Getting around NYC: taxis, buses and the subway
Yellow and green taxis, buses and the subway: fares, how to pay and the official timetables in one place.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons, by Ferdinand Stöhr (CC0)
Taxis
Only yellow and green taxis can pick you up when you hail one on the street. Street hails always run on the meter.
Yellow taxi
Where: Street hail anywhere in New York City.
How to spot one: Yellow, with taxi “T” markings and the medallion number on the roof and sides.
Green taxi
Where: Street hail in northern Manhattan (above E 96th St and W 110th St) and in the outer boroughs.
How to spot one: Green, with taxi “T” markings and the license number on the roof and sides.
Extras and airport trips
- Every trip also adds a $1.00 Improvement Surcharge, and trips ending in the city add the 50¢ MTA State Surcharge. Tips and tolls come on top.
- No extra charge for more passengers, luggage or paying by card. The meter should read “Rate #01 – Standard City Rate.”
- Always take your receipt: it shows the medallion or license number if you leave something behind.
Buses
Local, limited, rush and Select Bus Service buses cost the same as the subway, and one free transfer is included.
- Tap a contactless card, phone, watch or OMNY Card on the reader. Board at the front door; on Select Bus Service, board at any door.
- One free transfer within two hours: bus to bus, bus to subway or subway to bus. Use the same card or device. A transfer to an express bus costs the difference.
- From 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., on local routes you can ask the driver to let you off between stops, at a safe place along the route.
- MetroCards can no longer be bought or refilled (since January 1, 2026). Exact change in coins still works on local, limited, rush and Select Bus Service buses for now.
Subway
The subway runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week: 472 stations on 25 routes.
- Open 24/7, 365 days a year. Tap in at the turnstile when you enter; you don’t tap when you exit.
- In Manhattan, “Uptown” means north and “Downtown” means south. The color of a line shows its Manhattan trunk line; the letter or number is the train.
- Up to three children under 44 inches ride free with a fare-paying adult.
More on getting around
Checked on September 29, 2026. Sources: NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission (Taxi Fare, Your Ride); MTA (Subway and bus fares, Tap and ride, Riding the bus, Riding the subway). Fares change; the official pages have the final word.
Taxis: Wikimedia Commons, by Z22 (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Bus: Wikimedia Commons, by AEMoreira042281 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Subway: Wikimedia Commons, by IliketrainsR211T (CC BY 4.0) · Busway card: Wikimedia Commons, by The Transit Fan (CC BY-SA 4.0)