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December 4, 2005 8:10 PM

Hey, NYC MeFites. I need some help getting around.

What's the fastest, cheapest way to get from 88 East Broadway to 520 12th ave? Can I do it in a half-hour?

posted by Jon-o to travel & transportation (17 comments total)

Hopstop says 51 minutes by public transit/foot. No guarantee on that hyperlink still working when you click on it.

You could probably beat that in a cab. Depends on the importance of fast versus cheap.
posted by onalark at 8:17 PM on December 4, 2005

What time of day are you coming? A cab would probably be best, but rush hour is a little crazy. I imagine it would probably run you somewhere in the ballpark of $10-12 (with tip).
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:26 PM on December 4, 2005 [1 favorite]

Reliably, I know of no way short of running 8 miles/hour. Even then, you might get lost.

If you're coming in by a chinatown bus, some of them have stops up around Penn Station / 8th ave and 34th street. From there, you could just walk. For more info, see here.

Your best bet will be to take a cab some or all of the way, depending on traffic.
posted by lorrer at 8:27 PM on December 4, 2005

You'll easily make it in under 30 mins in a cab. Tell the driver "12th Ave and 42nd St." or something - he won't know the street numbers. I would guess that taking the F train from East Broadway, and the A train from Washington Square to 42nd Street and walking the rest would take about half an hour; I wouldn't rely on it if punctuality is of the essence, but it'll only cost you $1. Don't mess about with the bus.
posted by nowonmai at 8:29 PM on December 4, 2005

Haha, lorrer, I think you did what I did- bless Google.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:32 PM on December 4, 2005 [1 favorite]

You MUST take the cab cross-town wisely to do it in under 30 minutes. (Also, so much depends on time of day. 4:30 p.m.? Blech.) I think you wanna actually go south on E Broadway, head west across Worth, jog up Hudson to North Moore, and then hit the West Side Highway, a straight fast shot to your goal.

Do not try and cross town north of Canal, I think.

Alternately, and this could totally work: take the F train from E Bway and Canal/Rutgers to West 4th Street, transfer to the A (express!) train at W. 4th, get off at 42nd and 8th Ave, haul ass west into the freezing wind off the river.
posted by RJ Reynolds at 8:39 PM on December 4, 2005

Take the F train (east broadway stop) to west 4th, switch to the A-C-E, ride to 42nd st., get out, walk west to 12th Ave, look for 520.

Half-hour? Two trains plus a decent walk, say 40 minutes.

Hopstop says something about the M42 crosstown bus. Real New Yorkers don't ride no stinkin' bus. Unless it's really convenient. Depending on the time of day, it could be a LOT faster to ride the subways as above and walk the last few blocks rather than waiting for a bus on 42nd St.
posted by jellicle at 8:43 PM on December 4, 2005

Time of day: Approx 10am.
posted by Jon-o at 8:48 PM on December 4, 2005

Apex Bus Co.? Weird coincidence -- I'm about three hours from taking one from DC to NYC myself. Good luck!
posted by electric_counterpoint at 9:08 PM on December 4, 2005

F to the A train, definitely, and the M42 is not that bad in the morning. (12th ave is farther than you'd think from 8th)
posted by amberglow at 10:16 PM on December 4, 2005

F to A
posted by xammerboy at 12:02 AM on December 5, 2005

Honestly, the fastest way to do it would be on a bike. I relaize that may not be an option for you, but, nonetheless, it would probably be faster than either public transit or a taxi. But cold. Very cold. At least this time of year.
posted by dersins at 12:58 AM on December 5, 2005

(12th ave is farther than you'd think from 8th)

Boy, that is the truth! It's like another country over there.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 6:31 AM on December 5, 2005 [1 favorite]

oh, don't take the 34th st. crosstown--it's consistently rated the slowest bus in town.

It's like another country over there.
it's the "wild west" /10th ave. resident
posted by amberglow at 7:42 AM on December 5, 2005

How about a bike?
posted by nomad at 9:26 AM on December 5, 2005

If lorrer is right and the reason you'll be on East Broadway is because of the chinatown bus, maybe you should go greyhound instead. It comes in at 41st and 8th, which is much closer to your target. AND they're having specials for both Boston and DC, so it won't cost much more than Chinatown:

http://www.greyhound.com/scripts/TicketCenter/esavers.asp
posted by lampoil at 10:53 AM on December 5, 2005

True, the Greyhound would drop me off closer but the chinatown bus shows unintelligible dramas on the in-ceiling tv screens. I wouldn't miss that for anything.

Followup:

Since traffic was really slow coming in through the Holland tunnel, I didn't have the luxury of trusting the subway and my navigational skills to get me where I needed to go. I wound up taking a cab. However, I did use the advice and directions given to get me back to the bus later that day. Thanks everyone!
posted by Jon-o at 7:58 PM on December 6, 2005