Before the Subway system, New Yorkers traveled via horse cars, cable cars and elevated trains. An underground system was determined to be a preferable mode of transportation to reduce the number of people traveling on the streets.
October 27, 1904, the New York City Subway system opened and serviced about 100,000 people on its first day. The Subway was preferable to elevated trains and cable cars because it was faster and was not subject to weather delays.
Almost as soon as the Subway opened, new lines and expansions of existing lines were proposed. Some ideas included competing with the current subway system, or being able to travel from either end of the island on one fare, as well as a loop system to New Jersey.
When the subway system was developed it was built by two different companies, the Interborough Rapid Transit Company and the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company. In 1940 these companies were combined under the city's Board of Transportation. While it is all one subway system, there are complexities and they are due to the original division between the companies: the IRT company numbered its lines while the BRT company lettered its lines.
Today, the New York City Subway is one of the largest underground rapid transit systems in the world with over 400 stations and 34 lines, and it is one of the world's oldest public transportation systems. Without it, a lot of New Yorkers, commuters and tourists would have a difficult time making their way around the city.
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