Metro Train Ride - Save $!

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Sometimes having a car can be a Godsend in the city, its nice to know you can go anywhere with the radio blasting when you need to without a bus or a train. On the other hand, it is wonderful to be able to take a good book or some yarn and crochet while being "metroed" to where I have to go! For awhile when I had my own car and drove to my classes in Queens, I loved the first few weeks. After enough of trying to find parking, paying for parking tickets, not having time to read all that I wanted without that extra hour 2 hours on the subway, I actually missed it!  Its amazing how much you can read and crochet with full focus and when you have nothing else you can do on the train. And as long as you have your own ipod, you can pretty much keep the songs you want blasting if you want!  A train ride on the metro is currently 2.25$ each way, so if you are heading into work on the train and leaving on the train, it will cost you 4.50$ for a day. Not bad! If you are moving to the city just to move or attending college or you are just coming to visit, taking the train will save you big bucks compared to a cab ride or even renting a car especially when you take into account gas prices, parking prices and tolls. The MTA (who runs the subway and bus system in the city) has a great website where you can find great deals and discounts - www.mta.info/metrocards/promos is the site.  over the summer there is a great discount where you can bring your metrocard to places in Coney Island like Luna Park, Cyclones games, the Aquarium and the Beach Shop and receive discounts.

When purchasing a metrocard you have a few options. If you have children who are 44 inches or shorter, they ride free with an adult. You can purchase a full day unlimited pass for 8.25$, a 7 day unlimited for 27$ or a 30 day unlimited pass for 89$. There is a great deal that if you put 8$ or more on your metrocard, you receive a 15% discount, so a metrocard for 23$ would be 20$. These fares change sometimes every year and maybe changing soon so be sure to check www.mta.info 's site to make sure! 

When you get into the city, you will definetly want to pick up a subway map before your first subway trip.  You can download a free subway map on the mta's site at http://www.mta.info/.