The Ups and Downs of Public Transportation
Tuesday, November 25th, 2008Believe it or not, I am a fan of public transportation. I don’t think I’d ever turn down a limo transfer over the subway, but, nonetheless, I utilize trains, buses and subways everyday. I’ve always said I need to live in a city, or at least close to a city, with a working system of public transportation. There’s a lot of room for interpretation in that statement, but, of course, I make all my comparisons with my opinion of NYC’s public transportation, and, more specifically, with my opinion of the ease of public transport in Manhattan. I reconfirmed my beliefs yesterday when Courtney Centeno, my NYC colleague, and I ventured to Queens for a meeting.
Yes, Queens is a part of New York City, but the accessibility of public transportation was not as available as in Manhattan - perhaps due to the fact that Queens is more spread out. We had no problems in the beginning of our journey. We started our morning from 59th Street in Manhattan and hopped on the N Express train to Astoria Boulevard. We arrived with plenty of time for a quick coffee at Neptune Diner. After a ten-minute taxi ride, we were at our meeting.
Getting back to the city, however, proved more of a challenge. We were told that a shuttle would come by the front of the building and drop us at the nearest train station. The shuttle was supposed to arrive every 30 minutes, but no shuttle ever arrived. To get to the next option - the bus - we would have to walk a bit and then cross a six lane highway. As time is money during business hours, I broke down and called a car service. We were back in the city in 28 minutes - an improvement over the hour plus it would have taken on public transportation.
Yes, the public transportation is part of the NYC system, which is the same public transportation system I compare all other systems in the world with, but, honestly, nothing beats Manhattan. Manhattan - where you are never more than 10 minutes away from your bus or subway. Manhattan - where you rarely have to wait. Manhattan - where a taxi is always nearby, if need be. As an added bonus, public transportation is more eco-friendly.
And, to end with a fun fact: Every year, a journalist rides every subway route and it takes a total of 24 hours - not a problem in Manhattan where the subway is open 24 hours a day!
-Alex Young, vice president and associate publisher
