You Don’t Always Have To Take The Car In NYC

We’ve said it countless times, driving and owning a car in NYC can be quite difficult. That’s why sometimes it’s best to just leave the car at home. Not only do New Yorkers have other ways of getting around the city without a carr, it also can save them tons of money in the long run. After all, you don’t risk getting parking tickets or having to pay for gas. If you are trying to avoid the costs that come with car ownership, perhaps you may want to look at driving alternatives.

NYC Car Ownership By The Numbers

54.5 percent of New York City households are car-free. This shows that a lot of new yorkers already don’t use cars.  According to the data, only 1.4 million households in the City out of the total 3.1 million owned a car. Within the five boroughs, Manhattan has the lowest car ownership rates. Here, only 23% of households owning a car. This is followed by Brooklyn and the Bronx, with 44% and 46% respectively. Contrastly, a large majority of households in Queens and particularly in Staten Island own at least one car. Their rates are 64% and 84% respectively.

These overall ownership rates for NYC residents and homeowners is notably different than other places in the nation. On average, 92% of all households in the nation own at least one car and 20% report owning three or more vehicles. With these lower car ownership rates compared to other cities, New Yorkers have luckily found ways to get around town. Below are some driving alternatives you can use instead of your car. Not only can you save money, but avoid the hassle of getting a parking ticket.

What Are The Driving Alternatives Available To New Yorkers

If you’ve driven a car in the city, you already know that traffic can be a nightmare, especially during peak rush hour times. Instead of sitting bumper to bumper surrounded by car fumes as you think about the worst thing driving in the city brings (gas expenses, pay tolls, expensive parking garages not to mention those pricey parking tickets) your best bet may be to simply leave the car at home. Not only could you save money, you may also save time in traffic. Between mass transit and other modes of transit, Luckily New York City has a wide range of alternate ways to get around. Check out some of your options below. 

MTA Buses

The bus can either be a great way to get around or a nightmare, depending on where you live and what time it is. Regardless, the city has been making strides over the past decade to improve its bus services.

Subway

Despite all the recent bad press, the MTA has received recently, this is still probably one of the more obvious driving alternatives. The New York City subway is so old and seems so complex that many first-time riders get so overwhelmed and confused and just end up taking the wrong train to the last stop. But once you get the hang of things it becomes quite relatively easy to get around town.

In fact, many new yorkers see the subway as the single best part of living here in the city. You can go anywhere you want, whenever you want for a pretty cheap price (depending on what car you drive, you could spend $116, which will get you one month of unlimited riding, in a week). And that’s just the trains.

Walking

Ok, “duh” you may say. Walking is an obvious driving alternative,  but with this one, the problem needs to be looked at from a different angle. Here the decision isn’t just to walk or not, it’s really about how long the walk is. If you live many miles from where you’re going and have to walk block after block, sure it may not happen.

The option here is, may hinge on whether it’s possible to change where you live to make walking a more realistic option. Living closer to where you work as well as family and friends may be the best way to reduce the amount of time you spend in a car in the city. Most of the time this means a combination of walking, biking, and public transit.

Nevertheless, NYC’s best seen on foot. The city’s design and layout, particularly the grid system in Manhattan make it very easy for pedestrians to get around the city.  You just have to figure where you’ll start.

Bicycles

Bikes! Another one of the more driving alternatives, but a lot could be done to get more mileage out of it (pun intended). We know that bicycles could play a huge role in helping people get around in many big cities. Places like Copenhagen and Amsterdam have shown its possibilities yet bike culture is only starting to get more adopted in the United States. Nevertheless, cities like New York have led the way in investing more in bike infrastructures like bike-sharing programs and physically separated bike lanes. Bike maps are available so you can find the safest routes around the city. 

Have any other driving alternatives you’d like to share? Let us know in the comments below!