Making smart choices

Here are tips that may cause you to rethink your mode of transportation:

• According to the New York City Mobility Needs Assessment, only 16 percent of all trips in the city are to and from work. The vast majority — 44 percent — are for family and personal business. Conduct a personal trip inventory to see where your transportation needs are.
• For trips of about a mile or less, consider how long it will take to park and walk from the car. You may find that walking will only take an extra 10 minutes.
• According to Health- Status.com, a 150-pound person will burn 99 calories when walking for 20 minutes at a pace of three miles per hour.
• While suburban buses might run only once or twice an hour, MTA buses often run every four to eight minutes. Bus maps are available at www.mta.info.
• If you must drive, think ahead, and combine trips when you can. Consider choosing stores because they are near each other, and parking in one spot and walking between destinations.

Getting there

Many residents choose Riverdale because of its close proximity to Manhattan. Here’s a summary of nondriving options to Manhattan:

• Local bus service into Manhattan is available on the Bx7 bus on Riverdale Avenue. The bus will take you past Inwood Hill Park, the Cloisters and NewYork- Presbyterian Hospital, and terminates at West 168th Street. Bus fare is $2 each way, and you can pay with coins or a MetroCard. (If you pay with a MetroCard, you get a free transfer to a connecting bus.)
• Express buses run generally from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. The BxM1 runs down the east side, to 34th Street; the BxM3 runs along Madison and Fifth avenues to 26th Street; and the BxM2 runs down the west side to 34th Street. Travel time from Riverdale to Midtown is about an hour. Fares are currently $5 one-way, or $41 for a seven-day pass.
• The No. 1 subway begins at West 242nd Street and Broadway and runs down to South Ferry for a $2 fare. Travel time from Riverdale to South Ferry is about an hour.
• The Hudson Line of Metro-North stops at West 254th Street in Riverdale and in Spuyten Duyvil, and continues to Grand Central Terminal. Rush-hour trains run approximately every 20 minutes, and peak fare is $6.50 one-way, or $149 a month. Starting at 11 a.m., southbound trains run each hour. The trip takes 20 to 30 minutes. Hudson Rail Link buses will take you to the train. See www.mta.info/ mnr/html/raillink/raillinkpage. htm for route maps and fares.

This is part of the November 20, 2008 online edition of The Riverdale Press.

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