How the NYC Subway Works
Video Overview & Insights
Daniel explains how to navigate New York City using its robust subway system. Check out our course on Manhattan at https://www.brighttrip.com/courses/how-it-became-manhattan?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=how-the-nyc-subway-works
Making this was fun because there is so much to sift through. I heart NYC. I hope this is helpful! I know this is a resource I know i wish i had when i first lived in NYC. I love reading through all your comments so please keep letting me know your thoughts!
New York City can be confusing. On one hand you have the neat grid like streets of mid-town Manhattan and above. Go south and all of that order gets thrown out the window. If you think that's bad, have you ever taken a closer look at the city's subway? Daniel explains the history behind the Big Apple's iconic transit system and shows you how it works.
Leave a comment with any questions you have and we’ll make sure to include it in a future video.
Your video just made it to 2026, it's still helpful and useful minus the fact there is OMNY now. GOOD JOB!!!
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It didnt have a map til 1979 is crazy 😂
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4:15 If you go on a downtown station accidentally, you can go to the next express stop and cross over to the uptown track without spending an extra fare.
Still, you have to go across the actual tracks so the ability to make friends with the rat ambassadors is a plus. Most New Yorkers have a long standing retinue of rodent contemporaries
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Bright Trip creates video-based travel courses to help you travel smarter. From our location courses that visually demystify places like Tokyo, London, Costa Rica, or Cape Town to our skills courses that cover how to travel solo, with kids, or how to document your travels more effectively and efficiently - each course is created by real travelers, like you, and aims to create a community of curious travelers that are eager to travel smarter.
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Im so glad SEPTA isnt this complex 😭
More User Perspectives
MetroCards can no longer be purchased or refilled in 2026, but you can use any balance on existing cards. At some point this year, MetroCards will be fully retired. OMNY is the future. This is a very well presented video.
@bradbell3744@4:00 if you happen to go through the turnstile going the wrong direction, you can take that train to the next express station and cross over to your correct direction for free
@KevKruzmy wife and I went to New York recently for the first time. Using the subway was not complicated at all for us, the only thing we had to make sure was how much we had on our Omny cards. When we visit NYC again we will try to take an express train to Penn Station from Jamaica
@Blade102384As a native new Yorker I never found the subway system confusing
@DylanMorris-w2bSo helpful, thank you!
@kendalhocking4625I like nyc subway and its vibe but it’s really not a good look when you need to watch an 8 minute video just to understand how to hop on the right train
@Castorf1berAs someone that rode the A train everyday, I’d like to add that the last stop is 207th St & B’Way which is Manhattan not The Bronx
@IntunewitdaInfinite_1Went to NYC 3 times in 2014 when I lived in the US. I got lost on the first day in NYC every one of these 3 times, and then started getting a slight grip of it after a couple days. Now watching this in 2026 having never gone to NYC again I'm sure if I were to go there now I would so get lost again cause I understood just about nothing lol I only remember that you need to know the directions which is the Borough and this is unlike any other city in the world with metro
@jeanfarmaciaMy shock is shocked
@МемнийДенисi was in nyc for 7-ish days and even though we mostly stayed in manhattan and queens after the first day it really got a lot easier to understand!! highly recommend using google maps for that
@aarjascelestialinkNYC subway system needs more high speed trains instead of just building more subway lines
@SuccessMindset2180When did the A train go into the Bronx?
@littleblackduck3134Great vid, even 5 years later. Between this and the MTA App and the OMNY Card that've been released since then (no more MetroCard) and you'll be all set once you get here. Woohoo!
@danteanI have so much anxiety I wouldn’t know when to get on or off. Do normal New Yorkers pre plan their trip like with a map or do y’all just memorize where destinations are located?
Sorry for the dumb question. I live in a city in Michigan with a population of 140 people 😂
At 2:36 in the video, train #1 appears to show passengers entering or exiting train #1 on the middle platform. Why?
I thought that train #1 was a local train which is side platforms only.
Will gta4 help me at all?
@Ivan_OozeThe system now is a credit or debit card tap or swipe and costs $2.90
@CharlieDuragIt’s dirtier but it looks more convenient than Bangkok’s transit.
@kyokyotubeI've been to NYC a couple a times now, and the subway no longer intimidate me lol ONE thing that could make the stations better is somewhere down there, on a wall, put a sign of which way is north, east, west, and south. Getting out the right exist always gets me... and once you go down the stairs and enter "the maze" layout some stations have, is really hard to know which way is what. I think knowing what direction you're facing when you exit the train could help tremendously because at least you'll know which way to head and to which exit.
@quique07Super, super helpful. Thank you. You cover some things other videos don't cover -- like what side of the street the train I'm looking for might be on, how to more easily spot the Express trains (they're likely in the middle) versus the locals (against the walls). Thanks for doing this.
@CosmosStoriesTVif youre on the wrong lane and cant change in the station, just drive to one where you can, that way you save yourself the double fare payment
@youtubeconnaisseur3507It's on rail.
@quantum1953Google is better than a subway map because it's complicated
@rayleung7668Funny how I managed to figure this out as 17 year old non-American without a YouTube video
@JalkinatorMeanwhile, in Guadalajara we have a whopping 3 lines. Each train goes from end to end.
@eduardozepol2000Great video. I like your style and delivery as much as I like your tips.
@morganlocklear7194I was born in Brooklyn, 2016
@olgabido5682"The yellow is the NQR"
W: You forget something?
1:47 Oh yeahhhh im lost LOLLOL
@privateTrotterA train to rockaway ,my fav
@johnmcloughlin3397Yo viendo esto cuando yo ni vivo ahí
@DanielScherbatsky0I really appreciate this video. I am moving to New York for grad school in August and the Subway system was one of my biggest fears. I am still nervous about it, but I feel a little better after watching this video.
@Queen_DrewOfc I see this after I left New York
@wilbertorres7256Soy colombiano y quedé enamorado de la eficiencia del metro de Nueva York, los express son lo máximo
@fabianandresjaramillolondo4317Google and Transit phone apps have made using local transit pretty easy.
@Mlogan11This is a very helpful guide
@barbstech7306How about creating a second video, "How the NYC Subway Works on Weekends" 🤣
@lflagrIt doesnt. That's the answer, and we just deal with it.
@fatalbert135I remember once like in 2018 or 2019 where there was an issue on the 2 line and train 2 was partially local running on train 1 stations 😭
@Wh0s.Sebas27Very well made and informative video, thanks!!
@jeffmiller211no idea why im watching this, im a new york local lol
@gnilogamingAfter watching this video I decided to walk
@Carmen_DiNunzioMoved here back in January of 2025 and I’m still learning the whole thing and everyone New Yorker feels so comfortable giving people directions which tells me they are used to helping people. They might not be smiling like people hypocritically do in the South yet they are very kind. I’m loving each minutes of it. Living in NYC feels like walking in a movie or museum. And Thanks for the MTA App. Very helpful.
@WillMonks-z1t