Secrets of Commuting

image credit: cyclinglondononline.wordpress.com

If you are lucky enough, you will find an apartment near your college and a job near your apartment. What if you are not lucky enough? Then you will have to get a bicycle or learn how to use a subway.

Getting a bike is an appealing, but not a great idea. First of all, you may not have enough space to keep it. Secondly, you cannot use it when it is raining. In New York City it usually rains heavily, from an early morning until night, so there will be days when your bike will be a useless decoration, not to mention winter time with all this snow around.

Moving to New York City, you have to familiarize yourself with its subway system and bus routes. While a car is a necessity in rural areas, it costs an arm and a leg to maintain it here. Parking is expensive, especially in Manhattan, which adds up to gasoline and insurance costs. Hence, if public transportation is the best option, how do you use it effectively?

One of the things you need to do is planning your trip beforehand. Take a free subway map in any booth within a station. Find out what is the best way to get to your destination. Keep in mind that transfers within stations are free, but before you get off, make sure that transfer is available.

Once you plan you trip to an unknown area, you should go online and check whether there are some changes in schedule, as it usually happens every day. Routes are changed because of construction, some stations are closed, trains are going express where they are supposed to run local and what not.

By the way, local and express trains can be seen on a map as well. Notice that some trains skip certain stops and make sure you will not miss yours.

A mobile device with GPS may be a helpful tool. You just have to put in start and end point, and your cell phone will plan the trip for you. But keep in mind that this innovative technology is not perfect and cannot predict everything.

Following these simple advices, you should never be lost in the city. If you happen to, in spite of everything, do not be shy to ask a station attender or another rider. People in New York City seem distant and indifferent, but in reality, they are very helpful and attentive.

Ekaterina Lalo

Check out my blog at www.nycvalues.blogspot.com

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