New York Subway Basics for Tourists

The idea of using public transportation in New York City can be a bit daunting for tourists, especially ones that come from an area where public transportation is scarce (like me!). But don’t be intimidated! With a little basic information to get you started, you can confidently use the subway during your visit.

What is the New York City subway?

The New York City subway is a system of underground and overground trains that service Manhattan and the surrounding metro area. As a tourist, you can utilize the subway system to help navigate between sites in a timely manner without having to deal with traffic or rack up even more steps on your fitness tracker.

Ticket Options

Currently, the New York subway system is in a transition period when it comes to ticketing (until 2024). Each ride on the subway costs $2.75 and includes one free transfer (to another subway or bus) within 2 hours.

OMNY: The new system is called OMNY (One Metro New York). OMNY allows you to pay for your fare using either an existing digital wallet (such as Apple Pay or Google Wallet), a contactless bank card, or a special OMNY card (which you can purchase at convenience stores and other retailers, though currently not at subway stations…which seems an odd oversight) which is preloaded with a set amount. To use OMNY, simply tap your payment method to the OMNY reader at the turnstile. The lights will turn green to indicate that your payment has been accepted and you will be able to pass through the turnstile.

OMNY participates in a ‘Unlimited Ride’ fare capping which it will calculate for you automatically. After 12 rides within the same calendar week (Monday at 12 am through 11:59 pm on Sunday) utilizing the *exact same payment system,* all further uses of the subway will be free of charge. This makes your total payment for unlimited use of the subway from Mon-Sun $33.

MetroCard: The MetroCard is a reloadable card that you can purchase at a ticket vending machine at any subway station. MetroCards come either as a Regular card where you load a set dollar amount onto the card or as a 7-day ($33) or 30-day ($127) Unlimited Ride option. Purchasing the initial MetroCard costs an additional $1, though you can reload the card in the future for free. Be prepared as some ticket machines are only able to accept credit or debit cards.

Regular MetroCards: These cards can be shared with up to four people. Simply swipe for one person, then hand off to the next person to swipe the card again.

Unlimited Ride: Unlike OMNY’s Unlimited Ride option, the 7- or 30-day Unlimited Ride window only starts when you first swipe your MetroCard and expires at 11:59 pm on the 7th or 30th day. These cards cannot be shared with another person.

To use a MetroCard, swipe the card through the reader on top of the righthand side of the turnstile with the magnetic stripe facing towards you and pushing the card forward through the reader. If the swipe was accepted, you’ll hear a click to let you know the turnstile is unlocked. If the swipe fails, try again…at the same turnstile. Trying at a different turnstile could lock the card for a short period of time.

Subway Map

To successfully navigate the New York City subway, you need to understand some of the basics of the subway map. You can pick up a physical map at subway ticket booths or can access a digital copy at the MTA website. The different subway routes are designated by colored lines connecting the stations which are black dots. Each route has a name, a color, and an associated letter or number (e.g. “7” or “C”). While it is tempting to refer to these lines by their color or name…they’re actually referred to as their number or letter (e.g. “the C train”) to minimize confusion. Also confusing…take note that the subway stations often duplicate names. When in doubt, consult your map to make sure you have everything straight. The map provides a lot more information, but for casual use these are the most important aspects for tourists.

Uptown vs. Downtown Trains

Uptown and downtown refer to the direction of travel of the train. Uptown is generally north-ish and downtown is generally south-ish. Be aware that sometimes uptown and downtown trains have separate entrances at a station.

Local vs. Express Trains

There are both local trains that stop at every station and express trains that only stop at certain stations along the route. While express trains might be faster, as a tourist it’s best to stick with local trains, otherwise you may end up on a train that skips the stop you need.

How to Plan Your Route

While you can certainly map out your own route with the subway map, probably the easiest for visitors to the city is to let the MTA Trip Planner or Google Maps (using the ‘transit’ option) do all the work for you! Just put in your departing location and your destination and they’ll offer you detailed instructions for several routes.