If you need a ride, don't…
TAKE A PEDI-CAB

Pause on any street corner near Times Square or Herald Square and an insistent pedal-pusher will attempt to take your wallet for a ride—quoting as much as $25 to tow you 20 blocks. Since no self-respecting New Yorker will stand for the price-gouging, hopping aboard will flag you as a tourist faster than strapping on a fanny pack or donning a Red Sox cap. And skip the taxis, too: expensive, often terrifying, and bad for the planet.

Instead…
TAKE THE SUBWAY

On an average weekday, straphangers take over 5 million trips on the NYC subway system. That's because it's safe, fast, easy to navigate, environmentally friendly, in operation 24/7, and cheap. Savvy visitors also know that subway cars offer better people-watching than Greenwich Village and more cultural immersion than the United Nations: Board any car and you'll be surrounded by a cross section of city dwellers, from artists to bankers to just-off-the-boat immigrants. (Just try not to stare.) Remember, too, that NYC is a great walking city. At the fast clip favored by locals, you can hoof it from Times Square to Central Park in less than 20 minutes.—Lynn Suhrie

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