Always used cabs when touring NYC. But, I figure if I can and do use subways in London and Paris, I ought to be doing the same in NYC!

Where to I buy "metro fun pass"? Online? At airport? How about bus and subway schedules? Easily found at LaGuardia as we arrive?

Any help most appreciated.

Lu:

My experience has been that NYC subways are nothing like the easy to use metro system of Paris. However, my husband and I usually ask someone at the token booth which train to take to our destination and they are very helpful. I'm sure that with a little practice, the NYC subways can become quite easy, but we have found that it doesn't happen in a few hours, like in Europe.

I have only bought subway tokens as we need them, so I can't help you with purchasing a fun pass. I'm sure, though, that you can purchase them at any subway station in the city or at the airport.

I'm sure that other posters will have much more info for you.

Good luck!

Fun passes are sold at any token booth or the vending machines next to the token booths. They are also sold and some newstands (not sure if can be bought at LGA).

There are no train "schedules" per se that people use, as the trains run frequently enough that you just go to the stop and wait.

At bus stops there is a map which shows the routes of the busses that stop at that stop, as well as a time schedule.

Have fun in NYC.

IT really isn't necessary to purchase a Metro Card in advance. It can be purchased at any subway station. If your stay is four days or less the best buy is the $4 card - unlimited used of subway and buses for a full day. If stay is 5 days or more the $17 Metro card is the best deal - unlimited use of the system for one week. Each person must have their own card. The subway system is not difficult if most of the use is in Manhattan. Pick up a system map at any token booth. Also don't hesitate to ask for help if needed. Trains and buses do run on a schedule but don't look for subway time schedules - I don't know that I ever saw one. Service is frequent throughout the day. Bus scedules are posted at each bus stop but I don't ever recall a bus showing up precisely at the scheduled time.

Statia:
If one understands how the NYC subway system came to be, you will realize that the'confusion' of the subways was purposeful, not by accident.
At the beginning of the 1900's Manhattan realized it needed some kind of public transportation system. The 1st 'subways' were actually regular trains on elevated tracks, but that idea was quickly abandoned, since the trains were unrealiable and always caught on fire.
Realizing that the city government would not have enough money to build an underground train system throughout Manhattan, they did the next best thing - they turned to the private sector. The 1st subway line, the eastside IRT, was built by a private company, with the blessing of the city government. When the new, single line became an instance hit, the city continued with the public/private model, and commisioned other private companies to build additional lines. Since the subway lines were privately owned, they had to compete with each other, in order to obtain ridership. It was not until the 1940's or 50's, I think, that the NYC government took over ALL of the separate, private subway lines, and created one, messy, jumbled system that is now the NYC Subway system. This is why when riding the subway, and you want to transfer to a different line, you must go up and down and all around - the subway lines were never designed or built to transfer from one another. That is also why you see some areas of NYC with multiple stops on different lines, while some areas have no stops on any lines - the builders only built stops where there would be money-paying passengers coming and going.
Contrast that with most cities in Western Europe, where transportation systems were designed and built from the start as one, unified system that is runned and owned by the city/state.
The idea of having the private sector build public works projects still continue til this day - that is how the country of Mexico is updating the country's entire highway system. It is allowing private companies build new, superhighways to connect all the major cities, to replace the small winding roads that have existed forever. The private companies are then allowd to charge exhorbinant tolls to re-coup their investment. That's why it costs about $90 in tolls to drive the new superhighway from Mexico City to Acapoulco, which takes about 3 hours driving time instead of the 6 1/2 hrs it takes on the old, but free roads.

Anthony:

Thanks again for the insightful history lessson. I think it was you who told me some of the background of NYC subways on another thread, but you delved a little deeper this time.

Yes, I realize that this history makes the system more difficult to use than those that were created as one initial system, such as those in Europe.

I guess we're all fortunate that NYer's are very nice and helpful, since a lot of us out-of-towners have to ask questions when using the subway in NYC.

Thanks again.

The NYC subway system is really very easy to use because NYC is on a grid. It does get messed up below 14th Street, but here are the general rules:

The blue line (A,C,E) follows 8th Avenue (which becomes Central Park West above 59th Street). (The E splits off at 50th Street and goes East). Below West 4th Street the line heads through SoHo.

The red line (1,2,3) follows Broadway above 42nd Street, below 42nd Street follows 7th Avenue down to Houston and Varick Street (7th Avenue with a different name) down to TriBeCa.

The orange line follows 6th Avenue between West 4th St and 57th Street where it breaks off and either goes up Central Park West (B,D) or heads towards the East Side & Queens (the V takes the low road East 51-59th, the F takes the high road through East 60's). Below West 4th it heads toward the far reaches of the Lower East Side.

The green line (4,5,6) runs on the East Side along Lexington Avenue and below 14th Street hits many points on the East Side until it runs out of land and heads toward Brooklyn.

The yellow line (N,R) meanders through the city sort of picking up areas such as Chinatown/Little Italy, SoHo and connecting them with Midtown and the East Side.

The Shuttle (S) runs back and forth on 42nd Street between Grand Central and Times Square. It closes at midnight, so after midnight you would want to use the #7 to travel between these stops.

You can get more info at www.mta.nyc.ny.us

Though Philip accurately and succintly describes the major lines through various neighborhoods, just keep in mind that they are not called by their colors as they might be in other cities like Boston and DC. When you look at the maps or signs in the stations,they are indeed color coded for convenience, but if you ask someone for directions to "the red line", you'll get very blank stares...

If you'd like maps of the bus & subway systems, send SASE(s) to MTA Transit Customer Assistance, 370 Jay St. Rm 712K, Brooklyn, NY 11201. Use business sized envelopes. Subway Map needs 2oz postage (55?cents) and Bus Maps (Manhattan Routes) need 1 oz postage (34 cents).

Maps also downloadable at website http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/ but I prefer to have the printed copies. Those considering transit from LGA should request Queens Bus Map too.

Two months ago, you could purchase Metrocards at the Hudson News in the baggage claim areas of LGA. Also avail at the Times Square NYC Visitors' Center on Broadway, near 47th.

And yes, don't look for the "Red Line"!

I'm puzzled by the post that finds the NYC subway system difficult to get around in....All you have to do is look at the map (which are available in the in-room hotel tourist publications, as well as at every station). Have never had the least bit of trouble de-coding or getting to where we wanted to go.

My only grip with the NYC system would be in summer, when it is hotter than hades down there. The Chicago system is a cool haven from heat...wonder why it's different in NY...?

As a native New Yorker, I can see that the subway system looks somewhat intimidating.

For one thing, most cities have 4 or 5 lines--here there are more than a dozen.
The info on the maps, on first glance, looks a little confusing because some stops serve 10 lines--hard to fit all that info in a tiny space. Most lines have express and local lines that run on the same tracks but have different letter or number names (e.g. 1, 2, and 3 or A,B,C,D).Plus, sometimes to adjust schedules or because of track work (not to mention just about every weekend...), the express trains sometimes go local and vice versa. Since 9/11, some lines have been rerouted so if you're looking at an old map, all bets are off.

My basic advice to tourists is make one line "yours". For example ,if you're on the east side, it might be the 4/5/6 line. Assume that most of your travel will be on that line, get to know "your station". Midtown and uptown have many "crosstown" bus lines. Once you get below Houston street, the city gets much narrower. Maybe you can walk a few blocks or take a bus (don't forget your unlimited daily or weekly metrocard which makes all transfers free) to get closer to your destination. It may end up taking less time and effort that switching trains constantly. In some stations like Canal street, you may end up having to walk up and down several flights of stairs and walking the equivalent of several blocks in the subway station just to get to a specific line that you see on the map.

Of course, there will be times that it is easier and simpler to take a "different" subway line, and usually necessary when leaving Manhattan.

But I cringe when I see people making comlicated transfers at a busy station like Times Square to get another subway line, when they could more easily stay on the train they're already on for one extra stop and just walk a block or 2 when they exit that stop. I'm not sure many people notice that, in midtown especially, several different subway lines stop so close to each other!

If you get a Manhattan bus map (which lists all subway stops too) in addition to a (5 borough)subway map, you can more easily see the short distances involved.

Janie:

Great advice! I couldn't have said it better!

Anthony - Good Stuff. Are you, by chance, a transportation engineer? (just curious...I'm one myself, specializing in toll roads).

Janie - Great advice!
I had an out-of-town friend coming to visit me, and she took the 6 train north to 14th Street, then transferred to the NR so that when she got off at 23rd, she'd be closer to my office on 6th. Transferring to the NR train (known to us NYers as the "Never" and the "Rarely") was a big mistake, as she had to wait 10 minutes for the train to show up! Better to walk the extra 2 blocks than transfer. It usually takes less time.

A little more history. The three private Companies were the Interborough Rapid Transit (IRT) that served Manhattan and The Bronx; the Brooklyn Manhattan Transit (BMT) that served Brooklyn and Manhattan and the Independent Line (IND) that so far as I recall served all the boroughs
except Staten Island. Further the trains did not use a number or letter system to identify trains. They were identified by destination. Some that I recall are the East 180th St (now the #2), Woodlawn (now the #4), and the 241st White Plains Road (now the #5) were IRT trains. A BMT train was the Sea Beach Train that terminated in Coney Island. IN those days I never used the IND line So I can't provide any names. Maybe some old timers can come up with more names. I know there was another train that went to Coney Island but can't remember the name. When I took my first train ride a few years before WWII the fare was 5 cents.

Interesting stuff. I never knew why the lines were called the IRT, IND, etc. Thanks for the history lesson.

As a frequent tourist in NY, we plan our stay around using the subway. We do this not just because its less expensive than taking a taxi, but because taxis are constantly stuck in gridlock traffic making forward progress almost impossible.

To accommodate this plan we stay in a hotel near 49th or 50th Streets and Broadway. From that location we have easy access to four different subway lines. We simply walk to the entrance of the appropriate line and get on - avoiding the need to transfer later. It works great for us. Good luck.

The MTA website is www.mta.info. Gives you all the info you need

What great explanations especially from Janie and Anthony. What Janie suggests is what I think most people who come to live here actually do, learn the line that runs near their house and the buses and walks that go with it, and over the years learn the others.

In fact, I think many people like to move around along the same line--me, in any case, I've lived on the Upper East Side, the East Village, and on Gramercy Park, all 4-5-6 territory.

You can buy the metropass at the subway stations or at the visitor's center on Broadway in Time's Square. You can also send free e-mail and e-mai postcards at the visitor's center. The subway is easy to take. You can get a free subway map at most hotels. They are in the back of some of the visitor's guides. You can also use the metro pass for the buses. Bus info is also in the back of visitor guidebooks.

I have a better idea Lu...why not skip NYC altogether and visit underrated Philly instead. Plus, it's cheaper, the people are much friendlier (though it still has northern aloffness), and the subway is easier to use. Plus, the city is far less touristy.