The sun isn’t yet up in New York City. For the rest of this cold Saturday, I will be riding public transit for fun.
With sales of the MetroCard ceasing Dec. 31, a train enthusiast and YouTuber, Miles Taylor, has planned a fitting send-off: He and three friends have set a challenge of riding, in a single day, every transit system that accepts the card.
For some reason, a New York Times photographer and I have asked to come along.
7:53 a.m.
Meet at Penn Station
The photographer Vincent Alban and I rendezvous with Mr. Taylor and his three companions. Mr. Taylor, 25, who runs the YouTube channel “Miles in Transit,” has done his homework, preparing a detailed spreadsheet to map out the day’s journey. But as anyone who rides a lot of public transportation knows, things often go wrong. And by the way, it snowed overnight. That won’t be a problem, will it?
Our first trip is to Newark on NJ Transit, which doesn’t take the MetroCard, so our odyssey officially begins with …
8:30 a.m.
PATH train to World Trade Center
On the half-hour ride into New York City, Mr. Taylor describes how his love for public transport began when he was 2. Now his channel has 80,000 subscribers (twice during our day together, another passenger recognized him). His videos show him taking unusual journeys like a trip from Mexico to Canada using only local transit and an effort to ride all 45 Los Angeles area bus systems in a weekend.
His worst experience, he says, was a cross-country ride on Greyhound buses from Boston to Seattle that included delays, cancellations, rerouting and a driver nearly pulling away with his luggage. “But it was great content,” he says.
9:08 a.m.
4 subway train to 59th Street
All four of the transit lovers we’re traveling with are making careers out of their passion. Mr. Taylor works for the Boston transit authority. Jeremy Zorek is studying for a Master’s degree in urban planning at Hunter College. Sunny Zheng works for New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates the MetroCard.
The fourth member of the group, Dashiell Friesen, was so frustrated by the signage at a Montreal train station that he designed and installed his own. That led to a job with the city’s transit authority.
Straphanging with them is a transit education. They seem to notice everything, no matter how small. Maps, announcements, timetables. The circumference of the poles (Mr. Taylor says skinnier poles offer a better grip).
As we pull in at 59th Street in Midtown Manhattan, one of the group suddenly declares: “This is not the normal discharge platform.”
9:38 a.m.
Tram to Roosevelt Island
The MetroCard, which, yes, is accepted on the Roosevelt Island Tramway over the East River, was never as beloved as the subway token (1953-2003). The card will still work for a bit longer into 2026, but its days are numbered.
Its demise brings no glee to this crew. To Mr. Taylor, the tap-and-go OMNY card that the M.T.A. is switching to screams, “We are bland, and proud of it.”
9:57 a.m.
F train to Sutphin Boulevard
The Roosevelt Island station is deep underground. But it is not the subway station farthest below the surface; that is 191st Street in Washington Heights, the transit lovers tell me.
They don’t have to look this stuff up, by the way.
There is great anticipation for one moment on this leg: when the recorded announcer says, “Next stop, Briarwood.” Her voice inexplicably swells with enthusiasm on the name “Briarwood,” like it’s Eden or Valhalla.
We arrive in Queens, and suddenly, we are running to an M.T.A. bus stop.
10:35 a.m.
Q44 bus to Jamaica
Missing this bus would be a blow to finishing the challenge in a timely manner. Though lumbered with snow boots and camera equipment, we manage to make it.
We swipe our MetroCards before boarding, then get a little receipt to hand to the driver. It’s small things like this that help keep transit fans excited.
A bang-bang-bang sound alarms the journalists on board, but the transit enthusiasts quickly explain: it’s the snow chains on the bus tires.
10:55 a.m.
n22 NICE bus to 264th Street
On to the Nassau County, N.Y., bus system — but first, trouble strikes. Some of us need to reload our MetroCards, but we haven’t passed a place that still offers that service. The NICE buses aren’t taking the OMNY card yet, or any other card, and we don’t have nearly enough coins.
Luckily, the driver waves us aboard anyway.
Because this bus is run by Nassau County, it isn’t supposed to let passengers off within New York City limits. Yet when we get off at 264th Street it has done just that, increasing the frisson of lawlessness to this ride.
11:38 a.m.
Q43 bus to 188th Street; Q3 bus to AirTrain
Mr. Taylor periodically pulls out a camera to record his thoughts, a friend’s reaction or an unusual detail for his videos. One of his trademarks is dropping some knowledge and adding the tagline, “Now that’s a fun fact.”
Let’s try one. Did you know that in Osaka, Japan, bus riders enter from the back and exit from the front? Now that’s a fun fact.
Train fanatics are sometimes known as “foamers,” as if they actually foamed at the mouth from enthusiasm. The somewhat pejorative term has been embraced by rail fans, and when Mr. Taylor shows a noteworthy train or bus on his channel he declares it a “foamer shot.”
1:07 p.m.
AirTrain to Lefferts Boulevard
There is general agreement in our party that the $8.50 cost to ride the AirTrain to or from John F. Kennedy International Airport is a rip-off. Nevertheless, it takes MetroCard, so we get on.
Here’s a pro tip the next time you fly into J.F.K.: Take the AirTrain to Lefferts Boulevard long-term parking, then get off (it’s free to go there). Then take a bus to your destination or the subway.
2:17 p.m.
E train to Lexington/East 53rd Street
After a break for lunch, it’s back on the subway headed to Manhattan.
We won’t be taking a Q train today, but Mr. Zorek mentions that his favorite moment on the subway comes on the Q to Coney Island. Right before 7th Avenue, there’s a tiny gap in the wall between the tracks through which, if you’re lucky, you can spot a passing 2 or 3 train.
3:28 p.m.
BxM3 bus to Sedgwick Avenue
PATH, subway, Roosevelt Island tram, M.T.A. bus (local and express), NICE bus, AirTrain — surely we’ve done it all by now?
Nope, there are still two more modes to ride, inconveniently located at opposite ends of the metropolis: the Bee-Line bus serving Westchester County, N.Y., and the Staten Island Railway.
But as we ride the bus north toward Westchester, we discover a problem. A wrong number was entered into the spreadsheet, eight minutes instead of 68, making the original plan impossible. And there’s more drama as a machine eats a MetroCard and refuses to return it.
4:12 p.m.
Bx12 to Fordham
Mr. Taylor and his friends were hoping that in addition to completing the MetroCard challenge, they could also get to all three states where transit systems accept the card. After the setbacks, getting to Connecticut as originally planned seems daunting.
A less hardy member of the group offers: “Connecticut was a tertiary goal. Maybe we should focus on the primary goal.” (OK, that weak-willed traveler was me.)
In the end, the side trip to Connecticut is dropped. Phew.
4:38 p.m.
Bee-Line 61 to Baychester Avenue
The Bee-Line buses, which also run here in northern parts of the Bronx, raise the possibility of a bit of transit arbitrage. The cost of a ride is $2.75, and transfers to the subway are free. That’s a 15-cent savings from the regular cost of a subway ride.
But on Jan. 4, both fares rise to $3, and the hack will end.
4:49 p.m.
2 train to 14th Street
Our final mode of transport is way downtown. So why are we getting off the 2 subway train here?
Because of a miscalculation, some of us need to load money onto our MetroCards again. But places to refill them are almost nonexistent. Sure, we could tap to pay using another card, but why violate the spirit of the challenge so late in the game?
The advertised MetroCard machine at 14th Street proves to be a chimera. Trips to two PATH stations are also failures. But a third PATH station, amazingly, has a working machine! We’re reloaded and ready.
6:17 p.m.
1 train to South Ferry
And goodbye to the subway, because it’s time for the …
7 p.m.
Staten Island Ferry to St. George
We take a cold (but free) nighttime ferry ride for the sole purpose of traveling just one stop on the …
7:36 p.m.
Staten Island Railway to Tompkinsville
All completed!
Transit lovers are “a pedantic community,” Mr. Taylor says. And before a pedant speaks up — yes, the Hudson Rail Link bus system in the Bronx also takes MetroCards. But it’s closed on weekends. So Mr. Taylor rode it earlier in the week.
It was a long day, but Mr. Taylor and his companions (and a much more fatigued Times reporter and photographer) passed the challenge. Did we prove anything about the demise of the MetroCard or the future of public transit? Not really. That wasn’t the point. We did it because we could and because it was fun.
By the way, game as ever, Mr. Taylor and Mr. Zorek made it to Connecticut using their MetroCards the next day.
Victor Mather, who has been a reporter and editor at The Times for 25 years, covers sports and breaking news.
The post A Farewell Ride With the MetroCard, on Every Transit Line That Uses It appeared first on New York Times.
