New York City Transportation

Public transit is overwhelmingly the dominant form of travel for New Yorkers. Almost one in every three users of mass transit in the United States and two-thirds of the nation’s rail passengers live in New York and its suburban area. This is in contrast to the rest of the country, where about 90% of commuters drive automobiles to their work. New York is the solely city in the United States where more than half of every households don't possess a car. According to the US Census Bureau, New York City occupants spend an average of almost one entire week a year getting to work, making it the longest commute time in the nation among large cities.

New York City’s public bus fleet and commuter track network are the greatest in North America. The rail network, which connects the suburban area in the tri-state region to the city, has more than 250 stations and 20 rail lines. The commuter rail system meets at Grand Central Terminal and Pennsylvania Station.

New York Subway is the largest fast transportation system in the world when measured by the count of stations in operation, with 468. It is the third-largest when measured by annual ridership. New York’s subway is likewise extraordinary because almost all of the system stays open 24 hours per day, in contrast to the overnight closure usual to systems in most cities, including London, Paris, Washington, DC, and Tokyo. The transportation system in New York is comprehensive and complex. It includes the longest suspension system bridge in North America, the world’s first mechanically aired vehicular tunnel, more than 12,000 yellow taxis, an cable tramway that transports commuters between Roosevelt Island and Manhattan, and a ferryboat system connecting Manhattan to several venues within and outside the city.

New York City is the top global air passenger gateway to the United States. The area is served by three great airports, John F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty International and LaGuardia, with plans for a fourth airport, Stewart International Airport near Newburgh, NY, to be taken over and enlarged by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, as a "reliever" airport to help cope with increasing passenger volume. A hundred million travelers used the three airports in 2005 and the city’s airspace is the most in use in the nation. Outbound international travel from JFK and Newark accounted for about a quarter of all U.S. travelers who went overseas in 2004.