NYC Subway versus DC Metro

As I wrote a couple times before, we took the train from DC to NYC for the weekend earlier this month. Riding the subway, metro and Amtrak all on the same day was quite the experience.

As we rode the metro (DC) from Union Station back to the apartment, it quickly filled with a huge crowd of sports enthusiasts; clearly some event had just let out. People were joking and talking and one lady saw that Chloe and I had become separated and moved a little, making some friendly comment about how packed the train was. I remarked back that at least it was clean and I felt safe, unlike on the subway in NYC earlier that day. Then a guy two seats away remarked “Well, at least you can take the subway early in the morning and late at night.” And on the friendly exchange went. And it got me thinking.

NYC Subway

Hours:
Here’s the one place that the NYC subway beats the DC metro. We had a 5am train from Union Station on Saturday morning, and metro wasn’t running yet. I don’t see hours listed on the metro website, but from what I have seen, metro doesn’t start running until 7am on the weekends. That’s ridiculous.

Cleanliness:
Hands down, metro wins. The subway is disgusting. The stations are filthy. The trains are a bit better, but the stations? Yuck. Metro stations and trains have some litter (pick up after yourselves, people!) but are nowhere near as grungy as the subway stations.

Safety:
I have never felt unsafe on metro. Not even at the NY Ave stop at 10pm a night. Sometimes there are people asking for money, but I have never been worried. (Maybe I should?) But the subway…it does not bode well when the ticket agent is screaming into the speakers for 10 minutes for NYPD to come to her aid.

Tickets:
We weren’t in NYC long enough to really get a feel for this, but both girls had trouble swiping the paper cards at the turnstiles, as opposed to feeding paper cards to the readers in DC. Now that we have the “tap” cards in DC, it is a breeze.

Stroller friendliness:
On our last day in NYC, the stroller was completely laden down with our swag. In DC, careful maneuvering can get the stroller though without folding. In NYC, nope, no way. Stroller had to be folded to get through. In DC I can always find an elevator. Not true in NYC. Plus, Metro has escalators — no stairs. I don’t know if we saw a single escalator in NYC.

Getting from A to B:
Sure, NYC’s system is much farther reaching than DC’s. But when I look at a map, figure out what transfers I need to make to which letter train, I expect that train to go where it is marked to go. In DC, I have never been taken off to unknown places. In NYC, we got on the F train, but it went off on the C route instead of the F one. Huh? And I have now heard that this is quite common.

I’m sure I’ll think of more.

DC Metro