The point is that the subway is slow and unreliable unless you are commuting within Manhattan for 4 stops. Lots of people work in Manhattan and commute from Br

The point is that the subway is slow and unreliable unless you are commuting within Manhattan for 4 stops. Lots of people work in Manhattan and commute from Brooklyn. It's a 1.5 hr train ride to Columbus Circle + 0-60 minute random slowdown where you may have to take the train in the opposite direction for a bunch of stops. Sometimes they actually tell you to get off the train, take a shuttle bus and get back on the train. Other times the train stops 8 subway stops from where you have to be with an inaudible message from the conductor. As a result, you are stuck the middle of nowhere at 8 PM on a Saturday. Only option is to take a local bus (that tends to be much more reliable) or Uber. This kind of treatment is unheard of in any European country including Russia. It could have been a 45 + 0-5 variation minute ride if trains ran as fast and reliably as they do in almost every other city.