# What is the NYC subway like? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 21, 2016, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-nyc-subway-like/757936 "2016-06-21T02:34:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-nyc-subway-like/757936/61 "2016-06-24T21:24:07Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Yes, still true. Except now you pay $2.75 instead of a nickel. Thank you for your reply Mr. Ike. I realized the fare would have an increase. But, still that is a lot of fun/entertainment for $2.75. From the photos above, it looks like a good business. With great cash flow. I hope they keep it running. I’d like to re-visit. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-nyc-subway-like/757936/62 "2016-06-24T21:54:20Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > I like those too, but my top choice would be the brass one with the nickel “bullseye” in the center. Ah, yes. I was in NY 1993-98 so I started with the bullseye, and then changed to the wee silver one, and then to the Metrocard. The M/C was a lot more convenient on the bus. [http://untappedcities.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/tokens-640.jpg](http://untappedcities.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/tokens-640.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-nyc-subway-like/757936/63 "2016-06-24T23:57:26Z")
> [@harmonicamoon](#): > > Thank you for your reply Mr. Ike. I realized the fare would have an increase. But, still that is a lot of fun/entertainment for $2.75. You get an 11% bonus every time you fill or re-fill your card, so it’s really about $2.48. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2016, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-nyc-subway-like/757936/64 "2016-06-25T00:23:43Z")
> [@x-ray\_vision](#): > > You get an 11% bonus every time you fill or re-fill your card, so it’s really about $2.48. The average fare for unlimited cards is actually lower than that, if you take more than ten trips a week. I usually take 16-18 trips a week so my monthly unlimited for $116.50 averages out to $1.60 or $1.80 per trip. ETA: Another pro-tip: You can have unlimited and pay-per-ride on the same card. If your unlimited time expires it will use the pay-per-ride balance. This is great for using other systems that take only pay-per-ride Metrocards (PATH, Express Buses, or JFK AirTrain in my case.) It’s also great if you want to share cards - unlimited rides will only let you swipe once every 10 minutes or so. By using both you can get one unlimited swipe and then pass the card back to your companion for a pay-per-ride swipe. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2016, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-nyc-subway-like/757936/65 "2016-06-25T02:23:42Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Another pro-tip: You can have unlimited and pay-per-ride on the same card. If your unlimited time expires it will use the pay-per-ride balance. This is great for using other systems that take only pay-per-ride Metrocards (PATH, Express Buses, or JFK AirTrain in my case.) It’s also great if you want to share cards - unlimited rides will only let you swipe once every 10 minutes or so. By using both you can get one unlimited swipe and then pass the card back to your companion for a pay-per-ride swipe. I was told there would be NO MATH. ---
**Author:** ![Clark\_Cello](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@Clark\_Cello](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clark_Cello)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2016, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-nyc-subway-like/757936/66 "2016-06-25T17:51:42Z")
I visited NYC for the first time last year, staying for a week. I took the subway multiple times a day; it’s a great way to get around Manhattan. I agree with most of the things on here. The only thing I would add is the advice to use Google Maps, if you don’t already. It was the only tool I used, and it got me all over the island on different lines with very little trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2016, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-nyc-subway-like/757936/67 "2016-06-25T23:40:58Z")
If a crowded train rolls into the station, and one of the cars is empty, it is not because you hit the jackpot and scored a private train car. Something is seriously wrong in that car. In summer, it usually means that the AC is out and the car is roughly 245 degrees. But, it could also be a poo smeared homeless guy. Other than that, it is the thing that I miss most since moving out of NYC ten years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2016, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-nyc-subway-like/757936/68 "2016-06-26T00:05:14Z")
It’s waaaaay more reliable than the Washington Metro, that’s for sure. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2016, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-nyc-subway-like/757936/69 "2016-06-26T01:32:08Z")
I used to ride the subway in Manhattan regularly in the late '60s-early '70s between South Ferry and the Times Square area. In the beginning graffiti was just getting started (the legendary Taki 183) and there were incredible vintage subway cars on the BMT line that looked something like [this](http://forgotten-ny.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/P1200173.jpg) (note the overhead fans and bare light bulbs). The ones I remember fondly looked even more ancient and were dimly lit, with wicker seats. I was into Dos Passos novels at the time, and the atmosphere on the BMT when you rode in one of these cars was straight out of the 1920s. \*at that time you could also ride the Knickerbocker, a Staten Island ferry that was commissioned in 1932. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2016, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-nyc-subway-like/757936/70 "2016-06-26T01:38:16Z")
> [@BetsQ](#): > > I’ve never worried about safety - only getting terribly lost. I never felt in danger on the N.Y. subway, except maybe once at night when I wasn’t paying attention and rode past my stop into some godforsaken part of Queens. When I got off, the station was empty and spookily quiet, except for the sound of dripping (water? blood?). I felt a lot better once I was on another train heading back towards civilization. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2016, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-nyc-subway-like/757936/71 "2016-06-26T01:42:37Z")
Leaky water pipes get fixed really fast; you know what a drip does to your water bill in this city? What you were hearing was definitely blood. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2016, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-nyc-subway-like/757936/72 "2016-06-26T01:48:10Z")
Also, the man in the middle was dead. > **[Dead Man on Subway](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/dead-man-rocking/)** > > Subway passenger who fixes another rider with an unrelenting stare is revealed to be dead. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2016, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-nyc-subway-like/757936/73 "2016-06-26T23:13:08Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Leaky water pipes get fixed really fast; you know what a drip does to your water bill in this city? > > What you were hearing was definitely blood. A CHUD’s gotta do what a CHUD’s gotta do. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2016, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-nyc-subway-like/757936/74 "2016-06-26T23:45:00Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > I was told there would be NO MATH. Dude, Metrocard math is basically a national pastime in this town. Every time there’s a fare hike, everyone spends the preceding weekend calculating what odd cash amount plus bonus is evenly-divisible by one fare. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-nyc-subway-like/757936/75 "2016-06-27T17:06:58Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Dude, Metrocard math is basically a national pastime in this town. Every time there’s a fare hike, everyone spends the preceding weekend calculating what odd cash amount plus bonus is evenly-divisible by one fare. And never mind visitors trying to figure out how to not leave their money with MTA upon leaving town (and remember the $5 for the AirTrain if needed) or if they’ll be able to keep track of the Metrocard so they may use it again if they travel back within the year. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-nyc-subway-like/757936/76 "2016-06-27T18:39:01Z")
I miss the days of tokens. 1 token = 1 fare. End of story. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-nyc-subway-like/757936/77 "2016-06-27T18:44:28Z")
^ So does one swipe now. I’d much rather carry around a Metro Card them tokens. If you don’t use the MTA much, the machine you get the card from will do the math for you so no money is wasted. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-nyc-subway-like/757936/78 "2016-06-27T20:10:44Z")
> [@SaharaTea](#): > > One thing I’m sure every New Yorker already knows is never to use a subway restroom, at least not the one on Delancey St. I saw things in the women’s restroom that I can NEVER unsee. You’re lucky to have even that. The Chicago system has no bathrooms for customers. So the elevator floors are almost always covered with piss. ---
**Author:** ![ryobserver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b2d939/32.png) [@ryobserver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryobserver)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-nyc-subway-like/757936/79 "2016-06-27T22:47:45Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > The only unique thing I’ve noticed about the NY subway is the sheer number of panhandlers who will walk into a car and give a sob story. I haven’t noticed that in any other city’s subway. We get them in Philadelphia too. I usually see them on weekends, probably because on weekdays I ride the subway at around 6:30 AM and it’s not crowded enough to be attractive to whichever panhandlers are awake at that hour. ---
**Author:** ![Terry\_Kennedy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@Terry\_Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terry_Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-nyc-subway-like/757936/80 "2016-06-27T23:22:56Z")
> [@Alex\_from\_CB](#): > > In The London Underground they say,\*\* “Mind the Gap.”\*\* In The NY Subway they say, **“Mind the Rat.”** I once saw an elderly woman stop a worker who was putting up a [rodenticide poster](https://www.google.com/search?q=nyc+subway+rodenticide+poster&tbm=isch) and was very emphatic in wanting to know exactly what rodenticide was being used. When the worker asked her why she wanted to know, she snapped “So I know what **not** to use, as it obviously doesn’t work!” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-nyc-subway-like/757936.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-nyc-subway-like/757936.md?page=5)