NYers and vacationers, sorry to hear this.

BTW, why do all local news channels around the country report this strike from the brooklyn bridge?

Is that the ONLY pedestrian commuter route into Manhatten?!

No, there are many other bridges for walkers, not sure why they are all either there or on 96th Street West Side.

My co-worker is flying red-eye to NY arriving @ 6.30 am tomorrow. I hope she can somehow get to her hotel!

Getting around Manhattan isn;t bad - since the cabs are all taking 3/4 passengers going in the same direction. (And naturally for shorter distances walking is no big deal.)

The problem is all the people trying to drive into Manhattan by themselves - who didn't seem to believe cars with fewer than 4 passengers won;t be allowed in. (There are police blockades at 96th st - and I'm sure the bridges and tunnels - and offending drivers are simply turned around - even if they've waited hours on line.)

Those willing to take local riders are allowed in - and there are lots of park and rides - but many people don;t seem to want to adapt.

I was mentioning to one of my colleagues that this should start a new multi-fare cab trend during rush! I think it's such a good idea!!

bardo1 and ekscrunchy,
The news reporters were at the Brooklyn bridge becaseuse
1) that's what Mayor Bloomberg was using to get from the command center in Brooklyn to City Hall.
2)It's also the iconic commuting locale of transit strikes--that's where all the photo ops were in 1980 too!
3) 96th street, both east and west sides, was the location of the HOV barricades (no fewer than 4 people per vehicle). And yes, plenty of drivers were refused entry below 96th because they did not have enough people. So, you have the combination of irate drivers, plus people getting into cars with total strangers so they can all get downtown = great news stories!

FainaAgain she can take a cab from the airport to her hotel, I'm sure it won't be a probelm for her to share with a couple others who are going in the same direction.

Grantop, yes, but I've heard something about sharing a taxi law... if the driver has to take in 3-4 people WITH LUGGAGE this can become a problem.

Oh, well, she's a big girl and knows the shuttles exist :)

I've been following all the news, and I am still a little confused. I hope a NYer can help me:

We are driving from Pittsburgh to Manhattan on Thursday. We will get to the city between 5 and 7pm. We plan to take our usual route into the East Village where we stay with my brother: Holland Tunnel > Canal St > Houston.

There will be two of us in the car. We will have a problem at this time in the evening?

Either I'm not seeing clearly, or all the information I'm reading isn't really clear on whether it is ok to come into to the city with less than 4 people, in the evening.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

You shouldn't have a problem. Unless the contingency plan changes, the HOV restrictions are only in effect between 5am and 11am. Since you will be arriving in the evening, you won't have a problem as this is when most people are driving out of Manhattan.

Thanks, laurieco. Our Christmas plans would have been trashed, and it is our daughter's first married Christmas in NYC. She really wants us there.

Sorry about the sloppy typing: wearing a bandage on one finger due to a Christmasy glue gun mishap.

Local news is showing huge lines and confusion at Penn Station with commuters trying to leave the city. Also, after 11 AM there was a traffic jam of cars coming in whose drivers waited until after the 4 per car restriction. A judge is fining the transit union $1 million per day.

Just be prepared for tons of traffic. Bridges and tunnels have one inbound lane open, it appears, in late afternoons until 8pm. People from Queens, for example, are now spending up to four hours to get into Manhattan. After 8pm there will be more inbound lanes open, so I would time your arrival for after that time.