drh

Is there a good book or something online to read to get acquainted with the subway system for a first time visitor? I have trouble reading a street map and the subway lines look so confusing.

Anonymous

What city?

drh

Sorry, In New York City

Syv

http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/

jor

I understand why Anonymous asked What city. Fodors continues to not make it clear that posting a question under a state name also makes it appear under the entire United States board. I have seen these none descriptive questions for over four years and the confusing questions it results in. And now you may continue to criticize me for bring up this long standing problem.

Patrick

I consider myself somewhat of a world traveler. I have met and used the subway systems in Tokyo, Stockholm, Prague, London, Paris, Madrid, Singapore, Munich, and many others. But I always found the one in New York to be the MOST difficult to navigate. Asking for help invariably got me mumbled and unintelligible answers from attendants. I still usually rely on asking others on the platform if this is the right train for where I want to go, as I often don't even see the markings on the train cars which match what I'm looking for. Finally after spending a couple of months in New York, and using the subways a lot, I feel somewhat confident. But I still make more mistakes there than I ever do in any foreign country.

Major things to look out for:

Make sure the train you're getting on stops at the stop you want. Even it if goes that way, it may be an express and not stop there. Some expresses are called express, others just have a different letter designation and you're supposed to know that it is an express and won't stop everywhere.

Make sure you get on the right train, numerous lines may stop at the same platform and then scatter from there in various directions.

Make sure you know "uptown" from "downtown", not just north and south.

Check the signs outside at the entrance carefully before entering. Often which side of the street you enter on will only allow you access to go one direction.

Try to count and know which car you get into. There are a couple of places, particularly at the end of the line near the Staten Island Ferry, where they keep announcing you need to be in the first five cars (or something like that), yet there is no way to find out what car you are in!

If you snooze, you lose! Make sure you are looking carefully as a train approaches. It comes quickly, but you'll want to see what the number is on the front of the train, as once it arrives and the doors open, often the doors cover the line number and you can't figure out what train it is.

Statia

I agree that the NYC subway system is one of the hardest to navigate. I've been told it's due to so many separately owned lines originally being put in place, so they weren't meant to run as one system in the beginning.

gard

Hi

Yes, the subway was a bit confusing to start with but my wife and I got the hang of it pretty fast when we went to NYC in July...once we figured the uptown/downtown and the express/non-express it was not that hard to get around in Manhattan at least. I have posted a trip report with pictures from our trip on my homepage http://gardkarlsen.com. Maybe you can find some useful information there

Regards
Gard
Stavanger, Norway

Ryan

The subway is a bit confusing. One way to avoid confusion is to not even bother trying to figure out signs like BMT and IRT mean. I've lived here my entire life and I couldn't tell you. For some reason, those names still occassionally appear on subway maps and station signs.

Stick to understanding a few basic subway lines by color/number. Green trains (4,5,6) go go up the East Side. Red trains (1,9) the West Side. The N/R is a the Broadway local and it is always slow. The Blue trains (A, C, E) go up the West Side and generally are an alternative to the 1 or 9.

The map looks complicated. But, if you recognize the average tourist can get around on 2, maybe 3, subway lines to 95% of the attractions, it is much easier. Stick to the Blue, Red or Green (maybe the Times Square shuttle) and you'll be fine.

There are always faster ways as you become more adventurous, then go for the more obscure trains like the J, Z, B, d etc.

kgh8m

Definitely go to the NYC Subway website.

Other thoughts:
- Study the subway map in light of the sites you want to see in your hotel room. At certain times of day, the platforms are very crowded with fast-moving groups of people, so you don't want to be standing in the middle of a platform trying to figure things out.

- Avoid rush hour times. You don't want to try to catch a train from about 5 or 5:10 to about 6 or so. The subway cars are packed with people, it will be hard to get out at a particular stop, and it will be hard if you're travelling with more than one person. Plus, if you're claustrophobic, being packed into a middle car at 5:15 will be torture for you. Realize that if you're not going to the end of the subway line (where not all cars may access the platform), you'll find more room in the first and last cars of the train.

- If things look confusing, realize it may be easier to walk across town than trying to find a train that will get you on another line. With comfortable shoes, you can easily save yourself some confusion.

- Be very mindful of uptown and downtown. It can be confusing as to which direction the trains are headed because of the way you've entered the station from the street, and it can be confusing when you come out of a station to determine which direction you are facing once at street-level (I find this more difficult than getting on the train).

laurieb_nyny

Ryan's advice is excellent but I wanted to add something about the E (Blue line).

It begins to go uptown on 8th avenue like the A & C but then turns onto 53rd Street (or so) & continues East into Queens. It is a good alternate if you need to go across town in Manhattan.

kgh8m

One more thing: Know the number of stops you need to go on the subway line, and look out the subway car window at the stops to see where you're located (the names are usually written in the tile on the walls). That way, you'll know when to expect your stop, because 9 times out of 10, you won't be able to understand what the conductor is saying at all.

MFNYC

ALso keep in mind, that most people in the subway stations are NYCers and quite familiar with the system. If in doubt ask someone.

Just make sure you look at the signs carefully. Once you master NYC subways, you can master any subways.

DeniseL

Buy a pass. When I'm there I always buy an unlimited pass. I think there are passes for 3 days as well as 7 days. That way, when I make a mistake it doesn't cost me.

I'm from a small city in the Midwest and have never had much of a problem with the subway in NY. I don't have a sense of direction. Using the subway is much better for me than trying to navigate on land. I can pick where I need to go without knowing which direction it is.

Don't be afraid to ask for help. NYer's are very friendly and helpful.

janie

Excellent advice so far, just adding a few comments:

While it's helpful to look at the subways lines on the map by color, DON'T expect people to refer to them that way. Make sure you know the number or letter , not color, of the line you're looking for when you ask questions.
I agree that having an unlimited Metrocard takes away some of the anxiety of getting on the wrong bus or train.If you don't have to pay extra, it's easy to get off and hop on the correct line.
Also, keep in mind that in some areas of Manhattan, the various subway lines come very close to each other, so don't be afraid to get off at a different stop and walk a few blocks rather than transferring to another subway line. Sometimes people end up spending a lot of effort/time/walking in the stations transferring to a different subway line when they could have stayed on the first line and just walked 2 or 3 blocks at their destination!

nytraveler

I cannot reinforce too strongly not to try to match colors with subway lines. The colors have nothing to do with the trains/different lines. They are simply random colors someone chose to put on a map. And might easily change with the next map.

You must know the letter or number of the train you want - anything else is completely useless. And if you start asking about colors - no one will know what you're talking about.