The NYU students’ guide to mastering the L train

You said defiantly, “No way am I living in the dorms next year!” and resolved to move to Brooklyn. There you would be independent, trendy and unencumbered. No RAs to crack down on your drinking, pot smoking, and other debauchery. No one to tell you that your tapestry and fake miniature Christmas tree were fire hazards. And best of all, you’d save a ton of money.

You thought the trouble was over when you signed the lease. No more juggling brokers, bouncing from neighborhood to neighborhood to see one acceptable-but-not-great apartment after the next.  Then you finally found your place, and you made it your home.

But then class started, and you realized you forgot something: riding the L train at rush hour sucks.

This isn’t even rush hour, and the platform is still packed

*This* is rush hour

I, too, know this hardship, and I’m here to tell you that you can actually make it suck a whole lot less, if you know the right tricks.

Choosing the right car

If you use Google Maps to tell you how to get to school from just about any address off the L, it will tell you to get off at Union Square and walk the rest of the way. From Union Square to Bobst it estimates an eleven minute walk. For me that’s long enough to consider alternatives, but if that’s not convincing enough, remember that it’s not like you can just mosey on out of the train onto the street — exiting at Union Square entails going up several flights of stairs that are so packed it wouldn’t matter if you were The Flash — you’re not getting anywhere quickly.

Here’s the trick: if you get on the L towards the back of the train, you’ll be dropped off right at a staircase to the downtown N/Q/R platform. All you have to do is walk up the stairs and you’re right there. And to make it even sweeter, the MTA has already done you a favor by placing that staircase right at the front of the train.

This means if you board one of these front cars and take it to 8th Street station, you’ll be let off right in front of the Waverly Place exit, actually one block further south than the station name suggests. That’s the closest you can get to campus by subway. And with both the N and R serving the route on alternating timetables, it certainly won’t take you eleven minutes to get there from Union Square.

If you’re going home from school, do the reverse: get on the very last uptown car at 8th Street and stand by the last door. When it opens, you’ll be right in front of the staircase down to the L platform.

See this part of the platform, where no one goes? This is where you need to be to make your transfer quickly

You can use this trick for other transfers, too. If you must do the dreaded L at Sixth Avenue to 1/2/3 at Seventh Avenue transfer, make it a little easier for yourself by getting on a car in the middle — you’ll be a lot closer to the transfer stairway. And for the A/C/E, get on the very last car on the L train. You’ll be dropped off right in front of the staircase that allows the transfer — the other ones only let you exit to 14th Street.

Wouldn’t you rather be dropped off right here, instead of walking several blocks worth of train cars just to end up at the back of the line?

If you’re a frequent intra-Brooklyn traveler, it helps to know which stations have entrances/exits at particular points of the platform. Bedford, Lorimer, and Graham Avenue stations have them at the front and back, while Grand Street, Montrose Avenue, Morgan Avenue, and Jefferson Street all have them in the middle of the platform. You can board one of those cars and be let out right in front of the exit, saving you an extra few steps and putting you ahead of the rush of people.

And one final note — aside from all the other subway etiquette you ought to know by now, here’s one that will actually help not just other riders, but yourself: take off your bag. It makes you look a lot less threatening when there’s just a few inches of space left.