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The Secret to Driving in New York City
So I’ve lived in the city for three months now, and have a pretty good internal compass to get around. But the other day was the first time I’ve tried driving through Manhattan and Jersey, and it was terrifying to say the least… BUT I have discovered the great secret to driving in Manhattan!
Okay, so this is a two part recipe for driving in New York City.
Step 1. Add Zipcar
Zipcar is this great online car “sharing” service that has garages all over New York with cars you can rent by the hour. You reserve them and they issue you a special RFID Zipcard that unlocks the doors when you get to the car. No messing around with keys! You just leave the keys in the card and lock and unlock the doors with your personal Zipcard.
From the zipcar.com site:
Car sharing seems like a simple enough idea, but there’s a reason that Zipcar has become the leader for cars on demand—we took a simple concept to new heights. It’s not just about less cars, less congestion and less pollution (though we’re not complaining), it’s about understanding why those things are a problem, and finding sustainable solutions. We’re idea people acknowledging that this is something bigger than all of us, something that can take over the world (literally) if we’re smart about it. And it’s not just a theory. We have the industry’s gold standard service, allowing our members 24/7 access to hundreds of cars around the globe. We’re working daily to take things to the next level, and we’re not slowing down anytime soon.
This is how I have wheels around the city, and it’s worked out great. Call them up to reserve a car or use the iPhone app to reserve it from your phone. I walk into the garage, tell them the name of the car (Like Brooklyn the Scion xB or Marielle the Mini Cooper) and away we go. There’s a gas card in the visor if the tank needs a fill up, and I’ve got full insurance in case of an accident. It’s a beautiful thing, because once I’m done I return the card to that garage and walk back to the house. No parking, no hassle. Check out more about Zipcar by clicking on the little pic below:
Step 2: Add Tomtom
So my first trek through lower Manhattan was terrifying and high stress. I had to navigate through Brooklyn, over the Brooklyn Bridge, across Canal St. and through the Holland Tunnel to Jersey. Once in Jersey I took the wrong turn and paid the Turnpike toll twice in my confusion. Enough was enough. Enter the Tomtom.
For the low low price of $150, I have a small dash mounted GPS that tells me turn by turn how to get to my destination. Suddenly that gut churning feeling of despair magically dissapears! Setup is easy… so easy in fact that the Tomtom doesn’t come with an instruction manual. It’s got a 2 minute tutorial right on the device! We programmed our “Home” address in there, so when it’s time to go home, it’s as easy as pressing “Go Home” and listening to the turn by turn directions.
So there you have it. The secret to driving in New York City. Or really any major city in the US. Zipcar has garages in most major cities and you can get a Tomtom just about anywhere they sell electronics. We purchased ours from a Radioshack in New Jersey. Happy driving!
yo dude
just wanted to tell you that Secret Wars is on its way to NYC (Brooklyn) this june…
check our site for more details
if you want to enter please email some sketch examples to our email address
T