One of the perks of going to college at Fordham University is the proximity to all of the museums, markets and parks that each of NYC’s five boroughs have to offer. Yet, once you find out where you want to spend your first Saturday on campus, you have to figure out how to get there. Whether you are coming from a rural town, the suburbs or another city, the transportation systems of New York City can be extremely overwhelming. Just the subway alone has so many names, numbers and the terrifying “express” service, that it feels like one has to solve the Da Vinci Code in order to visit the Met. In all honesty, it took me a few years to try out most of the methods to get around the city. Hopefully, I can shorten that process for you with a few quick tips. 

For the most convenient transportation, use the Ram Van services. These vans shuttle Fordham students back and forth from Rose Hill (the Bronx campus) to Lincoln Center (the Manhattan one). During the school year, the vans run every thirty minutes from 6:15 a.m. to 11 p.m. from  Monday to Wednesday and from 6:15 a.m. to 3 a.m. from Thursday to Saturday. Check out their website, https://ramvan.web.fordham.edu/, for more specific information and to reserve your seat on a van. Ram Vans are perfect for traveling to classes, or visiting the city (what many New Yorkers and Fordham students call Manhattan) for fun. Single tickets cost $3.50, but you can purchase a bundle of 12 for the discounted rate of $35. Fordham also provides students taking classes at Lincoln Center with enough passes to cover their transportation to and from class, free of charge. I’d highly recommend taking the Ram Van, as it is the easiest form of transportation from the Bronx to Manhattan. 

Fordham Rose Hill also has a few shuttle services that run at night, escorting students from the nearby subway stations to campus and from campus to their off-campus apartments. These shuttles are completely free, so keep an eye out for them if you ever find yourself traveling late at night. 

Learn the subway’s lingo. The subway is the circulatory system of the city, pumping people from place to place as the heart pumps blood through the body. Understanding how to navigate it is an essential step in order to travel, but it can be really confusing for those not used to it. At all subway stations, too, the signs will say in what direction the trains are running by naming the start and end of the train’s route. If you familiarize yourself with the major areas of the city, you’ll have no trouble. 

At Fordham, the nearest subway stations are the D train and the 4 train. Both run north to south (referred to as uptown and downtown on subway maps and signs), but they go down different sides of Manhattan. The D runs down the west side, while the 4 runs parallel on the east side. To get to these stations, you can walk or take the Bx12 bus to the stations a few blocks up Fordham Road. At night, a Fordham shuttle will be at either station to escort students safely back to campus. 

The subway is the cheapest and often fastest way to get around the city, so learning your local stations, and which trains will take you where, is really important. Not to mention, you’ll feel like a real New Yorker the first time someone asks you which train they should take. (Even if you have no idea.)

Ride the MetroNorth, the Connecticut commuter rail. The MetroNorth is an easy and fast way to travel to Grand Central Terminal in Midtown or north for a break from the city, especially with the Fordham station located directly outside of campus. During peak hours, tickets between Fordham and Grand Central Terminal can be a bit pricey, but during off-peak hours you can purchase a city ticket –– which only applies to rides within city limits––for $5. Traveling north into Westchester costs only $3. For Saturday thrifting, Sunday brunch or whatever else you might have planned for the weekend, this can often be a really good deal. 

Do not discount the bus. The bus is a great option for traveling to either the 4 or D Train subway stops, as well as north Manhattan. It takes about twenty minutes to reach Inwood, the northernmost Manhattan neighborhood. There you can visit Inwood Hill Park, the Met Cloisters and eat at a lot of great restaurants. Riding the bus can also take you to some of the nearby parks, including Van Cortlandt Park and Pelham Bay Park. The latter has a beach, which, during the remaining days of the summer, is definitely nice to have nearby. 

In the Bronx, the subway system is not as dense as it is in Manhattan. The buses cover a lot of ground that the subways simply do not reach, allowing those who take them to explore much more of the borough we are lucky enough to call home.

Learning how to use the different modes of transportation is essential for exploring New York City in a safe and cost-effective way. Do not be afraid to branch out and visit somewhere new. We are lucky to find our campus in one of the most interesting cities in the world, it would be a shame to waste it.