In City Travel
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[edit] In City Travel
Most people get around town with their car. In the largest cities a car is impractical for some and they get by walking, biking, riding public transit, or taxis.
[edit] Abusing the Bus System
Depending on where you are there may or may not be a public bus system, if you are lucky there will be a big public bus system. This equates to free rides. Transfers are often color coded for the day of the week, meaning a day old transfer is pretty much out, but most drivers won't check the times on a transfer if it the right color. This is not true in most modern cities where you have to swipe a magnetic pass or deposit money into the machine. Check garbage cans near transit points. Another method is to ask people getting off the bus if they will give you their day pass, or even offer to purchase it for 1/2 or less cost. You can also sell your ticket in the same fashion to get a few extra dollars for the day. If you are feeling more legit and younger looking many bus systems have a reduced fare for youth. Most drivers don't bother checking ID.
If you are lucky enough to be in a city that allows people to enter at the back of the bus (ex. Ottawa, Canada) just walk aboard and take a seat. This works best on the busier routes and there are others getting on at the same time. The traffic pigs usually do a sweep at the beginning of each new college semester to 'persuade' new students that it isn't an option. Best buy a ticket then and at the beginning of the month, especially if the first is on the weekend. Corpgov will even hassle the three-piece suiters about not having their monthly pass updated. Always keep enough money for the fare on hand so you can talk your way out of it. If you're dressed in corporate camouflage you can use the "I haven't had enough coffee today" line with a moderate degree of success.
[edit] Maps and Attractions
Most nicer hotels have free maps of the city that are often free for the asking at the front desk, also check at big bus terminals and airport information stations for free maps. While in the hotel look for the tourist pamphlets to see what attractions are available.
[edit] NYC Subway Hack
In New York City you can get free rides on the subway by bending an empty metrocard the right way. The exploit is a result of the system being unable to read bent or damaged cards. To compensate for that error there is a built in fail safe that if a card is swiped 3 times and the computer reads a certain code that tells them it was damaged, on the 4th swipe it lets the swiper through.
Here's how it works:
- 1) Bend the bottom right corner of your metro card up to the f (f part of the word facing). It is a 45 degree angle. Close the bend hard
- 2) Swipe it 3 times and it says "please swipe again"
- 3) On the 3rd time it says "please swipe again at this turnstile"
- 4) Swipe one more time with the bend open and it says balance= $0.00, previous balance $2.00. GO
- 5) Go.
This trick should theoretically work on the bus also but the bus driver might catch on if you dip the card 4 times so it will probably only work with a stupid bus driver. But considering most bus drivers don't really care if you pay or not it should work often enough. Be careful though its a $100 fine if you get caught.
[edit] Cycling
Cycling can be quite fast in cities, as you can weave in, out, and alongside cars and into spaces they can't fit, allowing you to maintain a constant speed. Don't cycle on the sidewalk except where the path is wide and you do not pass any doors, not only does cycling on a busy sidewalk endanger pedestrians it also gives cyclists a bad reputation overall, unless the way is clear just use gear zero, push the bike.
Get pannier racks to fit on your bike over the wheels and a good set of waterproof panniers if you plan to spend more than thirty minutes pedaling without stopping or you plan to carry a very large amount of groceries or gardening supplies. For most around town schlepping though a good backpack or courier bag is better. The reason to use a bag is that when you stop you can lock up the bike but the expensive panniers and their contents are nearly impossible to properly secure, although if you are stuck in this situation just leave them empty, open, and unzipped. Even better than taking your bags in is to also take your whole bicycle inside where you have control of it. A few places permit indoor storage of regular bicycles but if you have a good fold up model and a bag you can take it almost anywhere.
In a city environment large thick knobby mountain bike tires are really of no use and put a lot of extra drag on, get proper smooth road bike tires or at least some knobbies with a smooth center strip, these have much less rolling friction on roads allowing you to waste less work.
Many community cycle programs like Cycling#Yellow-White Bicycle Programs exist, if there is not one where you are, start one!
Some bus and commuter rail systems allow bicycles aboard, find out if this is possible and which routes offer this service. Avoiding use of a car and mixing in some public transport on your bicycle commute can help you save lots of time, money, and effort especially if there is a very steep hill or long stretch of highway between you and your destination.
[edit] Shuttles
In Las Vegas, senior citizens are very savvy when it comes to using the free inter-casino shuttle buses. Since many of the casinos are owned by the same company (Station Casinos, MGM-Mirage, etc.), they will have shuttle buses that go from casino to casino. Many have the timetables memorized where they can walk to one casino, take the shuttle bus to the other casino, and walk the rest of the way for free. Ask around. They are available in many larger cities for free transit from the airport to convention centers, hotels, resorts, and theme parks often with no questions asked.
What follows is the original text
[edit] Original IN CITY TRAVEL
Any of the public means of transportation can be ripped off easily. Get on the bus with a large bill and present it after the bus has left the stop. If the bus is crowded, slip in the back door when it opens to dispatch passengers.
Two people can easily get through the turnstile in a subway on one token by doubling up. In some subway systems cards are given out to high school kids or senior citizens or employees of the city. The next time you are in a subway station notice people flashing cards to the man in the booth and entering through the "exit" door. Notice the color of the card used by people in your age group. Get a piece of colored paper in a stationery store or find some card of the same color you need. Put this "card" in a plastic window of your wallet and flash it in the same way those with a bona fide pass do.
Before entering a turnstile, always test the swing bar. If someone during the day put in an extra token, it's still in the machine waiting for you to enter free.
For every token and coin deposited in an automatic turnstile, there is a foreign coin the same size for much less that will work in the machine. (See the Yippie Currency Exchange, following, for more info.) Buy a cheap bag of assorted foreign coins from a dealer that you can locate in the Yellow Pages. Size up the coins with a token from your subway system. You can get any of these coins in bulk from a large dealer. Generally they are about l,000 for five dollars. Tell him you make jewelry out of them if he gets suspicious. Giving what almost amounts to free subway rides away is a communal act of love. The best outlaws in the world rip-off shit for a lot more people than just themselves. Robin Hood lives!
