Travelling within New York City

Buses
The surface transit division of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York) is the MTA Regional Bus Operations, which was taken over from New York City Transit Authority. Officially created in May 2008, this service operates public brands like MTA New York City Bus. Another brand, MTA Long Island Bus offers local service in Nassau County.

MTA Bus service is concentrated in Queens, with some routes in Brooklyn and most express services from Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx to Manhattan. Identified by letters followed by numbers, bus lines in the city include M=Manhattan; Bx=Bronx; B=Brooklyn; Q=Queens; S=Staten Island.

Manhattan and the outer boroughs are traversed by the express buses. These also cover areas where the subway doesn't operate such as eastern Queens, the eastern Bronx, south-east Brooklyn, and Staten Island. The fare of express buses is $5.50 per ride.

The cost of a bus ride from other operators is $2.25. Bx12 in the Bronx and M15 in Manhattan are serviced by Select Bus Service rapid transit service. Within a borough, or in some cases across two, service is provided by local and limited-stop buses. Some buses providing limited stop service are Bx41 and Bx55, B46, B49, B82 and B103, Q46, Q50, Q53, Q58, Q83 and Q85, to name a few.

Request-a-Stop service is available between 10 pm to 5 am. A variant of Limited-Stop bus service that requires fare payment to be made before boarding the bus is the Select Bus Service.

Midtown Manhattan or Lower Manhattan and the other boroughs are served by express buses. Local or limited stop bus route cost $1.10 for seniors, while express buses charge $2.75 off-peak hours from them.

Local or limited stop bus operate daily; however, most express routes operate only during peak weekday hours. X1, X10, and X17 and various MTA Bus lines run on a daily basis from 5 am to 1 am.

Taxis
Most of Manhattan is served by yellow cabs that are available at dispatcher lines at airports. However, their availability in the other four boroughs is difficult. The fare of these metered taxis is fixed by the Taxi & Limousine Commission.

For the first one-fifth of a mile, the base rate is $2.50, to which 40¢ is added for each additional one-fifth mile as well as per 120 seconds of being stopped in traffic. During weekdays from 4 pm to 8 pm, $1 peak surcharge is levied, while 50¢ night surcharge is to be paid between 8 pm to 6 am.

For a ride between John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport and Manhattan, plus tolls, the set fare is $45. For Newark Liberty International Airport, $15.00 surcharge applies on top of the regular metered fare. In the outer boroughs, privately run car services make up a common taxicab alternative.

Livery or Black Cars have no metres and can be availed after making a phone call from a dispatch service. The flat rate is higher than yellow cabs and the customary tip for the livery cab driver is 10-20% of the fare. Hailing a taxi is difficult around 4 pm, when many drivers end their shifts, and during rains.

Subway
Owned by the City of New York, a rapid transit system, New York City Subway is the fifth busiest rapid transit rail system in the world in annual ridership. With 468 stations in operation and 209 mi (337 km) of routes, it is one of the most extensive public transportation systems in the world.

Located throughout the boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx, the system's stations are covered by three short shuttles and 24 train services. In operation 24 hours a day, the service is designated by an extensive colour system.

The 656-mile system, run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), charges $2 per ride. Some important lines like Lexington Avenue Lines traverse 4, 5, or 6 to 86th Street Station or the 6 to 77th Street Station and East Side museums. This also permits travelling to 4, 5 to Bowling Green Station, and 6 to Canal Street Station and to 161 Street /Yankee Stadium Station.

Broadway above 42nd Street, and Seventh Avenue below 42nd Street is served by Seventh Avenue Line. Eighth Avenue between 14th and 116th streets, then St. Nicholas Avenue, Broadway, and Ft. Washington Avenue starting at 125th St. in Harlem are served by Eighth Avenue Line.

Sixth Avenue Line connects 6th Avenue from West 4th Street to 57th Street. Broadway below 42nd Street and on Seventh Avenue above Times Square is served by the Broadway Line.

To travel within Manhattan, from 33rd Street along 6th Avenue to Christopher Street, PATH system is apt. MetroCard allows tourists to travel by the New York City Subway rapid transit system. SingleRide Ticket costing $2.50 allows one subway ride, while Pay-Per-Ride MetroCards can be incremented in denominations ranging from $4.50 to $80. For every subway ride, $2.25 is deducted from the card value.

Trains
For travelling between the city and its suburbs, tourists can resort to commuter rail lines. These do not accept MetroCard. Tickets can be purchased either online or in railroad stations prior to boarding.

From Penn Station in Mid-town Manhattan, Long Island Railroad (LIRR) runs to Flatbush Avenue/Atlantic Avenue in Downtown Brooklyn and has limited rush hour service to/from Long Island City, Queens.

North-east Queens is served by the Port Washington Branch of this line. South-eastern Queens is traversed by the Main Line, which contains most of the branches to the different parts of Long Island. Downtown Brooklyn, East New York and Bedford-Stuyvesant, both in Brooklyn are connected by the Atlantic Branch.

John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport to Manhattan, Brooklyn, or Queens, and many popular getaways in Long Island, such as Long Beach, Port Jefferson, and Montauk can also be reached by this line.

Running from Grand Central Terminal, Metro-North Railroad goes to Bronx and the Northern suburbs of the city. Several parts of Western Bronx are covered by the Hudson line, while Harlem Line goes through Central Bronx. Arthur Avenue and the New York Botanic Gardens are also linked by this line.

Others
Owing to the presence of designated bike paths in the city, it can be explored on rented bikes and motorcycles with ease. Along 20th, 21st, 9th and 10th Streets, and 8th Avenue and Broadway, key Manhattan bike lanes are located.

Pastoral paths in Prospect and Central Parks and along the Hudson River are other biking spots in the city. Walking on wide, smoothly-paved side-walks is another available option for the tourists wishing to explore the city.

Ferries also run from the mainland and provide services to islands in the vicinity like Staten Island. From Battery Park in southern Manhattan to Staten Island, Staten Island Ferry runs at an interval of 15 minutes, during peak hours. Ferries that travel from the city to the New Jersey Hudson River Waterfront are run by New York Waterway.

Points within Manhattan, Brooklyn and New Jersey, are connected by the New York Water Taxi. These yellow boats charge $3.50 for a one-way ticket. Tourists can avail one-day pass costing $20 for adults and $15 for children, from mid-April through mid-October. For the same, a 2-day pass costs $25 for adults and $15 for children.