Summer’s around the corner and for New Yorkers that means hordes of camera laden tourists. Manhattan’s streets will soon be flooded with out-of-towners struggling with maps and directions as they find their way in the Big Apple. The New York subway can either be your friend or your enemy. Here are some tips to help you navigate the system during your visit so that you get around like a native New Yorker:
- Have your MTA MetroCard ready: One of the best ways to cool down from the scalding city streets is by taking refuge in the air-conditioned comfort of the system’s relatively new subway cars. Smart city folk like to take advantage of this, so make sure you have your MetroCard ready at the turnstile so you don’t skip a beat on your way to the cool confines of MOMA’s vast open plan galleries.
- Don’t Be Eating: Manhattan’s streets aren’t exactly known for pleasant odors in fact the lingering smell of burning asphalt mixed with the fumes from the food trucks will have you running for cover in Central Park. Try to avoid being that person carrying an open tuna salad sandwich with him. It’s bad enough that you’re trapped with sweaty commuters heading home from their 9-5 workday. You don’t need to smell last night’s doggy bag, too.
- Don’t Carry Bulky Backpacks: Nothing annoys a subway passenger more than being hit in the face with a backpack the size of Mount Everest. Avoid carrying a big, heavy bag on the subway (girls, I’m talking about you with your oversized Louis Vuitton satchel); try to pack only the essentials for the day’s adventures. And when the announcer says, “Ladies and Gentlemen, this is a reminder that backpacks and other large containers are subject to random inspection by the police”, he means it.
- Respect Personal Space: Applying your make up during the downtown rush might save you time on your way to the Staten Island Ferry but it becomes a burden to your fellow passengers. That expensive blush that you bought yesterday at the MAC store could easily be all over a hedge fund manager’s Tom Ford suit with one jerk of the train.
- Avoid Loud Conversations: The heat takes its toll on everyone’s patience. Unless you’re in a car full of loudmouths, don’t test your fellow passengers by shouting at the top of your lungs when the person you’re talking to is right next to you. I can assure you, no one cares what Kristie was wearing at the club last night and the other passengers might care to hear the announcement about important service changes.
- Don’t Exit Checking Your Cell Phone: People are piling out behind you to get out of the crowded subway. They’re right on your heels as you make your way up the stairs, so don’t get on your phone to check for text messages you may have missed while in transit.
Armed with these pro tips for using the NYC subway, get out there and take a bite out of the Big Apple and enjoy the summer’s blazing hot sun. The subway not only provides you with a way of seeing New Yorkers in action, it can also be a way to save a few bucks on taxis.