Getting to the Big City

Almost every kid goes to Fordham because they love New York City. The great thing about Fordham is that we have a gated campus, full of green grass, trees, and squirrels, yet anyone can be in the heart of New York in little to no time. Here’s the rundown on all the different ways kids get to the big city:

The Ram Van

The Ram Van is our inter-campus transportation shuttle that runs from the Rose Hill Campus to the Lincoln Center campus and back. During the school year the Ram Van runs every half hour on the half hour. During the week it runs from 6:30am to midnight and on weekends it runs until 4am. The great thing about the Ram Van is that if you are in the city until 3am, it’s a really safe, easy, and quick way to get back to the center of the Rose Hill Campus.

The Ram Van is only $3.00 one way. It’s free if you are taking a class at another Fordham campus or if you are doing an internship for school credit!

It’s mostly student-run and has 115 student workers. Fordham is actually the only college in the United States with a large-scale transportation system that does not outsource. If you like to drive and want a job, it’s also the highest paying student job on campus!

It takes about half an hour to get to the Lincoln Center campus from Rose Hill, but if you are traveling during rush hour, it can take an hour or more. The Ram Van is definitely a student favorite way of getting into the city. It usually takes about half an hour to get to Lincoln Center from Rose Hill. The downside to the Ram Van is that if you hit traffic, or are traveling during rush hour, it can take an hour.

The Subways

Up a few blocks on Fordham Road are two of the city’s subways: the 4 train and the D train. The 4 runs down the east side and the D runs down the west side into Brooklyn. The Subway only costs $2.25 and is definitely the cheapest option to get into the city. Depending on where you choose to go, the subway can take anywhere from 25 minutes to an hour or more.

We have two security shuttles that run all throughout the night during the year that go from campus to the D train (the 4 train is only one more block up, so you can just walk to the D). One shuttle never leaves the train until the other one gets back from campus. So if you don’t want to walk alone at night on Fordham Road, you don’t have to!

The downside of the subway? You have to walk up a hill to get there, and if you’re lazy like me, that’s not so fun. But at least on the way home you are walking downhill!

Metro North Train

The Metro North Train station is right outside our 3^rd Avenue gate (right by the library). It’s only about 15 feet from the gate! It takes you right into Grand Central station. From Grand Central, you can pretty much get anywhere.

Metro North is a little more expensive than the subway or Ram Van. Off-peak is $5.75 and peak is $7.50, which still isn’t that a terrible rate.

This is my go-to method of transportation. You don’t have to worry about traffic or hills. The train always comes at a specific time and always takes in between 17-22 minutes.

As you can see, there are lots of ways for kids to get into the city any day of the week.

K.C. Jones

GSB 2013