Subway Safety for Tourists: A New Yorker’s Advice for Dodging Pickpockets (Or Worse)

If you were to judge the New York City subway system by what you’ve seen on TV or in the movies, you’d know it as a labyrinthine cesspool of sinister evildoers, foul deeds committed in the shadows, and pizza rats, a mashup of Gotham City, Mega-City One, and every ’80s Charles Bronson movie.

I arrived in this city as a wide-eyed newcomer, schooled only in the gentler ways of places like the suburbs, the South, and the South Side of Chicago. So why should you take advice on surviving the New York City subway from someone like me?

Because, after over 3 decades in New York City, taking the subway most of those days, I haven’t been murdered once.

That’s right: I haven’t been murdered on the New York subway. A. Single. Time.

Here’s how I’ve managed to make it out alive thousands of times, despite what Hollywood still seems to think is the most dangerous experience known to America: the New York City subway.

Hot Tip:

These are suggestions. Never follow advice that puts you in a dangerous situation. Always use your common sense over what any stranger (including me) tells you on the internet.

1. Map Your Trips

There’s really no reason to get lost on the subway anymore. Nowadays, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has apps that include subway maps, bus routes, service alerts, schedules, and arrival times for trains and buses:

• MTA (iOS, Android): Best for subway, bus, and railroad service
• Traintime (iOS, Android): Best for Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad service

Even if you don’t have the app, subway maps are available at every station. Most station platforms have overhead screens that display the arrival times of the next trains accurately. You no longer need to spend an hour waiting for a train at 2 a.m. instead of being safe in your hotel.

2. Learn How To Read the Subway Signs

Getting in and out of the subway safely is the first step to avoiding being a victim of crime on the subway.

Learn what subway entrance signs look like. They vary from green cubes to green lamppost balls, and the increasingly rare red ones mean it’s exit-only. Most also include sans serif signs over the entrance with the station name and what lines stop there in colored circles.

Inside the subway, look for the same style of white-on-black subway signs with arrows pointing to the subway platforms, where you actually board and disembark from the trains. The red rectangles that say “Exit” indicate the direction of, you guessed it, an exit.

Once you’ve gotten off your train, do it all in reverse. If you’re trying to get out and back into the fresh air, follow those red exit rectangles. If transferring, follow the arrows to the train you’re catching. If you don’t want to be instantly pegged as a tourist, though, don’t refer to the subway lines by their colors.

3. Always Be Aware of Your Surroundings

Most importantly, and applicable to anywhere you go in the world: Be aware of your surroundings at all times.

Sure, it sounds easy, and you’re saying to yourself, “I’m always alert and aware of what’s going on around me,” but you’d be shocked at how many people I see taking the subway with their eyes glued to their phones, their ears plugged up with AirPods, on autopilot and utterly oblivious to the world around them.

And that’s the New Yorkers — for obvious reasons, oblivious visitors to the city (and, yes, I’m afraid that first-timers do stick out like a sore thumb) are an easy target. So put away the phone, unplug your ears, and pay attention to what’s going on around you.

By being aware, you can figure out whether you’re in a sketchy subway station or need to change cars at the next stop. Overall, the subway system is safe, but not every station or train car is equally safe.

Of course, you don’t want to take it too far the other way and act like a scared rabbit, which also paints a big ol’ bullseye on you. Just be alert but calm, cool, and collected but not lethargic.

Hot Tip:

Despite its reputation, New York City remains one of the safest cities in America.

4. Treat Vendors, Panhandlers, and Proselytizers With Skepticism

Subway stations range from desolate waypoints on faraway rail spurs to what are essentially underground villages. In the biggest and busiest of these, like Times Square and Rockefeller Center, you can find shops, police stations, public bathrooms, shoeshine stands, food vendors, buskers of varying quality, religious pamphleteers, activists, panhandlers, and con men.

Churro ladies aside, you shouldn’t feel obligated to spend time or money on any of them. If someone’s aggressively handing you a Chick tract and saying you’re destined for hell, ignore them and be on your way. If someone wants to sell you a suspiciously cheap Rolex, don’t even bother waving them off — walk away as if they weren’t there. You do not have to donate to panhandlers if you don’t want to.

Depending on where you come from, it may seem rude and inhumane to pretend someone is invisible. After a few days in the city, you’ll realize it’s an urban survival mechanism and that having a conversation with every person who’s trying to get money (or your soul) will burn you out. Move on — they’re used to it and likely won’t think twice about it. And those who react aggressively to rejection are definitely the kind not to give money to and to get away from as soon as possible.

But, yes, the churros can be amazing when they’re fresh.

5. Ride the Center Car Late at Night and Stay Back From the Yellow Line

Riding a mostly empty late-night subway train can be unnerving even for locals. But you don’t have to do it alone.

The driver of each train is in the center car. Look for the sign over the driver’s window (the small window on the sides, near the end of the center car) that indicates the driver’s compartment is there. You can also look for where the driver sticks their head out to see which car they’re in. They’re supposed to check with their own eyes to ensure no one’s stuck in a door or anything before letting the train move. Before the train even arrives, you can look along the steel beam on the ceiling right above the yellow line that marks the danger zone of the edge of the subway platform.

Some stations, especially busier ones or those where it’s hard for them to get a direct line of sight to each end of the train, have chunky monitors mounted on the beam where the driver compartment ends up when the train stops. The drivers look at these monitors from their open windows to check that it’s safe to start the train moving again. So, if you position yourself near these monitors, you’ll be by the center car.

Having an MTA employee close at hand can give you psychological reassurance — or more vital help — late at night on the subway.

Always stay behind the yellow line at stations except for boarding and disembarking from cars, especially on the narrower platforms. It’s rare, but people have been known to accidentally fall onto the tracks or push other travelers into oncoming trains.

Hot Tip:

Suicides by subway aren’t rare, though. There’s an average of about 1 jumper a week.

6. Mind Your Stuff

As with anywhere you travel, take care of your things. Avoid bags where all your belongings tumble out everywhere and where it’s easy for anyone to slip their fingers in and help themselves to everything you own.

Don’t make yourself a target by flashing expensive items like jewelry or wads of cash (though I won’t bother telling you not to whip out your phone these days). Make sure you’re in a position to know when someone’s invading your personal space and rifling through your goods.

Also, to avoid confrontation, ensure you’re not invading anyone else’s personal space. No one wants a faceful of your 65-liter rucksack on the way to the office.

7. Sit Apart When You Can But Also Don’t Sweat the Closeness

There’s an unspoken expectation that you space yourself away from other passengers when possible. But the subway can get very crowded, especially around rush hour in Manhattan, so don’t get huffy if you end up shoulder to shoulder with strangers.

8. You Don’t Have To Interact With Panhandlers, Candy Sellers, or Dancers

As in the stations, you have no obligation to respond to people who approach you in a subway car. The kids selling candy almost certainly aren’t raising money for their basketball team (it’s illegal to sell anything on the trains), and the best thing to do when a panhandler has his palm up right in your face is usually to ignore him until he moves on. These are the kinds of situations where being glued to your phone (or at least pretending to be) is actually a major plus.

When the dance troupe cues up the boom box and starts their acrobatics along the aisle, bring your knees and feet in and mind your head — I’ve seen plenty of these guys accidentally smack passengers on the leg or face in the middle of their routines.

9. Avoid Eye Contact With People You Don’t Want To Speak To

The everyone-is-invisible thing doesn’t just apply to panhandlers. Every culture has a unique perspective on the psychology of eye contact, with it being perceived as natural and friendly in some and aggressive and rude in others.

New York City obviously doesn’t reach the levels of diffidence found in some societies, such as those in East Asia. However, among strangers in the Big Apple, many people perceive prolonged eye contact as a challenge. If you make prolonged eye contact with someone with clear mental issues on the subway, you’re pretty much bound to draw them in like a fly to honey.

10. You’re Not the Police of the Subway

As much as someone’s behavior may be disgusting or offensive to you — like that person clipping their nails or tossing chicken bones on the floor of the car — going Karen on someone is more likely to lead to a confrontation than getting the behavior to stop.

Remember, you’re not the subway police. There are actual people with that job: the subway police (technically, the Transit Bureau of the New York City Police Department). If something requires intervention, often the best course of action is to notify the authorities.

11. Don’t Block the Stairs

So you’ve finally made it into the subway station or off your first subway train. You suddenly decide that the bottom or top of the stairs is the perfect place to stop, gather your extended group of plus-size, luggage-lugging companions, and unfold your $15, extra-large tourist map to ponder whether going east instead of north might save you 100 steps — incidentally preventing everyone else from using the stairs to go to work or home to see their families.

In this case, you’re the bad guy. If someone decides to give you an earful of a few choice local epithets, you kind of have it coming.

Hot Tip:

Upgraded Points in no way endorses verbal (or physical) assaults on people who block stairs. The author is merely making a hyperbolic declaration to underscore his antipathy to people who block stairs.

12. Trust Your Gut Instinct

If some part of your brain is telling you something is off, listen to it. It’s better to be safe and be wrong about something being dangerous than to ignore your instincts and be wrong about something being safe. If someone’s acting off, change cars at the next stop or move to a different part of the platform (near an exit).

Hot Tip:

Speaking of guts, if you’ve touched the pole, seat, or anything on the subway, wash your hands before you eat, for God’s sake!

13. It’s OK To Use a Ride-Sharing Service Instead

Maybe you’re just not feeling the subway today. If you’re fretting about being judged by your friends, don’t. Do what you feel is safe. Make better friends. Go ahead and call that Uber or Lyft.

And remember, you get Uber benefits with the Platinum Card^® from American Express. You’ll receive $15 in Uber Cash each month (plus a $20 bonus in December) when you add your Amex Platinum card to your Uber account to use on Uber Eats and Uber rides in the U.S. and pay with an Amex card. Plus, you’ll also get up to $120 in annual statement credits when you use the Amex Platinum card to pay for an auto-renewing Uber One membership (terms apply).

+ NEW BENEFITS

Terms Apply / Rates & Fees

Platinum Card^® from American Express

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the ins and outs of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

The Amex Platinum reigns supreme for luxury travel, offering the best airport lounge access plus generous statement credits, and complimentary elite status.

Apply Now(at Amex's secure site)

Apply With Confidence

Know if you're approved with no credit score impact

If you're approved and accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.

Platinum Card^® from American Express

The Amex Platinum reigns supreme for luxury travel, offering the best airport lounge access plus generous statement credits, and complimentary elite status.

Welcome Offer

You may be eligible for as high as 175,000 Membership Rewards^® Points after spending $8,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.

As High As 175,000 Points. Find Out Your Offer.

UP's Offer Valuation*:

Up to $3,850

Annual Fee

$895

APR

See Pay Over Time APR

Credit Recommended

Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO^® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.

Good to Excellent

Why We Like This Card

When it comes to cards that offer top-notch benefits, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better card out there than the Platinum Card^® from American Express.

Make no mistake — the Amex Platinum card is a premium card with a premium price tag. With amazing benefits like best-in-class airport lounge access, hotel elite status, and tremendous value in annual statement credits, it can easily prove to be one of the most lucrative cards in your wallet year after year.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• The best airport lounge access out of any card (by far) — enjoy access to over 1,550 worldwide lounges, including the luxurious Amex Centurion Lounges, Priority Pass lounges (enrollment required), Plaza Premium Lounges, and many more!
• 5x points per dollar spent on flights purchased directly with the airline or with AmexTravel.com (up to $500,000 per year)
• 5x points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels booked with AmexTravel.com

Cons

• $895 annual fee (rates and fees)
• Airline credit does not cover airfare (only incidentals like checked bags)

Read Full Review

Card Highlights

• You may be eligible for as high as 175,000 Membership Rewards^® points after you spend $8,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
• Get more for your travels with 5X Membership Rewards^® points on all flights and prepaid hotel bookings through American Express Travel^®, including Fine Hotels + Resorts^® and The Hotel Collection bookings. You earn 5X points on flights purchased directly from airlines or through American Express Travel^® on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year.
• More Value! With over 1,550 airport lounges - more than any other credit card company on the market* - enjoy the benefits of the Global Lounge Collection^®, over $850 of annual value, with access to Centurion Lounges, 10 complimentary Delta Sky Club^® visits when flying on an eligible Delta flight (subject to visit limitations), Priority Pass Select membership (enrollment required), and other select partner lounges. * As of 07/2025.
• More Value! $200 Uber Cash + $120 Uber One Credit: With the Platinum Card^® you can receive $15 in Uber Cash each month plus a bonus $20 in December when you add your Platinum Card^® to your Uber account to use on rides and orders in the U.S when you select an Amex Card for your transaction. Plus, when you use the Platinum Card^® to pay for an auto-renewing Uber One membership, you can get up to $120 in statement credits each calendar year. Terms apply.
• More Value! $300 Digital Entertainment Credit: Get up to $25 in statement credits each month after you pay for eligible purchases with the Platinum Card^® at participating partners. Enrollment required.
• More Value! $600 Hotel Credit: Get up to $300 in statement credits semi-annually on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts^® or The Hotel Collection* bookings through American Express Travel^® using the Platinum Card^®. *The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay.
• New! $400 Resy Credit + Platinum Nights by Resy: When you use the Platinum Card^® to pay at U.S. Resy restaurants and to make other eligible purchases through Resy, you can get up to $100 in statement credits each quarter with the $400 Resy Credit benefit. Plus, with Platinum Nights by Resy, you can get special access to reservations on select nights at participating in demand Resy restaurants with the Platinum Card^®. Simply add your eligible Card to your Resy profile to book and discover Platinum Nights reservations near you, enrollment required.
• More Value! $209 CLEAR^® Plus Credit: CLEAR^® Plus helps get you to your gate faster by using unique facial attributes to verify you are you at 50+ airports nationwide. You can cover the cost of a CLEAR Plus Membership* with up to $209 in statement credits per calendar year after you pay for CLEAR Plus with the Platinum Card^®. *Excluding any applicable taxes and fees. Subject to auto-renewal.
• $200 Airline Fee Credit: Select one qualifying airline and then receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year when incidental fees, such as checked bags and in-flight refreshments, are charged by the airline to the Platinum Card^® Account*. American Express relies on airlines to submit the correct information on airline transactions to identify incidental fee purchases. If you do not see a credit for a qualifying incidental purchase on your eligible Card after 8 weeks, simply call the number on the back of your Card. Qualifying airlines are subject to change. See terms & conditions for more details.
• Start your vacation sooner, and keep it going longer. When you book Fine Hotels + Resorts^® through American Express Travel^®, enjoy noon check-in upon arrival, when available, and guaranteed 4PM check-out.
• New! $300 lululemon Credit: Enjoy up to $75 in statement credits each quarter when you use the Platinum Card^® for eligible purchases at U.S. lululemon retail stores (excluding outlets) and lululemon.com. That’s up to $300 in statement credits each calendar year. Enrollment required.
• $155 Walmart+ Credit: Receive a statement credit* for one monthly Walmart+ membership (subject to auto-renewal) after you pay for Walmart+ each month with the Platinum Card^®.*Up to $12.95 plus applicable local sales tax. Plus Ups not eligible.
• $100 Saks Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits annually for purchases at Saks Fifth Avenue or saks.com on the Platinum Card^®. That’s up to $50 in statement credits from January through June and up to $50 in statement credits from July through December. No minimum purchase required. Enrollment required.
• Whenever you need us, we're here. Our Member Services team will ensure you are taken care of. From lost Card replacement to statement questions, we are available to help 24/7.
• $895 annual fee.
• Terms Apply.

Financial Snapshot

• APR: See Pay Over Time APR
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Rewards Center

American Express Membership Rewards

Hot Tip: Apply and find out if you’re eligible for a welcome bonus offer of as high as 175,000 points with the Amex Platinum. Welcome offers may vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.

Final Thoughts

Scared of taking the subway in New York City? Don’t be.

It’s cheap, efficient, and safe — if you follow commonsense rules.