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Under the busy streets of New York there are a series of tunnels, a labyrinth.  This massive maze has some areas dimly lit and others are pitch-black.  These are the famous New York City subway tunnels that extend all throughout the five boroughs of the massive city.  Above ground there are a fleet of busses that transport commuters for their destination of choice.

The architectural ingenuity that went into the foundations of the subway tunnels was new to the times during the Industrial Revolution.  The thought put into the web of bus routes, that now transport many passengers daily, makes this mass-transit efficient.  The skyscraper, which was also born during the time of the Industrial Revolution, could not be filled to capacity at the designated hours set for works and businessmen without these innovative forms of transportation.  Though the MTA was the not the first supplier of mass transportation, today it lays as one of the greatest, in the grandest City, New York City.  The MTA does not only hold significance in the past, but also in the present, what it represents.  With so many users of the service the MTA provides because of the business of the city, there are naturally rules to everyone gets to their destination safely.

            During the Industrial Revolution, predecessors of the MTA used the idea of mass-transit to accommodate the population of Cities which were growing exponentially.  Prior to 1953, there were various private and public transportation systems.  June 15, 1953 is the date when New York State Legislature established the New York City Transit Authority (TA), now known as the

Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), which was responsible for managing and operating all city owned busses, trolleys, and subway routes, according to the MTA’s website.  The MTA was offering its services to the young and growing city.  Even to the more immediate past, the day the Twin Towers were destroyed the MTA provided its services to the city.  September 11, 2001 many of the workers in the area used busses to reach safe distances,  and subways were used to transport workers and supplies to ground zero within hours of the horrific incident occurring.  The MTA was with the citizens of New York City for such a long time and it has grown well with the people.   Regardless of those off-days where a line is down, a bus is late, etc. the MTA has been an important part the growing city.

            Periodically, extensions were added to Subway lines.  Bus routes were weaved in and out of the already complicated web.  The timeline on their website illustrates key events revealing its origins and more recent events which may instill nostalgia to those who experienced the events.  From tickets, to coins, to the metro-card, and everything that lies between, are all found on the timeline.  It can make a person glad of what they have now opposed to the past. 

            Beyond the well-known “never touch the third rail” there are sets of rules that the MTA established to keep transportation safe opposed to complete chaos.  Rules, such as never moving between subway car doors, are set for our safety, and not to put bags, feet, or take up multiple seats, is both a rule and simply courtesy.  The other more bold offenses such as jumping a turnstile, not paying a fare, and damaging property are more likely to catch the eyes of police

officers and attendants.  Some of these rules are posted in the busses and subway cars. A complete list of these rules can be found on their website. 

            There is no other subway system as large as the one New York City has created.  The subway system has 468 stations set in various different areas of New York, which is the largest number of stations than any other public transportation system in the world, according to the MTA website.  For the year 2007 1,562,515,065 passengers entered the subway system.  The

average on a week day was 5,042,263 passengers, on a Saturday the count was 2.917,270 passengers, and on Sundays 2,211,502 people.  The numbers for busses are just as impressive.  For the 2007 year 738,039,531 passengers entered a bus.  2,356,301 people entered a bus on weekdays.  The average for a Saturday was 1,468,222 and for Sundays were 1,081,197.  These subway cars and busses are pulling these enormous numbers across their routes, miles of tracks and roads they cross countless times.  These large numbers can give the idea of how many of the people who live in the City use these magnificent machines.  There are no higher-class cars and lower class cars, all of these riders enter the cars as equals, The only requirement asked of each is to pay the fare. 

            To accommodate the City that Never Sleeps, these subway cars and busses are running 24-hours-a-day throughout the five boroughs of New York.  MTA has the largest fleet of subway cars in the world and more busses than other public agencies in the United States.  Ridership reaches seven million daily and two billion annually.  To run this major operation requires many works, and MTA employs nearly 47,000 workers. The Metropolitan Transit Authority has a history and a future.  The MTA works to get every colored-eyed, -skinned, -haired, body to where they have to go, and they only require the passengers to pay the set fee.  For the billions of

people who use the MTA’s services annually, they have rules set to keep us protected and to make sure people can be as comfortable as possible.  A person can look at the map of subway lines and bus routes and be befuddled by the numerous lines, but a New Yorker can tell that same person without as much as blinking.  As New Yorkers we have mastered this maze, this labyrinth, and we know each route like the lines on the palms of our hands.

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