Transport and the shape of the city in New York

OMNY and fares

OMNY is the tap-to-pay system on subways and buses, taking a contactless bank card, a phone or an OMNY card, and it has replaced the MetroCard for most riders. Always tap the same card or device: the fare cap is calculated per card, so alternating between a phone and a physical card splits your rides and costs you the cap. Reduced fares exist for older riders, riders with disabilities and low-income New Yorkers on a separate programme.

• Tap the same card or device every time or the weekly cap will not apply.
• The cap kicks in after a fixed number of paid rides in a Monday-to-Sunday week.
• Free subway-to-bus and bus-to-bus transfers within a two-hour window.

Reading the subway properly

Lines are lettered and numbered, and the same track carries express and local services — boarding an express at the wrong moment can take you several stops past where you meant to be. Many stations have separate entrances for uptown and downtown with no crossover inside, so the wrong staircase costs you a fare. Weekend engineering work reroutes trains routinely and is posted at station level and in the apps.

Beyond the subway

Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North serve the suburbs from Penn Station and Grand Central, PATH runs under the Hudson to New Jersey around the clock, and NJ Transit handles the wider commute. Citi Bike is dense enough in Manhattan and inner Brooklyn to be a genuine commuting option. Ferries add a slower but reliable route along the East River and to Staten Island, which is free.

Driving, parking and the airports

Driving into Manhattan below 60th Street now carries a congestion charge on top of tolls, and parking is either expensive or governed by alternate-side rules that require you to move the car on a schedule. Most residents do not own one. JFK connects to the subway and LIRR by AirTrain, Newark has its own AirTrain to NJ Transit, and LaGuardia has no rail link at all — allow considerably more time for it than the map suggests.

• Congestion pricing applies entering Manhattan south of 60th Street.
• Alternate-side parking suspends for street cleaning on posted days; tickets are constant.
• LaGuardia is bus-and-road only. Budget for traffic, not distance.