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I recently returned from a trip to NYC, and loved the idea of the subway system. I went with a friend who figured out how to use it. I didn't pay much attention to the details.
I am wondering how natives learn the system and what percentage of the population is subway savvy.
Are there people who don't know it at all? Some who know it a little bit? Experts?
Or are you taught how to navigate it in school? Or by your parents? At what age do kids and teens use it (didn't see many of either)?
Just basically interested in the learning and use of it.
It's basically like riding a bike, the more you ride it, the more you get better.
If you don't take the subway regularly, most likely you will have more difficulty getting around as opposed to someone who takes the subway on a consistent basis.
I've been to London twice and had no problem getting around on the Underground. But I grew up here and we have a subway system, so I'm used to taking mass transit.
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"The man who sleeps on the floor, can never fall out of bed." -Martin Lawrence
Most New Yorkers in the four boroughs (Queens, Manhattan, Bronx and Brooklyn) understand the subway system a bit better since for most it is their primary means of getting around. This can mean within and or travelling outside their own borough.
Staten Island is a bit of an outlier since there isn't a rail connection to city and many who go into the place vary as to how, and what they do once there to get around.
Of all city residents would think those in Manhattan have best grasp of subway system as it is the primary means for many to get around. Above comment not withstanding there are vast parts of Queens and Brooklyn that don't have subway service or it is limited.
I don't even know what you're asking. Are you asking if people carry a mental picture of the layout of the whole system in their heads? What would be the point of that? Or are you asking if we can read a map?
I am asking about understanding the system and perception.
What I saw was a cavern with people running about - climbing up and down stairs, then waiting for trains. The train descriptors meant nothing to me and once inside, I could not understand a word the conductor said about the next stop.
If you are in one part of the city and need to get to another part, I am just wondering how you figure out what trains to take - now there are maps and apps, but "in the old days" I wonder what people did - I personally don't find the maps helpful - just a bunch of colored lines with various letters - some bolded, some not. It isn't obvious to me how to get around and I was just wondering how people learn the system.
I would be astounded if an eight-year-old kid could learn it.
What is it that you are actually learning?
Maybe it has to do with learning styles - I would need a presentation, along with 3D models of the entire system and someone explaining everything before I could understand it.
If you can't read a map...yeah, you're going to struggle to grasp the system as a whole. Or, really, to get anywhere, subway or not, using "old school" methods!
But an eight-year-old can understand "uptown" and "downtown" on their local line.
The biggest opportunity for error comes from trying to figure out which stops are local and which express (especially on weekends), but if you accidentally miss a stop on an express you can just turn right around and come back on the local from the next stop. And then you won't do that again.
If you can't read a map...yeah, you're going to struggle to grasp the system as a whole. Or, really, to get anywhere, subway or not, using "old school" methods!
But an eight-year-old can understand "uptown" and "downtown" on their local line.
The biggest opportunity for error comes from trying to figure out which stops are local and which express (especially on weekends), but if you accidentally miss a stop on an express you can just turn right around and come back on the local from the next stop. And then you won't do that again.
That's why I said that it helps a lot to know NYC geography. Then the descriptors will make more sense, such as "to Coney Island".
I am asking about understanding the system and perception.
What I saw was a cavern with people running about - climbing up and down stairs, then waiting for trains. The train descriptors meant nothing to me and once inside, I could not understand a word the conductor said about the next stop.
If you are in one part of the city and need to get to another part, I am just wondering how you figure out what trains to take - now there are maps and apps, but "in the old days" I wonder what people did - I personally don't find the maps helpful - just a bunch of colored lines with various letters - some bolded, some not. It isn't obvious to me how to get around and I was just wondering how people learn the system.
I would be astounded if an eight-year-old kid could learn it.
What is it that you are actually learning?
Maybe it has to do with learning styles - I would need a presentation, along with 3D models of the entire system and someone explaining everything before I could understand it.
The maps are very helpful and unlike London's underground map, our map is more visual (though not to scale) if you read a MTA map, many neighborhoods are listed and many point of interests are also listed, even the stations themselves like "TIMES SQUARE 42nd Street" or "Grand Central" etc makes it easier to travel around. If you live in the borough you just know your home stop by heart and since NYC is more of a walking city than driving, if you get off the wrong stop, you'll know how far it is to get home. People will tell you "I live by the 1 train or take the 1 train here" instead of take the 7th avenue line because the 7th avenue line in central Manhattan has the 1,2&3.... 2&3 are express so they don't stop on every stop. Also the 1, 2, 3 lines all separate outside of central Manhattan, making them their own line but since they all merge in central Manhattan, they share the same color, to signify that they do share the same line at some point. This applies to all of the other lines as well.
I am asking about understanding the system and perception.
What I saw was a cavern with people running about - climbing up and down stairs, then waiting for trains. The train descriptors meant nothing to me and once inside, I could not understand a word the conductor said about the next stop.
If you are in one part of the city and need to get to another part, I am just wondering how you figure out what trains to take - now there are maps and apps, but "in the old days" I wonder what people did - I personally don't find the maps helpful - just a bunch of colored lines with various letters - some bolded, some not. It isn't obvious to me how to get around and I was just wondering how people learn the system.
I would be astounded if an eight-year-old kid could learn it.
What is it that you are actually learning?
Maybe it has to do with learning styles - I would need a presentation, along with 3D models of the entire system and someone explaining everything before I could understand it.
You were at a disadvantage because you didn't understand or grasp the geography of the city. Once you kind of understand where things are, then you can understand when a line says it's "Queens bound" and which direction to go, even if you are only riding a few stops within Manhattan.
Before apps, etc., the actual map helps a lot because you can see where the lines intersect and what stations are at each end.
I think if you were here for 2 weeks riding the subways various places every day, and you had to figure most of it out on your own (of course asking when you get lost), you would figure out most of what you need to know.
I actually think riding the subways is a lot easier than driving. But I know some people love driving.
Also consider that people used to have to get their driving directions by paper map (remember TripTix from AAA?) before GPS. It's the same concept.
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