Getting Around the Upper West Side
The Upper West Side sits in the borough of Manhattan, bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. It is an affluent, primarily residential neighborhood, and many of its residents commute to commercial areas of Midtown and Lower Manhattan. For a visitor, that means the neighborhood is well connected to the rest of the city, and most of the practical decisions you'll make involve choosing between the subway, buses, taxis, and your own two feet.
How Tourists Move Around New York City
New York City's public transit is operated by MTA New York City Transit and runs 24 hours a day across all five boroughs. The subway is generally described as the easiest and quickest way to get around, and it is complemented by an extensive bus network, plus ferries and the Roosevelt Island Tram. All buses and portions of the subway are accessible for passengers with visual, hearing, and mobility disabilities; the MTA publishes an accessibility guide and a list of accessible stations.
Because service changes are common on weekends and late nights, it's worth checking mta.info or calling 511 (or 877-690-5116) before you travel, especially if you're relying on a particular line.
Paying Your Way: OMNY and Fares
The contactless payment system known as OMNY (One Metro New York) is the way to pay on buses, subways, the AirTrain, the Staten Island Railway, and the Roosevelt Island Tram. It replaced the MetroCard, which was retired at the end of 2025. Importantly, OMNY does not work on Metro-North, the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), NJ Transit, PATH, or NYC Ferry, so you'll need separate tickets for those.
- What readers accept: credit, debit, and reloadable prepaid cards; Google, Apple, and Samsung digital wallets; and wearables such as Apple Watch and Fitbit.
- OMNY card: costs $5 to buy (not counted toward your balance) with a minimum $1 load, and is reloadable with cash or credit at all subway stations and retail locations. Reduced-Fare OMNY cards are also available.
- Fares: $3 per subway or local bus trip regardless of distance ($1.50 Reduced-Fare); express bus $7.25 ($3.60 Reduced-Fare); a single-ride OMNY ticket is $3.50.
- Free transfers: within two hours of your first tap, using the same card or device. Single-ride OMNY tickets only allow transfers within the same system (subway-to-subway or bus-to-bus).
- Fare cap: after you've spent $35 ($17.50 Reduced-Fare) on subway and local bus travel within a 7-day period starting from your first tap, you ride free for the rest of that period.
- Children: up to three children, each no taller than 44 inches (1.12 m), ride free with a fare-paying adult.
The Subway
The subway is the backbone of getting in and out of the Upper West Side and reaching the rest of Manhattan. Transfers between subway lines are free as long as you don't exit through a turnstile, and subway-to-local-bus transfers (and vice versa) are free within two hours. Local-line stations are generally about 8 to 10 blocks apart, while express stops are farther apart, so an express train can save you time on longer trips.
The subway does not serve Staten Island; to reach it, take the free Staten Island Ferry or a bus, then the MTA Staten Island Railway, which runs from the St. George ferry terminal to Tottenville on the western side of the borough and connects to buses. Free subway maps are available from booth attendants or the MTA website, and the MTA Trip Planner covers both subway and bus routes.
Buses
Buses fill in the gaps the subway doesn't cover and are useful for short hops along the neighborhood's avenues and cross streets. They accept OMNY and exact coin change (no pennies or paper money), and all buses are wheelchair accessible.
- Watch the front sign: check whether your route is all-stops or limited/Select Bus Service (SBS). Limited and SBS routes don't make all stops.
- Boarding: board and pay at the front, except on SBS routes, where payment kiosks are on the sidewalk at the stop.
- One fare, full route: a single fare covers the entire route, with free transfers to another local bus or the subway within two hours.
- Frequency: buses generally run every 5 to 15 minutes depending on the time of day. Many routes run 24/7, but verify overnight service; schedules and maps are posted at stops.
- Real-time arrivals: text the six-digit stop code plus the route number to 511123, scan the QR code at the stop, or use MTA Bus Time.
- Stopping pattern: buses generally stop every other block on avenue routes and every block on cross-street routes. Between 10pm and 5am, local and express drivers stop on request where it's safe (express only when dropping off).
The MTA is also adding hybrid-electric and electric buses, with a goal of a zero-emissions fleet by 2040.
The Roosevelt Island Tram
Though it's across town from the Upper West Side, the Roosevelt Island Tram is worth knowing about if your plans take you east. It runs from East 60th Street and Second Avenue in Manhattan to Roosevelt Island, in the East River between Manhattan and Queens, and it accepts OMNY. It runs every 15 minutes off-peak and every 7.5 minutes during rush hour, with hours of Sunday–Thursday 6am–2am and Friday–Saturday 6am–3:30am. There are free transfers to and from MTA subways and buses, and up to three children no taller than 44 inches ride free with a fare-paying adult.
Taxis and Ride-Hailing
Yellow cabs are licensed and regulated by the NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission (TLC) and are available 24 hours. Hail one by looking for the illuminated roof number that indicates the cab is on duty, and board and exit curbside.
- Meter: the minimum metered fare is $3, increasing 70 cents per fifth of a mile or per minute, depending on speed.
- Surcharges: an MTA state surcharge of 50 cents per ride; a $1 improvement surcharge; a $2.50 rush-hour surcharge Monday–Friday 4–8pm (excluding holidays); a $1 nightly surcharge 8pm–6am; a NY State Congestion Surcharge of $2.50 for trips beginning, ending, or passing through Manhattan south of 96th Street; and an additional 75-cent MTA congestion charge for Manhattan south of and including 60th Street.
- No extra charges: there's no charge for extra passengers or luggage, and multiple stops are allowed at no extra charge (the meter stays on).
- Payment: cash and credit, debit, or prepaid cards are accepted. A customary tip is 15–20%, and bridge and tunnel tolls are extra.
Walkability
The Upper West Side is a compact, primarily residential neighborhood, and its layout makes walking a natural way to get around. From west to east, the avenues are Riverside Drive, West End Avenue (11th Avenue), Broadway, Amsterdam Avenue (10th Avenue), Columbus Avenue (9th Avenue), and Central Park West (8th Avenue). Broadway forms the spine of the neighborhood, running diagonally north–south across the other avenues at the south end and then running north parallel to them above 78th Street.
Central Park borders the neighborhood on the east, and Riverside Park runs along the Hudson River on the west, with the Hudson River Greenway along the river edge of the park serving as a common route for pedestrians and bicyclists. Between the two parks and the grid of avenues, much of what a visitor wants to see in the neighborhood is reachable on foot.
Getting From the Airport Into the City
If you're arriving by air, the practical connection into the city's transit system is the AirTrain, which accepts OMNY. From there, you can transfer to the subway or buses to reach the Upper West Side. Because service changes are common on weekends and late nights, check mta.info or call 511 before you travel, and use the MTA Trip Planner to map out your route from the airport to your destination.