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If I want to go to Union Square, for example, I usually take the R from Bay Ridge Ave to 59 St then transfer to the express N.
The N, however, makes all the local stops at late nights, so is there a faster way to get back home? Maybe taking the 4/5 from Union Square then transfer to the N at Atlantic/Barclays or is that the same thing? I don't know.
I'd just stick to what you're doing, or even just take the R train late nights. After all, I'm pretty sure that all NYC subway lines run local during the evening. And by switching trains like that, which includes added wait times, you actually run the risk of having an even lengthier commute.
I've lived in Bay Ridge for many years and I used to travel to and from Union Square all the time. If you have to come back late at night when the N train goes local then you should just stick with it. Taking the 4 or 5 will not save you any time and might take longer. Once you get off the 4 or 5 you have to walk all the way to the other side of the terminal to catch the N or the R. Also if you miss your stop you have to back track and that can be a pain in the a$$. Just grab something to read and enjoy the ride.
When I went out to the city I would either try to get home before the N train went local, buck up and pay for a cab (around $40) or just dealt with the local-stop train ride home.
Late nights, the 4 train also runs local (and it still runs through Lower Manhattan to boot). You're adding an extra transfer for no reason (and it's a more difficult one, involving passageways and stairs).
By the way, in case you're interested, there's also a bus from 59th Street to Bay Ridge Avenue. Sometimes there's problems with the (R) train (Somebody said they once had to wait 56 minutes for an (R) train late at night, because the connections were all screwed up).
You can track the bus with MTA BusTime. See bustime.mta.info It may very well be quicker than waiting for the next train, especially if you live west of the train station (because it continues along Bay Ridge Avenue).
Unfortunately, Union Square isn't near the (D) train, or else I'd tell you to just take that, since that runs express 24/7. (Unfortunately, it skips 14th Street & 6th Avenue, even late at night).
What can save some time at night is take a Q which runs over the bridge and skips lower Manhattan to DeKalb Ave, where you may hook up with the N you may have just missed at Union Square. At DeKalb if there is no N and a D comes in, take the D to 36th st and get the R shuttle to Bay Ridge Ave, thereby not needing the N at all that night.
The big pain in your night commute will not be the N. It will be the R shuttle which runs either 36th to 95th, where the D or N can connect, or 59th to 95th, where only the N can connect to the R. The MTA changes where the nighttime R goes on a constant basis with little or no notification to customers and sometimes even conductors on other trains do not know what the R is doing at nights.
Kinda what you get for living in Bay Ridge. Nice neighborhood and relatively affordable. There's always going to be a catch with that.
My husband wants to move to Bay Ridge but I prefer quality time over affordability and these long train rides don't coincide!!! Argh...
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