Public transportation in New York City is very convenient, and if you spend some time exploring how it works before the trip, you will be very comfortable navigating through the city. The two main types of public transportation are subway and buses. The MTA site has detailed information on routes, lines and fares. To travel on the bus you must have the exact amount of the fare (in coins) as the driver does not have any change. When you board the bus, insert the exact amount into the machine next to the driver. It is also helpful to know that the bus does not always stop at every stop. Press the “stop request’ button, or if the button is not there, look for labels with instructions such as “to request a stop, please press here’.
Everyone uses subway in New York. Taking into account the cost of parking and a small number of parking spots, subway is the fastest and the most reliable way to travel. Of course, as always and everywhere, people are different, so follow the same common sense rules as if you were traveling on subway in your own country. You can buy a MetroCard from the machine at the entrance to the subway. There are no zones in the New York City subway, so there is no difference in price whether you travel one stop or ten. A single trip costs $2.75. You can purchase a MetroCard for multiple trips. So as not to waste time every time you descend into the subway to refill your card, just enter the amount you think you will need when you initially purchase the card. If you decide to explore the City on your own, it makes sense to buy the unlimited version of the MetroCard ($30 for 7 days). A detailed description of the MetroCard, info on prices, etc. can be found on the MTA website. MTA is an organization that is responsible for public transportation in New York City. Note that MetroCard is also accepted on MTA-run buses (if you are heading to New Jersey by an NJ Transit bus, MetroCard is not accepted on those).