jill_h

Can 5 adults share a single cab in/around NYC? Most posts refer to 4 people, but there will be 5 in our group. Don't particularly want to do subway or buses.

bugswife1

Mostly, the answer is no. Four is maximum, unless you get the van type taxi's, but they are harder to come by, especially during the holiday season. Also, I don't know when you are coming, but the taxis will cost you a fortune during holidays. The traffic is insane and the 'idling' charges have now doubled. Reconsider the bus or the subway. Not so bad!

MFNYC

No, because it's illegal. From the NYC T&L commission website: The maximum amount of passengers allowed in a yellow taxicab by law is FIVE people including the driver. An additional passenger must be accepted if such passenger is under the age of seven (7) and is held on the lap of an adult passenger seated in the rear.

bardo1

If you call for a driver instead of a taxicab, then five passengers can be accomodated. Find a few different companies that can accomodate your group and keep them all on your cell phone.

nytraveler

NO cab is allowed to take more than 4 passengers. It's illegal - and the driver can get a significant fine. To/fro the airports call a car servce (Carmel, Tel Aviv) and tell how many people/how much luggage and they'll send you an appropriate vehicle.

For around town you will either have to do 2 cabs or subway. (And franky the latter is much faster and more convenient.)

You can also call car servicces to get around town - but except for the airport they charge by the hour - and it;s not cheap.

wow

What's the big deal w/ getting 2 cabs?

featherwatcher

I was in the same situation in May. Only twice would the driver take all five of us (they had vans), and some van drivers refused. We figured it wouldn't hurt to ask the van drivers. Taking two cabs was the only option most of the time, and yes, it's a pain. We were never dropped off in the exact same place so be sure you have cell phones in case you get separated.

wow

It's not like the Driver says: "Ok...time to get out!" You tell the Driver where you want to get dropped off. We do it all the time...2 cabs...it's not a problme! Really.

GoTravel

Seriously, two cabs is no big deal.

I swear I don't ever remember seeing minivan cabs on the street.

doug_stallings

There's no "mostly" to this answer. Five adults cannot legally ride in an NYC taxi---without exception.

The poster who suggested you might be able to "call" for a driver, is referring to a car service, but you cannot hail these cars on the street, and I think it's still a very unlikely bet.

jill_h

Thanks for the info. We'll be there over the Thanksgiving holidays and just wanted to try to keep extraneous expenses down. The one specific time I know we'll need public transport is going from our Midtown hotel (east side) to Battery Park for the ferry to Ellis Island.

doug_stallings

Since you're going to be here over Thanksgiving, I'd actually (and very strongly) encourage you to consider using the subway or just walking to most places. These are among the busieset traffic days of the year for Manhattan, and you'll find the subway much easier in most cases than taking a cab.

MFNYC

A subway will take 10 minutes. A taxi could take 15 minutes with absolutely no traffic (highly enlikely unless 3 am), or up to an hour, but I would guess about 1/2 hr on average.

GoTravel

Ditto on the subway advice.

The subway will be a much faster ride and two cabs will cost you a pretty penny sitting in traffic.

lizziea06

Where are you staying in midtown east? If you're near the E, that's a really quick way to get to BPC. There's a lot of options for subways to get downtown, but there can be service changes if you are going on a weekend.

jill_h

Thanks so much for all this helpful info!! We're staying on E. 50th between Lexington & 3rd. I tried reading a map today that showed the subway routes, but was totally confused!! Would we have to make many/any subway changes to get to Battery Park??

gb944

If you take a short walk to Grand Central Terminal, you can catch the 4 or 5 train to the Bowling Green station, with no transfers.

gb944

Oops, took a look at another map... You can catch the 4 train at 51st and Lexington. A bit closer than GCT.

jill_h

Thanks GB!! Will the maps at the subway stations be this helpful (i.e. descriptive)?? Are the trains labeled with the "end" destination so we know which one to get on.

mcnyc

You'll find subway maps in the station before you pay your fare, and then on the platforms themselves while you're waiting for the train. Once you're in the train, there are maps again, most of the time near the doors of the train.

Or, you can just go to http://www.mta.info/nyct/maps/submap.htm

I'd check with the concierge at your hotel for up to the minute information on subways. Or, you can just check mta.info, which claims to have the latest info on planned delays, etc.