A huge part of our life here in NY is the subway system. We don't have a car -- it would just be too much hassle -- so we depend solely upon public transportation to get around. Luckily, NY's subway system is simple to navigate, and gets us where we need to go without too much hassle. We avoid buses where possible -- to be honest they intimidate us. Buses in Manhattan aren't bad, because that part of the city is set up in a grid pattern, so it's easy to know where you are. Queens is another story -- the streets aren't laid out in such a straightforward fashion, and we aren't as familiar with the entire area (we really only know our area and the portion between us and Manhattan), so it's easy for us to lose our direction and location when weaving around the streets on a bus in Queens. We may be a bit more street savvy than we were when we first came, but that doesn't mean we're complete pro's yet. Suffice it to say, we stick to the subway.
When we first came to NY, neither of us had smart phones. We relied solely on a pocket sized Moleskine map book of NY that we picked up before leaving Idaho. That book was our lifesaver as we tried to navigate the city and learn where everything was. We took it everywhere with us, and slowly through our sightseeing adventures we got the lay of the land. We did eventually get smart phones, so now we use the Google maps app when we need directions. Sometimes I miss using our little book.
The first time we looked at the subway map, I understood it about as much as I would a page of hieroglyphics. It wasn't as foreign to Brian. You have to remember, I'm from a very small town in Idaho where forms of transportation include cars, trucks, horses, sleighs, tractors, 4-wheelers, and wagons. My only previous experience with public transportation was when we were in San Francisco on vacation and rode the bus and BART once or twice. Thinking back on our first weeks here in NY, I laugh at how intimidated I was by NYC public transportation. To just explain the map a bit to my Idaho friends and family -- each line is a separate subway train route (distinguished by color of course). We take the 7 train (purple line) from our neighborhood to get into Manhattan. Sometimes we transfer to the N or Q trains (yellow/orange lines) when the 7 is out of service. Brian rides the 6 train down to his office (green line). We also use the 1 train a lot (red line). The only other thing you need to be aware of is whether the train is local (makes all stops on the line) or express (skips certain stops to shorten commutes). Local trains are marked by a circle and express trains by a diamond. Now I think riding the subway is kind of fun. You never know what or who you'll see.
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We frequent the 52nd Street Station and the 46th Street Station in Queens, as we live about equidistant from both. You can see the 52nd St Station in the pic below. You have to be careful where you walk and step when walking along the subway tracks because pigeons like to roost on the tracks' undersides and the sidewalk that sits below the tracks is always covered in their droppings. Luckily, we've never been pooped on. It's always nice after it rains, because it cleans the mess off the sidewalks. Sometimes, if it hasn't rained for awhile, when I'm climbing the stairs in this station it smells just like my dad's pigeon coop does back on the farm in Idaho. It does bring some fond memories of home, but the smell isn't pleasant.
Just after a train has stopped, these stairs are usually streaming with people walking down them, especially during the evening rush hour after everyone gets off work.
To ride the subway you need an MTA card, which you swipe at the turnstiles before entering. Fare for the subway is $2.50 (and for buses), but you can stay on the trains as long as you want and transfer between them without having to pay an additional fare. As soon as you exit a station's turnstile your ride is over and you have to swipe the card (pay another fare) to get back on. If you are transferring from a bus to a subway or a subway to a bus, you have to swipe your card, but the transfer is free. The subway system is actually a really affordable way to get around the city. You add money to your card by using the "vending machines" (pictured below) available in each station. You can purchase a monthly passes which give you unlimited rides during a 30 day period for $112, weekly passes for $30, or a single ride pass for $2.75. Brian uses a monthly pass, because he is on the subway most every day. I ride a lot less than that (I hardly ever spend $100 per month), so I just refill my card with money as I use it.
Once you have your card you swipe it at the turnstile and push through. You find which stairwell leads to the train you need. In Queens, it's very simple because the Manhattan bound trains run on one side of the tracks and the Flushing bound (eastern Queens) trains run on the opposite side.
Most of the stations in Queens do not have elevators, so you end up climbing a lot of stairs. It's not bad at all for us, but we see a lot of people dragging or carrying carts, luggage, strollers, etc. up the stairs.
Once on the platform you just stand or sit and wait for the trains to come. The schedule is fairly regular -- every 5 to 7 minutes during weekdays and every 10 to 15 minutes on weekends. This isn't an exact schedule, and sometimes you end up waiting for a long time, while at other times the trains will be two to three minutes apart. It just depends if there is any construction or delays happening that day, which there usually is somewhere. Occasionally, a train line will be stopped temporarily because someone accidentally fell on the tracks. Sometimes, the people are able to get back up to the platform safely and sometimes not. There have been times that people have committed suicide by jumping on the tracks, and the trains are stopped for awhile. I've never witnessed either of these circumstances first-hand from the train platforms (and I hope to never do so) but there have been a couple times where I'm headed to the station and the trains are stopped because someone was hit.
The open platforms in Queens give you great views of the surrounding city and the tracks. Yes, there is always some spilled food somewhere (sorry about having to include the gross food on the wall).
While you're waiting for the train to come, there will be periodic announcements of the trains reaching the station over the speakers, along with other announcements about keeping your belongings safe, reporting suspicious activity, etc.
Once the train arrives, you just wait for the doors to open, any passengers getting off to exit, and then you climb aboard. Sometimes this process is simpler said than done -- especially during the rush hour -- everyone is trying to crowd on and off at the same time and it feels a bit like herding cattle through a chute. The first couple and last couple cars on each train are the best because they are the least crowded, and even if you don't get a seat, there is usually room to breathe.
Once on and settled, you just sit back and enjoy the ride. If you have to stand, you want to hang on one of the poles because the start and stops aren't always smooth and it's easy to lose your balance and fall into someone or even fall over. The seats are okay, except they have slightly raised ridges to separate them. This can be slightly uncomfortable if you have to straddle one -- which can happen when you are squished between people or if you are sitting next to a larger person. The seats are a bit slippery too, so if you're not wedged in securely, it's easy to slide into the person next to you if the train operator is hard on the throttle and brake. Usually that's fine as well, but it makes you want to choose who you are sitting next to carefully.
Another tip, if a train car is empty and it's near the middle of the train or it's rush hour, you want to be wary of boarding it. Usually it means the air conditioner is broken and the car's interior is roasting, there is a really crazy person on it, it smells particularly bad, or someone has relieved themselves on the floor or seats.
When your car is particularly empty or only slightly full (and none of the above conditions apply) the ride is quite pleasant. We've been on subways so crowded that it feels like a game of "extreme squish sardines." On these cars, you don't have to worry about holding on because the people that are pressed up against you hold you up just fine. One time we got on and the masses crowded in behind us and my arm got squished against another man's thigh. That was fun. I tried to move my arm at first, but then thought better of it when the only option was to shift it into a more *ahem* intimate area. Being squished on a subway train in winter might be my preferred option -- at least there is no skin to skin contact because everyone is bundled up, but it gets really hot really fast. If we're not in too big of a hurry, we'll just wait for the next train, hoping it's a little less crowded.
The stations in Manhattan are all underground and can be identified by their green fencing and large round green bulbs that light up after dark. Sometimes the stations have access to the trains in both directions, and other times the station on the left side of the street gives you access to trains going one way, while the station on the right side of the street gives you access to trains going the opposite direction.
Manhattan stations aren't much cleaner than those in Queens. Some are worse than others. The stations on the Upper West and Upper East Sides or near colleges seem to be the cleanest. The stairs lead down into the stations, but there are also elevators available more often than in Queens. We avoid the subway elevators though (I don't think either of us has ever used one), because they make a nice private place where people can pee. Honestly, they are just boxes full of ammonia fumes. It's gross. When it rains, the water falls down the stairs and runs down into the station, causing puddles of dirty water. The underground stations get so hot in the summer (almost unbearably so) because of the above-ground temperatures and heat generated by the trains, but the heat tends to be pleasant in the winter.
Each underground station has its own unique tile work. The tile work is usually really cool, but is often overshadowed by a layer of dust, dirt, and grime. Periodically they MTA maintenance workers will come through and wash the tiles and tunnels, but it doesn't happen very often -- either that or the cleanliness doesn't last very long, because they always seem dirty.
Pictured below is the 7 train tunnel at Grand Central. We didn't go up into the beautiful terminal for a month or two when we first moved here, so you can see why we weren't very impressed with Grand Central in the beginning. You can tell when a train is coming because air starts blowing in along the tracks.
In most of the Manhattan underground subway stations, there are three to four tracks. The express trains that skip the station run on the middle track. When there are no trains you can see through to the other station.
The tracks aren't very clean either. People just throw their garbage down there at will, and there is usually some dirty water trickling through the gutters, whether from rain, or cleanings, or whatever else.
There are usually rats crawling around down there as well. The largest rat we've seen was the size of a small cat -- it was creepy. One time, we even saw a rat crawling around up on the platform. After Hurricane Sandy, when the subway tunnels where flooded, the city's above ground rat population increased, because they all came crawling out of the tunnels. I was taking a few pictures of the track one day to include in this blog post, and as I was snapping the picture, I was thinking that it would be fun to be able to get a picture of a rat to show you. As soon as I lowered my phone, I noticed something moving. There was one sitting right where I had taken the picture. Haha! You can see him if you look closely -- he's there just above the middle rail in the center of the picture.
These signs are a common sight in the tunnels and on the trains. They notify the public of schedule changes and line service changes due to maintenance. There is always some sort of work going on that disrupts something, somewhere.
Waiting for your train in the underground tunnels is much like waiting for trains aboveground, minus the fresh air. In the summer, you want the nice air-conditioned train to come as quickly as possible.
Often, we have to transfer between train lines. It's not difficult or confusing at all, it just takes some patience to weave your way in and around other rushing passengers, slow walking tourists, etc.
We usually only see subway performers on the underground platforms and walkway tunnels that connect the various trains. Sometimes the performers will ride the trains and play their music or dance between stops. There is a fun little mariachi band that occasionally rides the 7 train out in Queens. We see anything from full sized bands, to flutists, violinists, singers, drummers, one-man-bands, and guitarists among others. There tends to be a lot of beggars sitting in the tunnels to or riding the trains. There's always the possibility of running into someone famous, but that has only happened to us once or twice. You can also get religious fanatics preaching and stirring up trouble on the trains as well. And there is always someone with a funny hair-do, tattoo(s), crazy piercing(s), interesting clothing, or costume. You just never know what you're going to get when you ride the subway, it's always an adventure
Here is another video of a subway ride I took awhile ago, just to give you another glimpse of what it feels like to ride the train and the mix of people we get to see.
This video shows the train ride from the Queensboro Plaza Station in Queens heading into Manhattan. It was a rainy day, and the city was obscured by fog, otherwise you would be able to see the skyline in the background. And yes that is Silvercup Studios where they film shows like 30 Rock, Elementary, White Collar, and movies like The Devil Wears Prada and Julie and Julia. We've never visited the place, but we pass by it everytime we ride into Manhattan.
Wow! You totally captured it!
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