NYC subway safety
 

Is it safe, as a woman, to travel alone on the blue line from Manhattan to JFK on a week night at 9:30pm ? Should I opt for the Airport express bus instead?

Blue Line ??? No such thing. The lines in NYC are referred to by letter or number, not color. Don't ask "by color" when you get to NYC or people will have no useful answer for you.

The subway shoulnd't be any problem, but I like the Airport Express.

You are talking about taking the A-Train. Would it be safe, yes; is it worth doing to save the $5 or $10 difference in fare, no.

Are you OK with little critters in the subway lines? And how do you feel about smelly people asking you for money?

The subway is fine, especially if you answered yes to the above.

Big issue to consider is-what are you carrying? I only take the subway when I have almost no luggage/just by computer. I hate dragging luggage up and down stairs, down halls and most importantly through the turnstiles. I have had to be rescued from getting my rollybag caught in them several times when the big gates aren't manned.Too much athletic endeavor at the end of a trip. Take the bus. It isn't so clean either but there is usually some nice driver who will handle your luggage.

NYers do NOT use the terminology "blue line." I had no idea what you were talking about. I now see you may mean the E train. From where are you starting and how much luggage do you have? I think at that hour I might prefer the bus, but it does depend on your location.

Another way to go is the train to the plane. You take the LIRR from Penn Station to Jamaica, and then for $5 take the AirTrain to JFK. It loops around the airport stopping at each terminal. So easy, I've done it myself.............

If your only concern is safety, yes, it's safe. If you have luggage and are looking for convenience, I'd opt for the Airport Bus or the Super Shuttle, which is a little cheaper than the bus.

As for the "blue line", it's true that NYers don't ever use the color codes. Most of us are oblivious to them. I had some tourists ask me on the street where to find the "green line" and I had no idea what they were talking about. Then when I passed a subway entrance I realized they meant the 4,5,6 and there are indeed color codes. They've been around for some time but were never publicized and most natives are not even aware of them. So it's best to go by the numbers or letters when asking directions.

I've lived in NYC for 7 years and routinely explain colors as well as the numbers to people that ask me for advice on the street. Maybe because I've spent a lot of time in DC where colors matter more. But then again, how can anyone that lived here for more than a month NOT know that the green line is the 4,5,6 that goes up the east side of Manhattan? Are native NY'ers that set in their ways?

In Manhattan the 1,2,3,9 is red. The A,C,E is blue. The N,Q,R,W is yellow. The B,D,F,V is orange. The 7 train is purple. And I didn't even have to look at a subway map to tell you that.

LOL guess its a good thing I'm not a "native."

By the way, take the bus.

"Is it safe, as a woman, to travel alone on the blue line from Manhattan to JFK on a week night at 9:30pm ? Should I opt for the Airport express bus instead?"

I don't even know where to begin.

9:30 PM is EXCEEDINGLY EARLY. As in, 10-year-olds aren't even in bed yet. People will still be eating dinner. Broadway shows haven't let out yet at 9:30. It'll be another TWO HOURS before people go out to bars and clubs. Wall Streeters will still be at work.

<b>If you're too scared to walk around or ride the train at 9:30 PM, stay home.</b>

NYers (or people who know NYC well) don't use the color because it's not very helpful to tell people to &quot;take the blue line train&quot; to JFK. Do you mean the &quot;A&quot; to Howard Beach or &quot;E&quot; to Sulphin Ave? And what happesn if the person ended up on a &quot;C&quot; train that doesn't get to either?

Isn't the blue line the one where no one where the least number of passengers use Prozac? ;-)

No - New Yorkers don;t use colors - or even look at them. When you've been taking the same train for years you don;t look at the signs at all - just go where you always go.

And - the colors become an issue outside of midtown Manhattan - when trains that are the same color (but are different letters or numbers - which you MUST use to ID trains) go to completely different places.

I am assuming that a few of the above posters are joking...&quot;smelly critters&quot; or some such thing? I have lived here for many many years and I have seen a rat down on the tracks (no where close to where anyone wa standing) exactly once. As for beggars, I doubt that you will have anyone asking you for money although there is that chance, just as there is in any large city and many smaller ones. Please....!!!!!!! Of course you can travel alone to the airport!!! Just don't have too many heavy things to carry.

Have to disagree a bit with ekscrunchy...perhaps we are using the subway in different parts of the city! :) I have seen rats down in the tracks many times!

As far as begging, that does happen a lot on the subways (people travel through the cars) but that's generally not a safety issue. And of course, not all people are smelly (hence the sarcasm in the above post, I think!)

In a city with a subway system as old as New York, the stations and trains will vary drastically. Some are nicer and newer than others, and that's just the way it is. But that's no reason to feel uncomfortable.

And the above poster is correct, 9:30 is very early for the city, and there will be tons of people around. I'm a woman and sometimes ride the subway home later than that. However, if YOU feel uncomfortable or nervous, it's probably worth your peace of mind to just pay more for the express bus.

thanks for your help everyone. pardon my bad on the &quot;blue line&quot; incident - yes of course I meant the A train to Howard Beach, and no I will not have any luggage.
I will be in the Chinatown area and thought it would be quicker than going uptown to catch the Airport Express and yes I like small critters.

I recomend the AirBus. From Chinatown you can hop on the 6 train (Green line) at Canal and be at Grand Central in 10 minutes. The bus will pick you up there and drop you off right at your terminal for $12 one way. You will be comfortable, it will take 1/5 of the time, and you will save yourself the stress of going through 30 stops on the A.
http://www.nyairportservice.com/schedule.html

By the way, I always see rats on the tracks. Just today a huge one was running down the stairs from the platform as I was going up. Cute little guy.

Even if you are starting in Chinatown, taking the A-train to JFK will still take longer than going to midtown and getting the bus to the airport. At that hour the traffic on the Van Wyck isn't as bad as it would be during rush hour (and that's where most of the problems are). And I'm convinced that I have flown to DC in less time than it takes for a subway to get from lower Manhattan to JFK.

if the cost savings is only $5 or $10 i wouldn't...

i'm from LA where colors matter on subway lines, and we just went to NYC for the first time a few months ago- i knew what you meant b/c we only referred to the lines by color too! LOL

ha, the color thing threw me off when I first visited nyc because we refer to our subway lines by color too (I'm from Chicago, but I'm also an old timer who remembers the days before we refered to them by color). Just as a former (and soon to be again) visiter I know that at 9:30 you will be just fine on the subways, I was. As far as whether or not is makes sense to take it in your situation, no clue, but the subways inthemselves with be just fine.

Well, while no New Yorkers use the color, I think some old-timers may still use the names IRT, IND and BMT to refer to the lines.

or those of us raised by old-timers. My Mom wouldn't know where the 4 or 5 went, but if you ask her about stops on the Lex (the IRT-Lexington Ave. line, aka the 4/5/6), she can reel them off as though she still lived in Manhattan and rode it every day. I'm 37, but even I know the differences between the IRT, the IND and the BMT - some of the older stations still have these signs scattered around (usually in tiles).

The NYC subway is a lot safer than it used to be. There are plenty of uniformed and non-uniformed police around, partly due to heightened fear of terrorism. Many New Yorkers don't have cars and rely on the subway as their primary means of transportatation. It's a lot safer than you would think.

As a frequent subway rider (to/from work), I've seen my share of rats. They're always on the tracks, not on the platform (luckily).

The change at Jamaica for the Air Train was a little icky last time I tried it, but it felt safe.

I've lived in Manhattan for 40 years.

The subway is safe at that time of night.

I have never seen a bug or a rat or any kind of vermin on a subway train. There is seldom any begging on the subway trains these days as it is illegal, and as the doors between cars are locked.

As to the occasional presence of a homeless person on a subway train, that person is not going to bother you, and I imagine your response would be what most people's response is, which is some degree of compassion for someone who has nowhere to live.

Just want to add this: This morning on ABC news the commentator was talking about subway disruptions due to the snow. She mentioned the &quot;red and green lines&quot; having some problems.

She must be from out of town. :-)

You might be right! I was very surprised to hear her refer to the colors. She said something like, the &quot;red and green lines, that some of you know as the 1,2,3,4,5,6&quot;

I think often people refer to the colors to mean a general direction- i.e. along 6th Avenue, Lexington, 8th Avenue, etc.

This is really only helpful to get one's bearings (i.e. east side or west sie) and not helpful at all outside of Manhattan. There is an exception to every rule, of coruse. But, it can be helpful to know the color if looking at a map, to draw your eye to the right spot!

All I can say is, if you've never seen a rat or mouse in a subway station, you must not have ridden the F line! (Or the A/C, or the N/R...) UGH!!! And the panhandlers don't seem to be put off much by either the illegality of their profession nor the inability to pass between cars, which has always been the case on the F line and has not stopped them yet...

Unfortunately I no longer ride the F since the route was changed and my stop taken away and replaced by the V for some unfathomable reason. I try to aveert my eyes from the tracks at all times!