves the American Museum of Natural History on Central Park West and West 81th Street.

As an acknowledgment of the location, the walls of the subway station at West 81th and Central Park West feature mosaics in the forms of insects, birds, reptiles and other creatures. My favorite are the parrots perched on the stair rail (see photo #4).

Ride New York’s subway system. It saves money; it saves energy; it is entertaining.

It connects to Manhattan at 34th street and 7th ave. If you want to go to the Nassau Coliseum to see a hockey game, baseket ball game, or concert. Plus in the summer they have vacation packages to various parts of Long Island including a mystery cruise.

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UPDATE: MTA increased its fares as of December 30, 2010. Unlimited Ride Metrocards purchased under the old fare system must be mailed to MTA for a cash refund.

While New York is surprisingly walkable for a big city, you'll usually find the subway is faster. Before you start off, your best bet is to go to a subway station booth and ask for a subway map. It is an extensive listing of the entire subway system, including a list of which trains stop at which stations (bold means the line stops there all the time, while regular text means the line stops there sometimes). The back of the map even includes a schematic of the Metro North and Long Island Railroad commuter rail systems. Best of all, "The Map" (as it's called) is free. NOTE: While it is normally safe to consult the map while on the Subway (in fact, you'll find more than a few locals doing just that), use common sense and don't open the map in a situation where it might be dangerous if someone thinks you don't know exactly where you're going.

As for fares, a ride on the Subway or local bus normally costs $2.25. While it is possible to purchase a single fare card (Cost: $2.50), it's almost always a better value to purchase a "pay-per-ride" Metrocard of at least $4.50. This will allow you to make certain transfers you will not be allowed to do with a single-ride farecard. In addition, if you purchase a pay-per-ride Metrocard worth more than $10, you will get a 7% bonus (e.g., if you buy a $40 Metrocard, you will get $42.80 worth of fare -- enough for or 19 regular Subway or local bus rides plus 5 cents left over). Up to four people are also allowed to ride on a single pay-per-ride Metrocard; simply slide (or, in the case of local buses, "dip") your card once for each person.

For tourists who want to make multiple trips in a short time, the Unlimited Ride cards can be a good value. The options are a 7-day card for $29 and a 30-day card for $104. (NOTE: The old 1-day "Fun Pass" and 14-day cards have been discontinued) As a rule, if you plan to stay in New York City for more than 3 days, the 7-day card is the best idea for a stress-free stay; purchase the card, ride the Subway (and local buses) whenever you want, and forget it. Note that, unlike a pay-per-ride card, an Unlimited Ride card is only valid for one person; the same card cannot be used twice at the same station within 18 minutes. Also be aware that these Unlimited Ride Metrocards are not valid on express buses, PATH Trains, or AirTrain JFK.

To use a Metrocard in the Subway, with the colored side facing you, quickly slide the card through the turnstile slot back to front in the direction of the arrows on the bottom of the card. To use a Metrocard on a local bus, be sure the colored side of the card is facing you and the clipped corner is pointed up. "Dip" the card into the slot and wait for the beep confirming the card was read properly. Bus drivers are generally reasonably patient helping tourists insert the card correctly.

If you have a droid phone, consider downloading for free the NYC Mate application. It has great maps/routes of the subway and the various bus lines in each borough. I use it several times a week and it is really handy. This in combination with www.hopstop.com, into which you can put in addresses and ask for the best routes (subway/bus and/or walking) is really fabulous.

I found the subway in New York surprisingly easy to use, and quite affordable: if you are staying for more than 4 days, it's actually worth getting the weekly pass. However, when I first arrived in New York, I was caught out by 2 things that made the whole "first experience" one that I'd rather not repeat.

1. The entrances for the subways are for one direction only - which makes it very difficult when you realise that you're on the wrong platform only after you've gone through the turnstiles. You'd think it would be a rather simple solution, right? You just go out, walk across the road, then get on the train. Only problem with that, is that the machine won't let you through! You either have to walk up/downtown to the next subway entrance, or ask the attendant to let you in (from the long-suffering and unimpressed look I was getting from the lady at the ticket machine, they must get that a lot!). So, the tip: always make sure you are going in the right direction BEFORE popping your ticket in, it will save you time and hassle.

2. No stairs, so no matter how cheap using the subway is (which is wonderful if you're on a tight budget), if you're carrying a large and/or heavy suitcase that has wheels and doesn't convert to a backpack, I advise not using the subway (unless you have someone nice and strong to carry it for you or want to work out your muscles)

This is the main link and hub of getting around for about 5-6 million daily. It has lines running in all, and every direction and on all the different islands. They also connect to those other burroughs. Fee cost is $1.75 one way, and transfers 50 cents, but tickets can be purchased for the week, month, etc.

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The New York subway dates as far back as the late 19th century, and today the cars seem rather quaint and somewhat rundown. The stations have ancient riveted and painted steel columns holding up the street and high rise buildings above. Although Moscow, Tokyo, and Seoul enjoy greater daily ridership, New York has the most extensive system of tracks of any urban metro system. New York claims it's metro system is larger than all the other such rail systems in the United States COMBINED. Certainly, in terms of ridership, New York leads all other cities in the USA, and if other city systems a limited to the single umbrella of their rail metro, New York's track system is indeed expansive. New York's system functions 24/7 for a nominal passenger price, so forget the rental car or taxi, New York's subway provides the easiest and safest way to get around town. With exception of a few corners in the Bronx, Brooklyn, or Queens, the rest can be walked. As a result, New York's metro trains are filled with all manner of dress, from the lowest immigrant and hip hop baseball cap, to the loftiest banker business suit with umbrella hooked on one arm.

However, while New York's system is impressive and seemingly complete, no public transport system is perfect in design and function, and I find that the New York public transport system suffers in particular for its lack of alternative rapid and clean surface transport. Finding a station and riding underground for a short distance can be a chore at times. New York's grid of broad streets and avenues tangle diesel buses, taxis, auto, and truck traffic into one thick jam at rush hour. Another criticism I have is with New York's access to New Jersey and other parts of the Northeast. Heavy rail connections between New York, New Jersey and other parts of the Northeast are among the nations fastest diesel and electric powered trains, but these could be greatly improved both in terms of hardware and scheduling. Amtrak and other traditional rail systems aren't exactly "bullet" trains, and service on the nights and weekends is sparse or absent, leaving New York an inaccessible island if it weren't for a motley collection of jitney buses sponsored by the Port Authority.

While New Orleans clings to the antique electrified trolley car system, The Street Car Named Desire* having long since been swapped to San Francisco in trade for a motionless museum quality Cable Car, most American cities, including San Diego, Houston, Saint Louis, Sacramento, Charlotte, and others I have developed cheap surface light rail trolley systems that unfortunately really don't compare in service with a high speed dedicated rail transport system. I personally have no experience on Philadephia's SEPTA, Miami Metrorail, or the Washington, D.C. Metro Transit systems, but I've ridden on others-- the Los Angeles, Chicago, and Atlanta rapid electrical multiple unit (EMU) heavy rail passenger systems, and these are all unique and worth a system wide ride as a comparison to that of New York. I invite New Yorker's to correct my misperceptions by VTmail, as I know I've probably overlooked many aspects of the NYC system.

For pure service efficiency my home San Francisco Bay area system compares most favorably with that of New York. Like NYC and the Northeast, the Bay Area has an improving traditional network of commuter diesel trains linking San Jose and Sacramento to San Francisco, known at the Caltrain and Capitol Corridor trains, respectively, and then there's the ACE commuter train between Stockton direct to San Jose's Silicon Valley. The most important of these Bay Area diesel rail systems is Caltrain, which starts at Gilroy at the bottom of the Santa Clara Valley, traverses north through San Jose, important Silicon Valley cities, cities south of San Francisco in San Mateo County, before ending in the city, having several stations in San Francisco itself, including a large terminal station in China Basin within walking distance of the Giant's Baseball Stadium. It's also worth mentioning that San Jose and Silicon Valley Cities also have VTA, a 62 stop light rail system, including a direct transfer station for the Stockton destine ACE train, and for Caltrain stations in San Jose and Mountain View. Currently, Caltrain provides a maximum of five trains per hour during peak commute times on it's locomotive based rail system. This system has plans to transition by 2015 from the diesel locomotive system to an all-electric rail EMU system, to improve speed, frequency, and comfort, and to reduce cost, noise, and pollution. The busy Grand Central Station junction between region trains and New York's metro contrasts with the individualized terminals of the Bay Area trains, where CalTrain's San Francisco Terminal has access only to the MUNI N Judah train.

Then, of course, there's the well known and excellent electric rail and 24/7 BART train system, which services a region geographically larger than New York City. BART's stainless steel cars are on a very stable 6 foot wide rail base, and the upholstered seats more comfortable than the hard plastic seats on the graffiti marked New York metro cars. BART has at four downtown stations with excellent cross dock access to the SF MUNI train system--a smaller network of cars similar in size and comfort to NYC metro--plus both BART and MUNI stations have excellent access to surface transport of antique trolley cars running along Market Street, the old fashioned tourist oriented Cable Cars beginning at the foot of Powell Street, and SF extensive overhead wire electric bus system.

Both New York and San Francisco are investing heavily in diesel hybrid and CNG buses to reduce street level air pollution, but San Francisco's crammed streets have an overhead wire electric bus system that is quiet and completely polllution free at the street level.

Both New York and San Francisco have, in my opinion, poor rail to ferryboat transfer, where the passenger must brave weather and street traffic to board ferryboats. Also, while some systems have improved access at the station, no city in the USA that I know of provides ready access to a cell phone signal, much less free WIFI, while passenger aboard train, bus, or ferryboat.

We only used the Subway once, not for any other reason than you miss so much by being underground.
But if your time in NY is limited, then worry not.
Staff are helpful, hotel staff also have the correct info, follow the colours for the line you want, we took the red line from Penn Station to South Ferry to go on the Staten Island Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty, $2.20 per person for a single trip.
You can get better deals if you plan to use the subway more, a Metro Fun card costing about $8 per person will give you multiple rides, only on that particular day, you can also buy 7 day tickets costing around $25.
Cards are easy to buy from touch screen machines which accept cash or credit card.
Its easy to use, swipe your metro card through the turnstile ( signs to show you which way to swipe ) and away you go.