Transport, route map and traffic rules: how not to get lost in New York

When visiting New York for the first time, a traveler may feel dizzy: the movement around seems chaotic and it is not immediately clear where to go. This publication is from the publication. Yandex Zen help you figure out how everything is tripled in America's largest city.

Transport

Any journey begins with arrival at the airport or train station. There are three airports in the Big Apple. But the main one is John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK). Its services are used by more than 90 airlines, and passenger traffic is about 50 million people a year.

You can navigate inside the airport using the AirTrain automatic monorail. On it you will get from one terminal to another, as well as to land transport parking lots comfortably and free of charge. It also connects the air harbor with Howard Beach / JFK Airport and Jamaica Station metro stations. From Jamaica Station, you can reach Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan and Nasso and Suffolk counties around the clock and seven days a week. The timetable and the cost of the trip depend on the destination and time of day. For example, Manhattan can be reached at rush hour for $ 12, the rest of the time - three times cheaper, the author notes.

Bus stops

Bus stops are located at Terminal 4. You can take the bus to the subway, Long Island Railway, or directly to New York. It will cost you a little more than $ 2.

If you prefer a taxi ride, the famous yellow cabs are at your service. You can find them at any JFK terminal. True, there is one caveat - you have to stand in line to take advantage of them. A trip to Manhattan will take about half an hour and will cost $ 40- $ 60.

Those who appreciate complete travel independence can rent a car right at the airport.

Of the non-standard methods of transportation, the fastest and most expensive of all possible is a flight by US Helicopter. In 8 minutes and $ 159 you will be delivered directly to Manhattan.

Route Map

The transport system of New York is very large and confusing. It just will not be able to figure it out the first time. Therefore, the most necessary thing in New York is a map of transport routes. “Each carrier publishes its own scheme. Moreover, the metro and railroad map is the same, and bus cards are issued separately for each district of the city. You can take them at metro stations and transport information centers, ”the author writes.

At the same time, despite the complex transport web, all services in the metropolis operate like a Swiss clock. By the way, just 10 years ago, things were very different here, and New York transport was known as one of the most terrible and dangerous in the world. But after the approval of New York's transportation modernization program in the early 1980s, the bus fleet, subway and railroad rolling stock were almost completely replaced. Several years ago, the city authorities introduced a unified tariff system, simplified to the limit. Today the main traffic load is carried by 29 metro lines; there are 468 metro stations and 24 routes in total. Trains have letters (A, B, C, etc.) or numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.) and connect four out of five parts of the city: Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens.


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Manhattan and Staten Island connect flights of two ferries that run for free. Over 10 ferry lines connect Manhattan with Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, Jersey City, as well as Liberty Island with the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Moreover, the ferry even runs to La Guardia Airport, which serves domestic flights.

There are also express bus routes to Manhattan via Brooklyn. “These lines account for most of the thirty New York express buses. The remaining two hundred bus routes are ordinary, ”the author explained.

There are a huge number of bridges and tunnels in the Big Apple, almost all of them are paid.

One-way fares are $ 6,5. Manhattan and Roosevelt Island are connected by a suspended airway. Traveling in the trailer of this road, as in the case of ferries, is absolutely free.

Rules of Motion

Each state of America has its own rules of the road. «Interestingly, in New York, local traffic rules mention only 8 traffic signs, and this is almost a record for the United States, ”the author notes.

By the way, the article says, in New York, cars can not turn right at a red light, although in other states, including New York, it is allowed. In some places, however, you can see a sign at the intersection, "After stopping, a red light turn is allowed."

Yellow taxi

Separately, it is worth talking about yellow cab - a traditional yellow taxi, without which New York is simply impossible to imagine. Taxis in the Big Apple ply around the clock. In total there are about 13 thousand cars in the fleet, which are controlled by 50 thousand drivers. Taxis serve about 9 million, if we take the suburbs, then more than 20 million citizens.

Taxi fleets are run by private companies. To do this, they must obtain a license from the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission, a government agency in New York. But to do this is very difficult, almost unrealistic. Such a license costs $ 1 million, although a few years ago its price was $ 700 thousand. The price increase was affected by the demand for this type of activity, the source said.

The license holder earns about $ 4 thousand per month, the taxi driver - about the same. By the way, one of the largest owners of taxi licenses in New York (there are more than 400 of them) is a well-known native of Russia.

In addition to taxis, the so-called car services work in the city. They work on call, while yellow taxis do not have such an opportunity. But they can’t pick up passengers on the street, like a taxi does. But some car service drivers outside of Manhattan do this informally.

Who controls the transport structure of New York

As you can see, the transport structure of New York is quite complicated. However, all this seemingly chaotic movement has long been clearly monitored by the New York City Police Department, created in 1845. Today it is the largest US police unit.

The main duty of the department is to maintain law and order and investigate crimes in the five boroughs of the city, that is, to guarantee the observance of laws and order in the city so that its residents feel safe here.

By the way, this is also one of the oldest police departments in the United States, which began with a group of eight night watchmen, created back in 1625. Then New York belonged to Holland and was called New Amsterdam.

The New York Police includes many specialized services: emergency situations, dog search, port patrols, air support, explosive ordnance disposal, counterterrorism, criminal intelligence, gang fighting, drug control, public transport law enforcement and others .

For many years, a large staff turnover was observed in the department. But the authorities intervened, taking a number of measures in order to make the police profession more attractive and prestigious. Today, the annual income of an NYPD employee is between $ 60 and $ 90 thousand. By local standards, this is not so much, but there are many “pluses” in the life of a policeman: significant benefits for buying an apartment, paying for housing, medical insurance, many social benefits and payments. “So the transport of New York, its well-functioning work and order on it are in good hands, as you can see for yourself by visiting this unique city of skyscrapers, and of course, yellow taxis,” the author concluded.