Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with subway

Best Discreet Subway Camera?

joshwa — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 08:00:54 -0800

DigitalCameraFilter: I am trying to find a small, discreet point-n-shoot camera that I can use on the subway to take pictures of my fellow-passengers (think Walker Evans - Many Are Called). Trying to find something that is: small (fits in pocket), quiet, sharp, can disable the rear lcd, and has minimal shutter lag. Good high-iso performance also a plus. Zoom not necessary. The Canon G-series would fit the bill, but they're rather bulky are mega-pricey for this application.

Hoping that someone here has experience with such an application and can recommend something?

Googling, as you'd imagine, is of limited usefulness. There are just too many small digital cameras and thousands of spammy spycam and bogus affiliate sites.

The Subway vs. My Back

airguitar2 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:29:12 -0800

Is the subway causing my body to hurt? I've been riding the NYC subway twice a day for the last few months, and I'm noticing an overall body/back ache that I haven't felt before. I've looked around for research on this, but all I can find is a study showing that a test group of subway operators suffer more back and neck pain than a control group. Apparently total-body-vibration is not such a good thing in large doses.

Is the subway causing minute but detectable bodily injury?
Have others noticed this?
What can I do about it, other than walk three hours to work every day?

Thanks, Mefites!

(It's also possible that my teaching job, what with its stress and being on my feet all day, is also contributing.)

Help me drown out this horrific noise so I can sleep, PLEASE!

Dormant Gorilla — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:14:49 -0800

How do I muffle or deal with an incredibly loud noise so I can sleep? A couple of months ago I moved to a fantastic new apartment- fantastic in all ways but one. The subway shuttle (an aboveground train) goes by every 20 minutes. Actually it goes in each direction so it's twice every 20 minutes. 24 hours a day. The tracks run alongside the building, about twenty feet from the edge of the building, directly under my bedroom window. Sometimes, when it's running slowly, it's only very loud. When it's running at full speed, like it usually does, I can't describe how loud it is. It is as loud as a train sounds when it goes by you at full speed while you're standing on the platform. Which is very, very loud.

I don't think I've slept through the night since I've been here. I don't wake up every time it goes by, I think, but at least four or five times every night I find myself all of a sudden wide awake and confused, wondering if the building's being bombed or what the hell is going on. I am exhausted.

It's so loud it makes no noticeable difference if the windows are open or closed. I tried a white noise machine- laughable. It's orders of magnitude louder than that. I've tried earplugs- no brand I find even begins to make a dent in the noise. Even in August, when I first moved here and the windows were shut and the air conditioning was on full blast, THAT didn't make a dent in the noise.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm subletting, so I can't do anything permanent or lasting to the house, but is there any kind of temporary soundproofing that I could do to the windows, maybe? Or any other ways to go with this? I am so freaking tired. I have no energy all day long because I don't think I've gotten more than two straight hours of sleep in months. Other people in the building say they just adjusted after a while, but that doesn't seem to be happening to me, and I need to find a way to live with this before I go nuts.

Thanks in advance...

Where can I get an NYC subway map & metrocard outside of NYC?

spockette — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:23:43 -0800

I'm working on an art project, and I need to get a copy of the official MTA NYC subway map (the one you get for free in the subway station), and an expired metrocard. I am in the UK. How can I get a hold of these things outside of New York?

MetroCard know-how

Anonymous — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:34:50 -0800

NYC filter: tips for swiping a MetroCard? So, I just want to preface this by saying that I've been to New York many times before I started working there. Many times I've ridden the subway or bus and used a MetroCard with no problem. The past few weeks, though, I seem to be having problems.

This morning, I swiped it, like I normally would. The little monitor thing said "swipe again at this turnstile." Did it again, got the same message. Did it again, was told that I had insufficient fare. (I have an exceptionally small budget right now, so I use pay-per-ride rather than unlimited, and each day I only put on as much fare as I need for that day.) After this, I put some more money on it, went to a different turnstile, and the same thing happened. I went to the MTA ticket agent, and she told me to go through the special turnstile, so that took care of that.

But such incidents have been occurring with increasing frequency over the past few days. I was thinking today that this could have something to do with my card somehow, even though it doesn't expire until March and looks OK physically. Then again, something could be wrong with my swiping technique, as silly as it sounds. This leads me to ask, MeFites: how exactly do you swipe the MetroCard? I know that for me, the turnstiles are a bit narrow, so I kind of have to go in sideways, and sometimes I have a backpack on, so that may have something to do with it. But it shouldn't. How do you guys do it? I know this may sound like a stupid question (hence why I'm posting anonymously), but I feel like there's something in it (the speed, etc.) that I'm missing.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, both by me and my bank account.

Where's the video of the guy laughing on the subway?

slappy_pinchbottom — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 10:55:06 -0800

Where can I find that video of the guy who starts laughing on a subway car and it infectiously spreads to all the passengers? Can't believe my google-fu is failing me here, but there you go. (I was reminded of that video by this great recording of Alan Watts.)

Help my pooch become a therapy dog!

coffeeflavored — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 21:18:03 -0800

How can I get my medium-sized dog to my place of work once a week if I live in Brooklyn and have no car? Can I sneak him onto the M train without being caught? On Monday I'll be starting a job as a bereavement counseling intern at a senior center in Boro Park in Brooklyn, NY. The center recently experienced the retirement of its therapy dog and is looking for a new one. My own dog, a Border Collie mix, is friendly, fairly gentle, and unusually even-tempered. With a little more training, I think he would be a perfect therapy dog. My supervisor told me that she'd like it if I could bring him to work on occasion since the presence of a friendly dog can encourage our clients to open up a bit more than usual and goes a long way in cheering seniors dealing with loss.

The problem is that I live in Williamsburg and can only get to work by taking the M train down to 62nd St. I'm unfamiliar with the M train around that area, but I've got a hunch that riders can get away with more illegal activity the emptier the train is (and the M train is EMPTY by that point) and the further the train travels from Manhattan into less-populated neighborhoods. Is this true? Does anyone here have experience with sneaking their dog onto the subway on a regular basis?

Otherwise, can anyone think of another way I could get my dog to Boro Park once a week to work as a therapy dog? I don't think he'll qualify as a service dog and he's too big for a crate or my lap, so the subway is probably out unless someone can confirm it would be A-OK. I can't afford a taxi, car service, or car rental. My friends have suggested that maybe I can bring him on a mysterious "Chinese bus" that can take me to Boro Park and on which all sorts of illegal happenings are allowed, but that sounds like crazy-person talk to me. Others mentioned cheap "Hasid taxis." This sounds even crazier. Please tell me anything you know about them if they do exist, though.

do your worst copper!!

oblio_one — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 18:37:19 -0800

Can a New York Transit Authority ticket catch up with me back home in Los Angeles? Have received a ticket in NY but am a CA resident with no ties to the NY area.

When filling out the ticket the PO took down my SSN, Ca driver's license number, cell phone, and the address of our host. My partner's ticket has only the host's address and license number, no SSN or phone number. The driver's license state is not recorded on the ticket, and the violation is 4(a) entered without payment.

Our host insists we ignore the ticket, that nothing can happen. I will without any question pay the fine to avoid even the possibility of trouble, but am now looking into the issue for purely hypothetical / curiosity reasons.

It seems from Internet searching that since CA and NY are both members of the DLC a traffic violation could prevent license registration in CA, but it's not clear if this qualifies. It also seems clear that were I to travel back to NY at any given time in the future I could find a warrant issued over the violation, and that another worst case is getting calls from a collection agency. Again I will pay the fine regardless of what I learn about it, am just interested in knowledge for it's own sake. Has anyone experienced this or have any insight?

NYC subway station coordinates?

lupefiasco — Thu, 21 May 2009 11:10:40 -0800

Where can I find a listing of the coordinates (latitude, longitude) of all the New York City subway stations?

Can I be this much of a New York Jew?

Jon_Evil — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 05:18:43 -0800

When one buys a 30-day unlimited MetroCard from the NYC Subway, are those thirty days counted from the date of purchase or the date of first use? Subway fare is about to go up (again!), and I'm wondering if I can save money by buying a bunch of cards now, and activating them as needed. From the perspective of the City government, use-based dating would lose them money, but I seem to remember this being the way it works.

Put it in yah system

Potomac Avenue — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 10:12:32 -0800

Do commuters ever swap ipods on the subway? A friend of mine in New York told me that he sometimes asks people what they're listening to on his way from Brooklyn to Manhattan which leads to spontaneously switching ipod headphone jacks. He says that sometimes people (often young women, but not as a rule) will ask him to do the same. It doesn't result in a pickup or anything, just a nice change of pace. He's not a particularly gorgeous or gregarious guy, he claims it's just a mild form of neighborliness on NY subways.

Has this ever happened to you, wherever you are?
Have you heard of it happening to others?
Whether this is real or not, how would I go about asking strangers to swap musical worlds with me for my own 30 minute metro ride in the morning?

Subways! Maps! Intruiging namelessness!

soma lkzx — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 09:03:44 -0800

I've made the greatest site on the internet, now it needs a name! Cue cards feature: subways, minutes, maps Now that all of the math is out of the way, I've got a pretty neat site: you plug in an address in NYC, and it shows you a colored map (barometric pressure style) on top of google maps of how long it takes to get everywhere else in the city. Looks kinda like this. But it needs a name, and anything I can think of seems to be taken.

It needs to be halfway memorable, but I really don't have many standards beyond reusability - if I end up doing this for systems outside of NYC the name needs to come with it. Maps, colors, transit, subways, rail, and anything else related is fair game. I lean towards the more twee or singsong options (like, say, triptastic or triptrop), and the less misspellings/homophones/etc I have to buy the better.

Getting to Newark from Manhattan

greta simone — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 09:41:15 -0800

Cheapest way to get to Newark airport from the city? I have a flight out of Newark at 9pm Monday night. I'll be running around Manhattan most of that day with only a small overnight bag, so luggage isn't an issue. I'm trying to find the cheapest way to get to Newark from where ever in the city I can get to by subway. I took the Blue Van into the city, which was cheap, but I don't think they do pick-ups to take you back to the airport. I prefer something uncomplicated, meaning I don't want to have to take two trains and then two buses or anything like that, but also cheap, so no NYC cabs straight there. Something in the middle would be best. I don't know exactly where I'll be in the city when it's time for me to leave, but I'm open and can catch a train anywhere.
Thanks for your help!

Billy on the Subway

sdsparks — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 12:31:22 -0800

Would I be silly to bring a largeish bookcase on the NYC subway? So I just bought a bookcase off Craigslist, your normal Billy from Ikea, dimensions:
Width: 31 1/2 "
Depth: 11 "
Height: 79 1/2 "
I need to get it from Park Slope to the Lower East Side and I can't figure out if its crazy to bring it on the F train. I keep going back and forth. 80 pounds won't be too heavy for two people right? Will the subway officials let me enter the station with it? Will it be too obnoxious for other riders? Will the F train be too full at 10:15 AM? I don't want to be a nuisance, I just want to save 50 bucks off the man with a van. So, thoughts? Sorry if this is too specific for MeFi, fell free to delete it if that's the case. Thanks!

Subway to Boston from where?

starman — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 10:50:51 -0800

Place to stay on the outskirts of Boston? We're looking for a place to stay in Boston for a night or two this summer. We'd like to avoid crazy traffic and stay somewhere we could subway into the city. Any recommendations for specific places or areas?

Extra points if it has some nice walks/neighborhoods/etc. around it. (Is the Harvard/Cambridge area a good way to go?)

Yet another headphone question

Diskeater — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 21:15:55 -0800

I'm looking for some great headphones and I'm lost in a vast sea of information. Help? I just got a job in the big city. Go me! My new commute will now be a half hour walk and subway ride, so I’m going to need some good headphones. I’ve relied on a $5 pair of Coby earbuds that are just awful and I want to upgrade to something a lot better.

I’ll mainly be using the headphones with my Sandisk Sansa E280 and occasionally with my PC and laptop.

I’ve usually owned closed headphones but they tend to be pretty bulky and I don’t want to look like a total loser when I’m on the subway. I’d be willing to buy closed headphones if they weren’t too large.

I was never a fan of earbuds but a lot of people swear by them so I’m willing to give them a chance. Same with in-canal headphones but frankly….the idea of those scare me just a little bit.

Cost is not really an issue but I don’t really want to spend $500 if I can get a great pair for $50.

I’ll mainly be using these when I’m on the subway so noise reduction/lack of noise bleed is pretty important. I don’t tend to listen to my music that loudly when I wear headphones. I listen to a wide variety of alternative rock (Radiohead, Mars Volta, Rage Against the Machine, etc) as well as some classic rock and more “ambient” rock (M83, Sparklehorse, Mercury Rev, My Bloody Valentine). I never listen to rap, hip hop, or podcasts.

I have checked out the AskMe questions about headphones and the various recommended links (like this one) but I haven’t found anything that really jumps out at me just yet.

That’s where you guys come in. Thanks!

Coping with "extreme commuting"?

oostevo — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:04:49 -0800

Anybody have tips for how a recently graduated college student who is used to rolling out of bed and stumbling to class can cope with a many-hours-long commute? Through a sort of comedy of errors, it looks like what I thought would have been a temporary commuting problem ('problem' here being a commute that averages 2 hours each way, sometimes stretching over 4 when there are traffic or public transportation problems) will be with me for the next year or so.

Does anyone who has survived having an obscene commute in the past have any advice for how to cope? Even simple things, like how to get used to leaving before dawn and getting back after dark, to podcasts, to how to eat marginally healthy meals with so few hours in the day to do things like cook would be appreciated. I drive to a subway and take that the rest of the way, for what it's worth.

(N.B.: I've tried nearly every avenue I can think of to remove myself from the situation, but the commute's not changing for the next several months, at least. So, while I'd understand reactions of "you dumbass! stop doing that!", it really wouldn't be constructive)

Why can you get a free ride (literally) using LA's subway?

invisible ink — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 19:14:47 -0800

Why is LA's Metro subway line on the "honor system?" What possible benefits, financial and otherwise, could arise from not checking to see if everyone is a paying customer? I've seen officials checking tickets at Union Station, but never on a daily basis - and even so, that's just one stop. This baffles me to no end. Why would the City of Los Angeles and/or the MTA decide to not enforce payment?

New York Subway Fiction Suggestions

billtron — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 07:15:44 -0800

LiteratureFilter: Yo metafilterland. I'm on a quest for two things: literary representations of the new york city subway, the more personal and sensorial the better, and literary representations of a new york city without subways, circa before 1904. Non-fiction and suggestions are welcome as well, as are examples that use less stringent definitions of "text" (film, song lyrics, dance etc).

Wrong. Shockingly wrong!

Morrigan — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 19:18:29 -0800

Extremely long shot horror movie question involving cats and the French subway system. In the late 1960s or early 1970s, I was scared witless by a televised movie involving a cat (cats?) in the subway system in France that somehow lured victims onto the electrified rail. Any idea what this movie was?

Classical Underground

mockdeep — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 18:17:14 -0800

How is it to be a subway performer? I play classical guitar and have at times considered taking it down into the Chicago underground. I'm not struggling by any means, but in idle fancy at times I wonder what it might be like to go practice in the subway. Are there specific stations where performers are allowed? Is there some sort of schedule that performers go by? Would it be bad form for me to take my art down there if I'm not having trouble making ends meet? Can anybody here relate some of their personal experience playing at train stations?

What's the profitability of getting into the restaurant industry?

CWitt — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 11:27:19 -0800

What is the profitability of a small restaurant? I'm a young entrepreneur graduating soon from college and can not bring myself to getting a 9 to 5. I want to be self-employed and I know that I will be successful. I think the first step is entering a business that I know will make me some residual income.

I've become very interested in owning a small restaurant. I cannot decide if the restaurant industry is for me or not, but I think I could succeed. I could obviously start my own local cafe or something, but I'm worried of the risks. I quick fix could be to open a Subway or Quizno's franchise (something with a low franchise fee), but I don't know if they are very profitable. Does anyone own a franchise restaurant or regular restaurant that could offer some rough figures to get me going in the right direction?

Looking for a good printable nyc subway map

(bb|[^b]{2}) — Fri, 16 May 2008 20:49:01 -0800

I'm looking for a good printable map of nyc's subway system. NFT has lots of great maps, but not a big one that covers the whole system and can easily fit in my back pocket. Any suggestions?

Tell loud headphone users on mass transit to turn it down?

shivohum — Fri, 09 May 2008 22:49:30 -0800

Have you ever been riding on mass transit next to someone whose headphones are so loud you can hear them several feet away? If so, do you ask them to turn it down?

Is forever longer than 6 months?

ktoad — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 09:51:24 -0800

I was wondering about Patrick Moberg & Camille Hayton, the NYC subway couple from last year. Anyone know if they're still together? I suppose it's probably nobody's business but their own, but in a very cold world, sometimes the idea of "meant to be" is appealing.