How does the subway system work in NYC?

Question

I'm writing a story that takes place in New York City. ...Only I've never been there. I need to know how the subway system works. Do a lot of children use it to get to school? How much do tickets cost? Do you buy a season pass type thing or do you have to buy a new ticket each time you use it? Are the subway stations usually large? Are they noisy? All information is appreciated. Thanks!

Answer 1

www.mta.nyc.ny.us/ is the public transportation website for NYC. You can see the subway maps and what trains exist. The trains are numbered 1 through 7 and A through Z (there is no H, I, K, O, P, T, U, X, or Y train). Kids do take the trains to school. Hundreds of high school kids fill the trains after school. They're loud, they get in fights, they scream, they hold the doors open for friends. Sometimes they intimidate other riders. Cops will sometimes follow really rowdy groups of teens onto the train.

The 'tickets' used to be small metal tokens but they got rid of those in 2003. Now everyone has to purchase a MetroCard from a machine or 'token' booth. There are different kinds of MetroCards. It normally costs $2 to ride the train. You can buy a paper one that is good for 1 ride or a plastic one for any other amount. A lot of people by a 30-day pass with unlimited rides for $76. This page explains all the options and has photos: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metrocard
Elderly, disabled and school kids get discounted rides. School kids pay half or ride for free if they travel over 1 mile to school.

The subway stations are really long (longer that the train). The outdoor stations are mostly in the outer boroughs. Some stations are very clean. There are rats but they mostly hang out down below on the tracks or near the garbage cans. They trains aren't as scary as they used to be and there are less homeless people that sleep down there. That's more of a problem in the winter months. Annoying homeless people sometimes ride the train and ask people for money. They usually sing a song or tell some sob story about how their apartment burnt down. There are a few homeless woman that scream about how everyone is a jerk for not helping them. Some of them are drug addicts and they are just trying to make drug money (I know one from my neighborhood)

In the morning, everyone on the train is really quiet and tired because they are going to work or school. Everyone is louder at night. A lot of people read or stare at someones shoes. The trains make a very loud, high pitched and sometimes painful noise when they are stopping. A lot of people cover their ears if they are not used to it.

While you are on the train, they sometimes play recorded messages about subway safety. They tell you to watch your belongings and report suspicious packages. Some recordings tell you what train you are on, what stop you are at and what the next stop is. Occasionally they get messed up and you will hear 10 recordings in a row telling you are on some other train or that the train has stopped and will be moving 'momentarily' even when it's moving. The conductor makes announcements sometimes and you can't always understand them. Some conductors have a sense of humor and make funny announcements like, "Get your a*s on the train" or "I see you holding the doors open, cut that sh*t out". Once and awhile, random people will take over the intercom and you'll hear kids doing "shout outs" to Brooklyn or something but that's rare.

It is called "the subway" but most people just call it "the train". Like "the 6 train" or "the F train". In regular conversation, you just say the number or letter and leave off the word "train"

Answer 2

Ok, the NYC subway hasnt used tokens in several years.

All tickets are 'Metrocards' a little card thats like a thin credit card.

http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/metrocard/

You can buy either by the ride or for a period of time.
The base fare is 2$ and there are lots of options, 1 day, 7 day, 30 day...once the metro card is expired you generally discard it, and get another one.

http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/metrocard/mcgtreng.htm#unlimited

Tthe stations are VERY noisy. On the train its fairly quiet. The announcements are often incomprehensible.

There are quite few videos of the subway on youtube check 'em out.

Lots of kids go to school using the subway, but I think generally private or religious schools where the kids have to go further than their neighborhood school.

There are often musicians playing in the stations, some of them are quite good, I've seen drums, buckets played like drums, digerdoos, guitars, accordians, flute, a jazz trio, singers, chinese dulcimers, just about everything.

There are sometimes rats visible running around on the tracks.

There's usually quite a bit of trash on the tracks.

The trains are pretty clean, there isnt so much graffitti any more, but there is often scratchitti (initials and whatnot scratched into the windows of the train )

There are various beggers on the train from time to time, generally their plee will start something like "I'm sorry to disturb you this evening but I've been out of work for 5 months and I have a family ..... "

Occasionally there are peddlers. On one train I used to take there was often an old asian peddler selling batteries for 1$ for 2 AA batteries.. she would walk through the trains saying 'battery one dollar,battery one dollar,battery one dollar,battery one dollar" over and over and over

Answer 3

The trains are labelled by numbers or letters (ie: the A train, the number 1 train). No, a lot of kids do not use the subways to go to school. You buy tokens for the trains and put them in a slot in a turnstile to gain entry to the station. The stations are filthy and they smell since a lot of homeless people live in them. As a rule, the walls are tiled and in some cases there are benches to sit on. In the outer burroughs the stations are outdoors and it can be cold waiting for the train. The train cars are filled with overhead banners of advertisements. Many are in Spanish since we forgot what language is spoken in this country.

Answer 4

You really should check it out yourself.

there's no way to really capture the entire essense accurately.