Getting around Brooklyn

Most newcomers can live in Brooklyn without a car: the subway, buses, ferries, Citi Bike and the Long Island Rail Road cover a lot of ground, though service is thinner in some neighbourhoods than others. Fares, tolls and rules changed in 2025 and 2026, so this chapter dates every price and tells you where to confirm. Learn the payment system first, because it affects every trip.

• $3.00Subway and local bus fare with OMNY or cash on buses (MTA, as of October 2026)
• $35 a weekOMNY fare cap for subway and local buses, using one card or device (MTA, as of October 2026)
• $1.50Reduced fare for riders 65+ or with qualifying disabilities (MTA, as of October 2026)
• $9.00Peak Manhattan congestion toll for passenger cars with E-ZPass, since January 5, 2025 (as of October 2026)

Subway and bus basics

Most riders pay $3 on the subway and on local, limited, rush and Select Bus Service (SBS) buses; express buses cost $7.25. Tap on entering the subway; you do not tap again when you leave. A trip that starts on one mode and continues on another within two hours is free to transfer when you use the same card or device for both legs, and moving to an express bus means paying the difference.^50,54

Subway trains run overnight but locally, so allow extra time late at night. Brooklyn service patterns also change on nights and weekends for track work, so check the MTA app or website before you leave, especially for the first trips to a new job or school.⁵⁵

Paying: OMNY, fares and the MetroCard phase-out

You can tap a contactless credit or debit card, a phone or watch, or an OMNY card at turnstiles and bus readers. After you pay $35 in a rolling seven-day period on the same card or device, the rest of that week's subway and local bus rides are free; the first tap starts the clock, and group trips and transfers do not count toward it. The MTA says you can no longer buy or refill a MetroCard (since January 1, 2026), and unused MetroCard value can be moved onto an OMNY card at a Customer Service Center. The MTA has said the date when MetroCards and coins stop being accepted would be announced later, so check mta.info.^51,50,56

Reduced fare and Fair Fares NYC

Riders aged 65 or older, and people with qualifying disabilities, can enrol in the MTA's Reduced-Fare program. You can apply in person at a Customer Service Center or by mail to MTA New York City Transit, Attn: Reduced Fare Program, 130 Livingston St, Brooklyn, NY 11201-9625; mailed applications can take up to three months, and the online application was unavailable at the time of checking. Enrolled riders can get a reduced-fare OMNY card.⁵²

Fair Fares NYC gives people aged 18 to 64 with incomes at or below 145% of the federal poverty level 50% off subway and eligible bus fares, plus Access-A-Ride trips, regardless of immigration status. Apply at nyc.gov/FairFares.⁵⁷

Key Brooklyn subway lines and hubs

Buses and Select Bus Service

Brooklyn's buses fill gaps between subway lines, and several corridors have SBS, which speeds boarding. For example, the B44 SBS runs between Sheepshead Bay and Williamsburg via Nostrand Avenue. On SBS you can tap at any door; if you pay with exact change, you pay at a machine at the stop and keep the receipt.⁶⁵

Citi Bike

As of the Citi Bike site in October 2026, a single classic ride of up to 30 minutes costs $4.99 and e-bike rides cost $0.41 a minute. A day pass costs $25 for unlimited 30-minute classic rides, and an annual membership costs $239 a year (or $19.92 a month) with 45-minute classic rides. A $5-a-month reduced-fare option exists for NYCHA residents and SNAP recipients. Prices may change.⁶⁶

NYC Ferry

NYC Ferry is a separate system from the MTA: it does not offer free transfers to subways or buses and does not take OMNY. Reduced fares exist for seniors, people with disabilities and Fair Fares riders, but sources disagree on the exact current adult price, so check ferry.nyc for the fare. Coney Island was listed on the home page but had been reported postponed, so verify before planning around it.^67,68

Accessibility

Not every Brooklyn subway station has an elevator. The MTA publishes a list of accessible stations by borough and a live page for elevator and escalator outages, so check both before you travel with a wheelchair, stroller or heavy bags. Access-A-Ride is shared-ride paratransit for people whose disabilities prevent them from using buses or subways; it requires an application and an in-person assessment, and a decision comes within 21 days. Visitors eligible elsewhere can use it for up to 21 days in a 365-day period.^71,72,73

Cycling basics

Ride on the right side of the road, with traffic, and use a bike lane if one is provided. From dusk to dawn you need a white front light and a red rear light, plus a bell. Children from 1 to 13 must wear a helmet, and Class 3 e-bike riders must too. Sidewalk riding is banned except for children 12 or younger on small wheels. E-bikes and e-scooters have a 15 mph limit on city streets, and e-bike riders must be at least 16.^74,75

Driving and parking

The default speed limit in New York City is 25 mph, and cameras operate in school zones around the clock. For street cleaning, posted Alternate Side Parking signs (a broom through a P) show the days and times you cannot park on that side. The rule applies for the whole posted window even if the sweeper has already passed, there is a 5-minute grace period, and it does not apply on Sundays. When ASP is suspended, other posted rules still apply, and double parking is illegal at all times. Check the 311 calendar or the NYC311 app for suspensions.^76,77,78

Do not park within 15 feet of a fire hydrant, and when two signs conflict, the more restrictive one controls, so read the whole block. You can pay meters with the ParkNYC app using the zone number for your side of the street; make sure your plate and zone are correct before you start a session.^79,80

The Manhattan congestion toll

Vehicles entering Manhattan at or below 60th Street pay a toll. For passenger cars with E-ZPass it is $9 at peak (5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends) and $2.25 overnight, charged once per day; drivers without E-ZPass pay more. The MTA says the peak toll is scheduled to rise to $12 in 2028 and $15 in 2031. Vehicles using the Hugh L. Carey (Brooklyn–Battery) Tunnel into the zone get a crossing credit at peak with E-ZPass, and trips staying on the FDR Drive, West Side Highway or the Carey connections to West Street are not tolled. A federal judge ruled on March 3, 2026 that the federal effort to revoke approval was unlawful, and the MTA is collecting tolls; legal action could continue, so confirm the current status on mta.info.^53,81,82,83

Airports and the Long Island Rail Road

The MTA describes three common routes from Brooklyn to JFK: the subway to Sutphin Blvd–Archer Av–JFK and then the AirTrain, the A train to Howard Beach–JFK Airport and the AirTrain (not Lefferts Boulevard trains), or the LIRR from Atlantic Terminal to Jamaica and then the AirTrain. The subway plus AirTrain total is $11.75, and the LIRR option adds the rail fare to the $8.75 AirTrain. Make sure your LIRR train stops at Jamaica. LIRR CityTicket fares for trips within the city are $5.25 off-peak and $7.25 at peak, but confirm that CityTicket applies to your Atlantic Terminal trip. For LaGuardia and Newark, use the MTA trip planner and the airports' own ground-transportation pages to choose a route.^55,84

Tips

• Use the same card or device for every tap so transfers and the weekly cap work.
• Download the MTA app and keep it for service changes; weekend and late-night routes can differ.
• Before moving, test the commute at rush hour and check whether the nearest station has an elevator.
• If you drive, photograph the parking signs on your block and put suspension alerts on your phone.
• Try Citi Bike or the ferry for a week before buying a pass or bike.

Getting-around checklist

• Set up OMNY on a card or phone and keep using the same one
• Move any leftover MetroCard value to an OMNY card
• Find your nearest subway station and its elevator status
• Apply for Reduced-Fare or Fair Fares if you qualify
• Learn the Alternate Side Parking signs on your block if you have a car
• Check E-ZPass setup before driving into Manhattan below 60th Street
• Pick an airport route and save the LIRR and AirTrain fares
• Bookmark the MTA, NYC Ferry and Citi Bike pages for current fares