Train, Bus, or Something Else?: Factors Affecting Transportation Decisions

Stuyvesant students come from all corners of New York City and take every form of transportation imaginable, from buses to trains to shuttles to simply walking. While everyone shares the end goal of getting to school, every student has a different commute story depending on their unique circumstances. When determining how to commute, every student has to consider their location, available transportation methods, cost, safety, reliability, and parental approval. However, because no mode of transportation is ever perfect, many students do not have the option to choose a commute that will fulfill all those considerations. Therefore, students must evaluate their priorities to determine their best option, leading to a variety of unique opinions regarding how to commute to school. 

For underclassmen who have yet to gain experience traveling alone in New York City, parents often exert the biggest influence on their child’s commute decisions, opting for what is most convenient for their child to ensure the best for them. Some parents drive their children to school, hoping to save them some commuting time. Other transportation services, like trains or even buses, serve as a backup in case the parent is not able to drive their child that day. “I like using the train because my dad is not available to drive me to school or pick me up every day of the week. He drives me because it is most convenient for me,” sophomore Phon Myat Mo said.

Sophomore and Brooklyn resident Liam Wang also prioritizes convenience and efficiency, especially since, where he is from, transferring from one train to the next can be unfavorable. “My favorite means of commuting to Stuy is being driven due to how it makes my commute much less of a hassle and makes it so I don’t have to transfer [trains] as much,” Wang stated in an email interview.

Additionally, safety is a primary concern that parents have. Incidents of public disturbances can quickly descend into chaos and create an unsafe environment. “I saw this random woman on the phone with no one, yelling at a sleeping guy for trying to eavesdrop on her conversation. No joke—I looked at her phone, and there was no one on call with her. She just had it held up to her ear and was screaming like crazy at him,” Mo recalled. “At some point, he did wake up, and the woman did not stop. So this absolute specimen of a guy just goes back to sleep.” 

No mode of transportation is flawless, and with public transportation comes concerns for safety, privacy, and peace. “My parents definitely influenced me. They decided for me to use the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) since they deemed the 7 train unsafe. They considered it too long of a commute for me since I live a 40 minute bus ride from the last stop on the 7,” freshman Florence Zhao stated. This is a common phenomenon for Queens residents.

Equally as common for Queens residents, however, is riding the 7 train, often because of financial considerations. School-provided OMNY cards provide benefits for more accessible transportation, offering four rides daily, including during weekends and the summer. Thus, some students rely solely on the subway despite safety concerns, choosing to prioritize affordability. “I choose to take the 7 train instead of the LIRR, mainly because of the price. The LIRR is over $100 a month, but I can take the 7 train for free with my OMNY card,” stated sophomore and Queens resident Junling Gao. “Although I know it might be safer to take the LIRR, I prioritize the price. I can do many things using $100. I think it’s more worth it for me to take the 7,” Gao continued. OMNY cards only cover city transport—the subway and buses—so students prioritizing low-cost or free transportation are restricted to these options. 

These restrictions are universal across all boroughs, forcing students to opt for more unconventional methods of transportation due to more comfortable methods’ high costs. Sophomore and Staten Island resident Julinda Dimnaku’s commute was similarly shaped by the limitations of student OMNY cards; student passes do not cover fares for express buses. “I go to Stuy by taking the Staten Island Railroad train to the ferry,” Dimnaku said. “I choose to take the ferry because the express bus costs seven dollars each way, and the OMNY card doesn’t work for that.” 

For other students, convenience outweighs price. These students, including sophomore Shirley Liu, choose modes of transport with the shortest commute time. “I chose the shortest option, and that’s the LIRR. I live close to the station, but if I had lived farther away, maybe I would consider carpooling or something,” Liu explained. 

Upperclassmen who oftentimes have more freedom over their commute have a responsibility to educate themselves on their available transportation options before choosing. This is the case for senior and Brooklyn resident Muhib Muhib. “On the F line in Brooklyn, there are two trains in each direction (express trains) that each skip six stops, so that saves around 10 minutes, but there’s only two in the morning and two in the afternoon,” Muhib described. Preferred trains can be rigid and untimely, creating a very stressful situation to make it onto these trains in time. “They save quite a bit of time, but they also don’t exist for most of the day, so basically no flexibility. They also have the normal local train, which means 10 more minutes [...] That also means more time that’s wasted to wake up earlier and less time to do work, rest, or that sort of thing.”

Like many other students, Muhib often finds the subway system inconvenient. However, he is actively trying to fix this problem on a large scale. “When [the express] doesn’t run, I have to spend more time on the train. I am trying to get that changed,” stated Muhib. “I’m part of another train association, the Joint Transit Association. We’re trying to get the MTA to increase the level of service from that measly level of service to something at least decent.” The change that this association advocates for would have a huge impact on all commuters, not just Stuyvesant students.

Trains are not the most reliable mode of transportation due to frequent train delays and accidents, making commuting by train less effective. “The reliability of trains right now is somewhat low due to an increasing number of accidents and shutdowns that leave the older trains much more vulnerable to malfunctions. The giant flood that took out the entire subway system last year affected a ton of my friends, and it made them get home two to three hours later than they usually would because of the delays, canceled trains, and because the buses had trouble going places in Brooklyn,” Wang described.

However, some go the extra mile to make their travel more efficient, working with both the options they have and their understanding of and experience with the system. “My priority is generally to minimize my travel time and maximize the time I have. And, often, when luck is on my side, I can get it down very decently. There have been times I’ve done my morning commute in 26 minutes, whereas it would normally take around 35 to 40 minutes. You can optimize it,” Muhib said. He uses a few online tools, such as goodservice.io, which tracks train arrival times and delays, to plan his commute. “[One website] allows you to see each trip as a graph. You can see, for example, how long it takes between each station,” Muhib explained. “It’s really helpful for circumstances such as planning a transfer when you can choose between two trains—especially on the F and the G lines, sometimes. You want to see which one will get there first.”

 A student’s commute is made difficult when taking reliability and timeliness into account. Travel time is often heavily influenced by how frequent the transportation arrives and how reliable it is. “I think [my commute time] is roughly the same, but it’s a different way of commuting,” Liu stated. “People who take the subway don’t have to wait 30 minutes for the train, so I have to time when I leave Stuy to make sure I don’t have to wait a long time.” Liu takes the LIRR, which arrives reliably but not frequently.

However, despite the infamous unreliability of public transportation, sophomore Puja Raut prioritizes the atmosphere’s enjoyability. "My favorite way of commuting is by train. I like the bustling energy of it, overall, even if it constantly has delays and issues,” Raut stated. 

Students’ commutes can also serve as a great opportunity to relax from the pressure of school and to spend time with friends. “Many of my friends take the subway, so it’s a really nice dopamine rush when I do see my friends while taking the subway,” Mo added. “I prefer taking the train because [...] I can see my friends more often.”

Meeting up with friends at the end of a long and exhausting school day motivates students to take the same transportation home with their friends. “I like going by train because I get to hang out with my friends for a bit longer. It’s where we debrief by just talking about how our days were; what’s coming up; complaining about whatever; and more. It’s a nice way to end my school day!” Raut stated.

Although no method of transportation is perfect, the events that students experience every day through their commutes—from witnessing a funny incident on the train to missing the bus by mere seconds and not going to the entirety of the first period—is an undeniably large part of a student’s life. Although many students hail from the same boroughs and similar locations, other aspects—such as parental control, cost, social life, and even age—all impact the way students go to school. Ultimately, students’ decisions on how they travel has a significant influence over their entire routine, from how they can use their time to how they navigate the city—to even their daily social interactions. Through such diverse stories, we can see that commuting is as individual as the students themselves.