City Transport of New York / Городской транспорт Нью-Йорка
Visitors to America are immediately struck by the number of automobiles on the highways and in the city streets. Cars fill the roads and crowd the streets of the city.
For a city like New York, city transport is a big problem. Though there are a lot of private automobiles, many people still use public transport. New York’s public transport includes the subway, an extensive bus and street car service and taxi cabs.
In rush hours it is better to take the subway.You walk a few blocks to the nearest subway and get downstairs. You buy some tokens at the change booth and get through the turnstile. Then you have to find the right platform. In New York subway system there are parallel tracks for local and express trains. The local train stops at eveiy station, the express only at every fifth or sixth station. It is very convenient to take an express if you go very far to the other end of the city. New York subway system is a rather complicated one.
New York has an extensive bus service operating on a transit basis. When a passenger enters a bus or street car and deposits his fare in the fare box, he may request a transfer. The driver or operator will give him a slip of paper on which there will be printed the time and direction of the trip. With this transfer, the passenger may get on another bus or street car at a transfer point on his route and continue his ride without additional cost.
A taxi cab service is another means of transportation in the city. There are no taxi stands and you can stop a taxi by whistling, shouting or raising your hand. Taxi cabs keep running along the streets all the time. Tips are a vital part of drivers’ earning.
(G. D. Tomakhin. Look at the USA. - Moscow: IRPH, 1966, p.p. 34-35, abridged, adapted)
