Hey my favorite readers, it’s your favorite blogger and tour guide, THE RIDE! I hope everyone has recovered from your New Year’s Eve experiences. How’s that new gym membership treating you? Well whether you’re reading this from your iPhone on the treadmill or from the couch while you eat bon bons, you’re in for a real treat. Don’t worry, I won’t judge you either way. Today I aim to discuss the art of commuting into New York City. It’s not for the feint of heart, especially during these cold winter months. Many people commute to this city from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut, and these people, except the New Jerseyites, deserve some sort of medal for their commendable actions every day.
Driving is one way to do it. There’s something to be said for those suburban folks who get into their car each morning with a latte and brave the hour plus traffic extravaganza. These brave people can only arm themselves with AM radio stations to deliver up to date information about traffic and which tunnels to take. For news on the seven’s there’s 770, eight’s 880, and the ten’s 1010. These are true heros. Nobody on this planet deserves to listen to squelchy AM radio for any more than thirty seconds at a time. No matter what they hear on the radio, the traffic will always be backed up. The commuter assumes there must be a catastrophic accident up ahead, a toxic chemical spill, or a unicorn juggling swords, but no. It’s just some guy who ran out of gas in the middle of the highway.
The next effective way to commute into the city is by bus. Public transportation is pretty spectacular if you don’t mind close quarters with strangers. I mean, who can say no to sharing your morning coffee and bagel with a guy named Moe who works at the morgue? As amazing as this may sound, compared to driving in by yourself, you still have to sit in traffic, but it’s the bus driver’s job to freak out and beep at the stationary traffic ahead, not the commuter’s.
Taking the train is probably the most efficient way to make your way into the city. The seats are comfortable, there’s no traffic, and the only human contact you have to deal with is the conductor punching your ticket. Rain? Snow? No worries, just sit back and listen to your favorite Bob Marley album while the train gets you where you need to be on time. Occasionally the trains undergo “maintenance,” sometimes while you’re still aboard. This can take hours, days, or even months, before they are operational again. If the trains are down, the best option is to combine all of these forms of transportation into an epic commute of glory. This involves driving to the bus station, taking the bus to the ferry, taking the ferry to another bus station, and hopefully arriving at work sometime next year. That’s why I just stay here in NYC!