Fastest and most reliable route from West Hempstead to Hunter College?

[Gotham Bus Co.]

22 hours ago, 67thAve said:

I'm going to be attending Hunter College starting in the fall. I will be taking train #907 (arrives at 8:29 to Penn, it's the only direct of the day) in, and am considering various routes via the subway to get from the railroad to Hunter. As I am not a regular subway rider (though I will be, come this fall), I am aware that other members on this forum will have much more knowledge about reliability and speed than I do. The options I am considering are:

1) LIRR to Forest Hills >>> walk to 71st/Continental >>> F to Lexington/63rd >>> walk to Hunter College

The biggest appeal of this route is that I don't need to transfer between subway services. I may also be able to grab a seat at either 71st or when people get off at Roosevelt to transfer to the 7. However, the F, from what I hear, is very delay-prone, and I will have to walk a few blocks from Lex/63rd to Hunter, which may be a bit irritating in inclement weather.

2) LIRR to Woodside >>> 7 express to Queensboro Plaza >>> N/W to Lex/59th >>> 6 to 68th/Hunter College

This route has the benefit of being nearly as direct distance-wise as option #1, and also happens to avoid the walk from Lex/63rd to campus. However, this option requires two transfers. If I can pull of the transfers with minimal wait (which I doubt is possible, thanks to the current state of the subway), then could it possibly be faster than option #1?

3) LIRR to Penn Station >>> E to 53rd/Lex >>> 6 to 68th/Hunter College

This option requires backtracking across Manhattan, but it only requires one transfer. This is the least appealing to me, not just due to the longer distance, but also due to the fact that transferring at 53rd/Lex can be cumbersome due to the crowds and narrow escalators. However, I could easily be wrong.

Out of these three, which one would likely be the best option? If anyone has any routes I have not considered, you are welcome to reply with those.

 

One more option...

4) LIRR to Penn >>>> walk to Herald Square for or to Lex/63 >>>> walk to Hunter.

[B35 via Church]

7 hours ago, N6 Limited said:

  I'm serious. The  is frequent and the to 72nd st is usually fine. The 8th Ave line is give or take. There are random gaps in service and midday trackwork delays. (for his return trip or afternoon classes) and the Queens Blvd Issues can work it's way back to the 53rd street line if not more. Where the  and  are seemingly fine along 8th Ave but then the  splits, you reach 50th street or 7th Ave and there are issues.

Many Times I've taken the LIRR to Penn Station, then I check 8th Ave service service since I'm going downtown , and it's like "DELAYS - Service has resumed on the Queens Blvd Line after an issue at (insert station here)  there are delays on the   , allow additional Travel time"

Sometimes multiple transfers can get you to your location quicker (especially during the rush when frequencies are higher)

I've even been on an uptown that started experiencing Queens Blvd delays at 23rd street. I got off at 42nd Street, took  to 74th/Broadway to bypass most of the congestion.

Basically, there is nothing set in stone and his best course of action is to check service status while on the LIRR to determine which route to take.

I was referring to NY1635 (the person you made that reply to), not you .... Your reply to him, I concur with.

I seldom ever use that tunnel to xfer b/w the 8th av line & (either) the 7th av line, B'way line, or the shuttle...... Like 99.999% of the time, I use it to get from the 7th av line or the B'way line to PABT for an NJT bus (or vice versa)..... And that's on the weekend.....

To have someone coming from West Hempstead taking the LIRR to Penn Station, to take the one stop to TSQ, to end up walking the full length of that passageway in question (7th-8th av connector) back east, up those steep ass steps, to get to the from the , to then ride the to 72nd, is not necessary.....

* Yes, I know the "shortcut" of walking down to the platform & taking that long ass escalator (lol) up to get to the B'way line at TSQ (which has you bypassing walking up said aforementioned steep steps), but unnecessarily subjecting yourself to utilizing that passageway, is a waste of time..... People walk along it timidly like the boogieman's gonna get them or something... Walk the f*** up.

 

[RR503]

Not to be facetious, but I’d just do it on a day by day basis.

The  to 63 is pretty objectively the best route, but as other posters have pointed out, it’s not always the most reliable — indeed few subway lines are these days. Instead of ignoring that fact and wedding yourself to a route, I’d just be an engaged commuter. Glean what you can from Subwaytime/NYCT Twitter/MTA website and make a decision on what you’re gonna do based on daily conditions. It’ll cost you five minutes of time and some cell data, but will make your commute hella faster than becoming a creature of habit in a magic 8 ball like transit system. 

If you opt for LIRR, just be sure to get a Penn Sta ticket (same $$ as FHills or Woodside) as otherwise, on a day you’re going beyond your assigned destination, you *may* have to explain to conductors how Penn Sta is in zone 1 like whichever of the other 2 is on your ticket. 

[AlgorithmOfTruth]

What works one day may not do the job on another. Like @RR503 suggested, be an informed commuter and utilize the MTA website for the most immediate information concerning service conditions. Don't wing it—you'll find yourself more frustration than happiness. Oh, and as many on here have already mentioned, steer clear of the Queens Boulevard Line during the AM rush. All it takes is one signal to malfunction for service to be reduced to garbage. I give your concern of finding the quickest route between home and school merit though, it's just that the subway nowadays is a gambling man's land.

[checkmatechamp13]

On 6/6/2018 at 9:22 PM, RtrainBlues said:

Why not just take the N6 bus to the F train at 179th?  So much cheaper!!  The N6 is the most frequent bus in Nassau County.  40-45 min ride on the bus, then 30 min on the F.  Use the extra few minutes to study on the bus/train, and with the HUNDREDS of dollars a month you save, you'll have tons of extra spending money!

 

I'll put it to you this way: One thing I learned working my way through college is that time and stress are money. I'm not sure if he plans on working or not, and how much work he plans on doing (It will most likely vary according to his courseload and schedule), but there's plenty of side jobs for college students (retail, babysitting, tutoring, etc) to make up the extra money he will need for the LIRR ticket. $261 per month is around $65 per week.

On 6/7/2018 at 10:09 AM, NY1635 said:

The Babylon Branch is the fastest and reliable Line on the LIRR. It takes roughly 40 minutes to get from RVC to Penn by railroad, and another 15-20 minutes to get from Penn Station to 68th Street using the   and .  The passageways for the   at Lexington/53rd are long and the trains tend to be delayed in some way.

Ironically, the fastest route with least amount of transfers is taking the n6 to 179th for the (F), take the subway to Lex/63rd and walk to Hunter From there. Without traffic, it takes roughly 30-35 minutes for the n6 to get to 179th from West Hempstead around 5am-6am, and 40 minutes for the   to get from 179th to Lexington/63rd. I've seen lots of people at Elmont and Hempstead use the n6 around 4am-6am to the subway, some of them hoofing it over to the Turnpike to catch the bus.

5

Right, but if he times himself for a West Hempstead train, it's quicker than taking the n15 down to the Babylon branch, and he can relax the whole way. And that Times Square passageway should be used as a last resort, not as a regular transfer. The passageway is one crosstown block long. He could just as easily walk that one crosstown block from Penn Station to Herald Square and have the option of the  or  (instead of just the  to reach Lexington/63rd)

[U-BahnNYC]

On 6/6/2018 at 7:40 PM, 67thAve said:

I will have to walk a few blocks from Lex/63rd to Hunter, which may be a bit irritating in inclement weather. 

I go to Hunter and trust me, this walk is a breeze, even in bad weather.

I prefer to avoid the downtown during PM rush because you literally can't board at 68th, it's so crowded.

My best advice to you is to walk to 34th-Herald Sq from Penn and then take either the or to Lex/63. Much less crowded, and you have two choices should there be delays.

The walk will do good for your health and sanity (which you'll need a lot of because Hunter will make your stress levels go off the charts 😬)