Audrey Lin, Class of 2024
Having traveled around the world and experienced public transportation in Singapore, Taiwan,
Japan, DC, Chicago, and more, I was excited to learn just what New York City’s public
transportation had to offer.
Walking into the subway station, I was often met with the sound of music from performers,
contributing to the lively and bustling environment of the already busy station. Full of tourists
and locals alike, with a daily ridership of 3.2 million, it became clear that the seemingly seamless
flow of people moving through the city by subway every day was no small feat. To understand
just how the NYC Transit managed this, I visited the New York Transit Museum.
At the museum, I walked through the origins of New York’s subway system, from digging and
drilling underground, to constructing the tunnels and train carts necessary, to perfecting the
system and making it as efficient as possible. I learned about the hard, backbreaking work
necessary to construct the system, done mostly by immigrants in search of new opportunities in
a new city. The work was dangerous and sometimes deadly, and workers even had to form a
union to improve work conditions.
Though the NYC subway was both efficient and convenient, I took note of things that were
lacking or made me curious. Firstly, at the entrance to several stations, there were homeless
people aggressively asking passengers for money. Though inevitable in any city, being
something I also observed in Chicago, it unsettled many tourists and others not used to the
situation.
Another thing I noticed was that the NYC subway was not as intuitive as other systems I had
been on. For example, to get on the same train going in opposite directions, you had to go to a
completely different track. In comparison, Singapore’s subway system allows you to access both
directions of the same track through the same entrance.
Lastly, I noticed that there was no barrier between the train platform and the tracks. I questioned
the safety of this design, as I’ve seen news about people getting pushed into the tracks. I
instinctively found myself standing far away from the tracks for safety. In comparison, all
subways in East Asia I experienced had doors that would open to the tracks every time a train
would arrive.
There were some select stations in NYC that, instead of regular turnstiles, had full-body doors
that you needed to turn to get through. I wondered whether that was because these stations had
experienced higher levels of trespassing, or if this was an update that would eventually reach all
stations. As for ticketing, I observed that Chicago and New York both had a flat fare for their
train tickets, whereas the subways in Japan, Taiwan, and Singapore had varying prices
depending on your departing and arriving stop. This made me curious about the contrasting
revenue systems various public transportation systems operate on.
One big aspect I’ve noticed about American subway systems in comparison to those in East
Asia, was the police presence as well as the cleanliness. The general perception of the NYC
subway is that it is dirty and has rats, which was somewhat true. In contrast, the subways I took
in East Asia were always very orderly and clean. I wondered whether this was due to cultural
differences surrounding littering, acting in public, or both. The police presence in the NYC
subway also stood out to me, as I didn’t even observe that in the Chicago stations. However, the
NYC officers ended up being extremely helpful to me, helping me retrieve my phone and wallet
after I lost it on the subway.
New York City’s public transportation system is integral in NYC’s pulsating life, orchestrating the
movement of millions every day and connecting those from diverse backgrounds. When riding
on the subway, you can’t help but think of the thousands of immigrants who, all those years ago,
determinedly dug the stations and laid the very tracks upon which so many rely today. As
tourists traverse the city, utilizing the public transportation system, they become a testament to
the core message that transportation is not just about getting from point A to point B, but about
connecting people from all corners of the world in New York City and making it what it is today.
In the words of a dedicated NYC subway worker, “Every journey is a shared story, every traveler
an essential chapter in the vibrant novel of our city.” More than transportation, the NYC subway
system provides a support system for tourists and inhabitants alike, connects the city in
unimaginable ways, and gifts tourists fond memories to take home.