Transport in New York

New York is a major city. But as all major cities, New York has to deal with an incredible amount of people, New York is known for the rapid mass transit. Throughout the year's New York made it possible to use different way's of transportation within the city. You can for example use the subway, bus, taxi, boat, etc. And of course you can also rent a car. If you rent a car in New York, it is not likely that you will get lost, the street grid is very easy to understand. But it is recommended to drive yourself through the Big Apple. The traffic can be very bussy and hectic.
For that reason we will provide you all the transport alternatives within the city of New York.

New York subway
The New York subway was built in 1903. Many year's after, for example, the London Underground was built. In 1904 the New York subway opened it's doors for the public. The first track was from the City Hall all the way to Harlem. Nowaday's the New York subway has expanded enormously. With a total of more than 400 kilometers of railroad, the New York subway is one of the largest underground railway networks in the world.

For many year's the New York subway was known for the high crimelevel. The place where the most robberies toke place was in the New York subway. Nowaday's the crimelevel has been brought down, and it is safe to travel with the New York subway.
But keep in mind, that some area's, most of them outsite of Manhatten, are still not safe for tourists, and especially during night times.

You can travel with the New York subway if you pay $ 1,50 per ride. But is it recommended that you buy a travelpass (metrocard), which you can use the whole day (sometimes even multiple day's).

Bus service
The Transportation Authority (MTA) is providing the bus service in New York city. Troughout Manhatten you can use the bus to go north-south or east-west. Most of the busses will stay on the road they are driving on, and stop every second corner. A busticket will cost you $ 1,50 and you are allowed to transfer ones to a norh-south line if you are travelling with an east-west line or the other way around.
The New York bus, is a great way to explore the city, but you need to take your time, the buss won't bring you to your destination very quickly.
Throughout the night a bus can be a safer option than the New York subway. Nowaday's all the New York busses have been made accessible for wheelchairs.

You can also use a different buscompany, around Manhatten you also find the Gray Line busses. These busses offer city sightseeing tours throughout New York. Metrocards are not valid for the Gray Line busses.

New York taxi's
New York is known for the Yellow Cab's. During rushour some of the streets in Manhatten will be full of Yellow Cab's. Around 12.000 taxi's are serving the people of New York today.
In general it is very reliable to take a taxi in New York, but some taxi drivers try to make an extra profit to take you as their customer, they will take a detour, so that you will have to pay a higer fee. If you take a taxi, know where you are going to and show the taxi driver that you know the streets so he won't trick you.

Boat
Manhatten is surrounded by water. Throughout the year's several bridges have been built to bring the people to the other site of the water. You can also use the ferry to cross the water. For tourists the Staten Island ferry is a great attraction. It will take you around an hour to go to Staten Island and take the first boat back again. Best of all is that you don't have to pay anything, the ferry is free for everybody. The Staten Island ferry will pass the Statue of Liberty and will give you an amazing view of the skyline of New York.

You can also take the 'tourist boats'. These will do a short sightseeing around Liberty Island, Ellis Island and will give you a view of the skyline of New York, some of the tours also go on the Hudson, but this depends from the touroperator. For these sightseeing tours you have to pay.

Alternative transport
Because of the bussy and hectic traffic, it is not recommended that you drive or cycle yourself through the city. If you like cycling, you could also use the 'riksja's' in Manhatten. The riksja drivers will bring you to any reasonable place within Manhatten.

If your budget has no limits, one of the best way's to explore New York is by helicopter. There are several companies around Manhatten that offer helicopter tours, most of them are to be found near the water (for example next to the Port Authority building in Dowtown Manhatten).