Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
trips individually. In New York City, the metro is $2.50 USD per ride but a seven-day unlimited-ride pass is
only $29 USD.
If I plan to be in a city for more than two days, I ask at the subway station, tourist information, or hostel
if fare cards are offered, and if they are, I purchase them. These tickets aren't advertised in tourism offices,
as they usually want you to buy their local tourist card instead. I just go into the closest metro station and ask
what options are available and select the pass that meets my needs. Never assume just because you aren't in
a city long that you can't get one of these cards. They aren't just for commuters!
Share a Ride
Need a ride? Get one with a local! The rise of the sharing economy has made it easier for locals to offer
to drive visitors around their city as well as post ride share opportunities. If you are going from Sydney to
Melbourne or London to Manchester and want to either share the cost of fuel or ride with someone instead
of taking the bus or train, there are websites to help facilitate that:
Liftshare
(liftshare.com/uk): UK based
Mitfahrgelegenheit
(mitfahrgelegenheit.de): in German
Gumtree
(gumtree.com): in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand
Kangaride
(kangaride.com): in Canada
BlaBlaCar
(blablacar.com): in Europe
In the United States, check out Lyft (lyft.com), Sidecar (side.cr), or Uber (uber.com) and get locals to
pick you up and drop you off where you need to go. They are often 30 percent cheaper than a taxi, though
rates are “suggested” donations and the companies take a commission. While still predominantly U.S. and
Canada based, Uber and Lyft are slowly expanding overseas.
