Driving in most of New York City proper is - by all accounts - only for those comfortable with heavily congested traffic. Especially during rush hour, the sheer volume of vehicles on the city's street make navigation difficult at best. If you are planning to drive yourself to and from your destinations, parking may be the biggest challenge as well as the biggest expense. Take time to check out parking options near where you're going until you become familiar with locations of available parking.

If you want to know more about parking, parking permits and availability of parking for the handicapped, you should contact the New York City Department of Transportation. For handicap access, write to the NYC Department of Transportation, Parking Permits for People with Disabilities, 28-11 Queens Plaza North, 8th Floor, Long Island City, NY 11101-4008 or check out the DOT website at http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/permits/nyc-pppd.html. You'll find links at this site that will give you up-to-date information about current driving conditions in the city as well as guides to parking and rules about side street parking, especially as they pertain to holidays.

If you choose to use the city's parking lots or selected parking spaces around the city, you may want to purchase a prepaid parking card to be used similarly to a credit card in city parking meters. To learn more about the city's parking card program or to purchase a card, visit the DOT website at http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/motorist/parking/municard.html or go to the NYC & Company Visitors Information Center, 810 Seventh Avenue. You should note that the city has implemented an experimental program to allow credit card use at some parking meters. Check out the city's website for more information.

The good news is that the city has several public transit systems and there are additional private transportation companies available. You can choose from bus, subway, train, taxi or private car.

If you're out for a Sunday drive through the city's subway system, you may be interested in seeing what's posted at http://www.nycsubway.org/index.html. While this is not an official site of the New York City subway system, there are some great pieces of information posted here, including where you'll find the best artworks in the subway. You'll also find historic information, routes and scheduling.

One of the city's public transportation systems is outlined at http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/nyct/service/bus/bussch.htm. The Metropolitan Transit Authority operates a bus and train system purported to be an excellent benefit to New York City residents and visitors. In an effort to keep pace with commuter demands for easier access, the MTA system offers a prepay system for easier access for regular patrons of the service. It's averaged that more than 7 million passengers use the system on an average weekday and MTA has more than 63,000 employees on the payroll as of 2005.

Regardless of the amount of public transportation and efforts to make parking more convenient, congestion is bound to be an issue in a city of this size. Many people take advantage of the city's bicycle routes both as a form of transportation and a means of exercise. You'll find more information on bike routes from Transportation Alternatives at http://www.transalt.org/blueprint/appendix/steps.html.

--

Got something to add to this section? Spotted something which should be changed? Please let us know!

Click here to return to the contents page for "New York - an expatriate guide."