Getting Around New York on the Cheap

New York is the kind of city where getting around town without a car can be a relative breeze if you know how to do it. With tolls, gas, rentals and parking prices being astronomical New Yorkers are finding more cost effective ways to travel through the city. There are buses, trains, horse drawn carriages, taxicabs, zip cars , pedicabs, partybikes and most recently bicytaxis. New Yorkers have also been known to ride scooters, bikes, rollerblades and even walk during a crisis like the recent transit strike.

With the exception of the aforementioned manpowered options, the cheapest way to get around town still seems to be riding public transportation. The two most popular means are buses and subways. There are different transit companies that service Manhattan but the main one is the Metropolitan Transit Authory (MTA) run by the City of New York. Buses and subway rides cost $2.00 per ride and transfers are free. There are also cheaper options to the $2.00 fare. For example, if you need to travel around town for one day you can purchase a one day fun pass for $7.00. It offers unlimited bus and subway rides until 3:00 a.m. the next day. The next best option is the $21 Unlimited Metro card which is valid for 7 days or a 30 day Unlimited card for $76.

By far the best bargain in the city is still the Staten Island Ferry. The ferry runs from downtown Manhattan to Staten Island every 30 minutes. The fare had been $0.50 round trip prior to 1997 but has since been eliminated so you ride for free. As a bonus there is a lovely view of the Manhattan skyline, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

Another great deal is the Roosevelt Island Tram which runs on a cable across the East River from Manhattan to Roosevelt Island. The tram is currently under renovation after a system malfunction in April of 2006. One of the benefits of the tram is the gorgeous view of Manhattan for less than the cost of a trip to the top of the Empire State Building. Once the tram is fully restored it will be accessible for the cost of a metro card swipe.

Getting around town doesn’t has to cost you an arm and leg. There are very few U.S. cities where it is possible to get around for a mere $21 a week. New Yorkers love to complain about the high cost of living in the Big Apple but they can’t really beat the relative convenience and price of traveling from borough to borough for less than the cost of a Grande at Starbucks.