You’ve never been to hell until you ride a New York City subway during rush hour. Since New York is a big city, rush hour has a big time frame, usually spanning about 2 hours in both the morning and evening. You can make your rush hour commute a tad more pleasant with a few strategic choices.
Pick your station wisely. Your best bet is to board at a busy station. Although you’ll have to put up with the masses on the platform, you will also be boarding a train that just let off a slew of passengers. Smaller stations sometimes get bypassed altogether during rush hour. If the train does stop at a smaller station, you will be glared at for trying to cram yourself onto an already packed train. Popular stations include 42nd Street, Union Square, Times Square and any one designated on a subway map by a white bubble.
Let other passengers off first. The conductor will yell this instruction several times, because people just don’t get it. It’s really hard to fit more people on a subway train unless you let the people who are disembarking get off first. Stand in the front of the mass of humanity on the platform, just to the side of the door. This way, once the horde gets off, you can squeak in quickly.
Find an anchor and guard it. Once you step onto the subway train, immediately find something to either lean against or hold onto. You don’t want to be a floating passenger who has no anchor. A seat is your best bet, but incredibly hard to come by. Instead, opt for an overhead rail to hold or a pole to lean on. Leaning near the door is good, but this is another prime territory that’s tough to acquire. Once you have your anchor, do not move. Someone will be out to steal that 2 inches of hand rail, so keep it firmly within your grasp.
Compact yourself. While still guarding your anchor, make yourself as compact as possible. This means removing your backpack and putting bags and parcels between your legs on the floor. And for goodness sake, put down that dang umbrella. Stand up as straight and thin as possible. You want to take up as little room as possible. It’s also a good idea to remove bulky coats and hats, not only to make you smaller, but so you don’t sweat to death in the cramped environment.
Guard your belongings. Even though your parcels are on the floor between your feet, keep them secure. One way is to wrap the strap of your bags around your legs, or bring a cord along to tie your coat and hat to your backpack. This way, no one can jostle you and run off with your stuff.
Know your stops. On especially packed trains, it’s often impossible to either hear or see what stop you are approaching. Make sure you know how many stops there are between the station where you got on and the one where you are getting off. Check the map if you are unsure.
Stand clear of the closing doors. No matter how crowded a train is, it will not close its doors if something is blocking them. Make sure you—and your stuff—are all the way inside the subway car.
