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New York City’s subway system is one of the happiest places on earth these days.

You could feel it just before midnight last Saturday when the Knicks won the NBA Finals. Millions of New Yorkers poured out onto the streets in celebration across the five boroughs. Traffic was brought to a standstill. Buses could not move. Taking an Uber or a taxi was a fool’s errand. But underground, the subway kept moving in what was the system’s busiest weekend night in years. New Yorkers crammed onto overnight trains, chanting and singing.

Earlier in the Knicks playoff run, New York native and season ticketholder John Turturro summed up the good vibes the team brought to the trains during an interview on WNYC.

“The most exciting thing is when you ride the subway home,” he said. “After they came back from 22 down in the fourth quarter against Cleveland everyone was on the subway and everyone looked exactly the same. They had a big smile on their face, and they looked like they were in shock.”

Too often the subway’s aging infrastructure leaves riders comparing it to hell rather than heaven. The MTA’s own data shows about 17% of subway trains run behind schedule. Everyday commuters know what that means: You can expect to run late about twice a week.

But the subway is also a “great equalizer.” Whether you’re a Wall Street banker or a busboy, the trains are the best way to get around the city. The system’s egalitarian nature was on full display during the Knicks celebration. The party will likely continue as hundreds of thousands of World Cup fans visit the city.

This week I’ve seen tourists from around the globe awed by our rusty old people movers. On Tuesday at Herald Square, a crowd of World Cup fans on the way back from the France-Senegal game poured into an uptown B train, which was full of Yankees fans headed to the Bronx. Riders yapped and giggled in more than a dozen languages and dialects.

Parisians visiting to see the game might scoff at our system, which doesn’t run every two minutes like their Metro. But unlike almost every other subway on earth, ours runs all night. Berliners coming into town for next week’s Germany-Ecuador game might be bewildered by the untidy state of our stations — but New York City’s subway system is nearly twice the size of the German capital’s U-Bahn and S-Bahn combined. Londoners coming to see the England-Panama match later this month might be confused by the MTA’s intense crackdown on fare evasion. But, unlike the London Underground, which charges riders based on how far they travel, New York City’s subway can get you anywhere for $3 flat, whether it’s one stop or 30 miles.

Still, the subway can be a source of agony.

Thursday morning proved that when Knicks fans flooded Lower Manhattan hoping to get a glimpse of the 10-block ticker-tape parade celebrating the team’s first title in 53 years. The streets became so overcrowded the NYPD directed trains to skip all Lower Manhattan stops. Crowds were left stuck inside Fulton Transit Center, where the police did not let them exit because the streets were too full.

“People are getting where they need to go, and stations are open,” said MTA spokesperson Aaron Donovan.

Well, not exactly. But with the vibes this good, New York City’s huddled masses are likely in for a heavenly summer, even if it’s hotter than hell on the platform.

NYC transportation news this week

The abandoned LIRR tracks in Queens. Last month, Mayor Zohran Mamdani made a call: He has a $43 million plan to turn the tracks in a High Line-style park called Queensway, a choice that frustrates those who wanted the return of rail service. Some residents living along the stretch between Ozone Park and Rego Park said they don’t want a working rail line or a park and would prefer the tracks remain abandoned in order to preserve their privacy.

Bridge over Gowanus Canal reopens. The historic Carroll Street Bridge, which is an ultra-rare retractable bridge, is back in order after a five-year repair job.

Brooklyn Bridge biking upgrade. The city’s transportation department said it plans to install a two-way protected bike lane on the Brooklyn side of the Brooklyn Bridge,

Curious Commuter

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Questionf rom Karen in Manhattan

I recently noticed a change with NYC’s yellow cabs. The number on the roof of the car used to correspond with the number on the license plate. Now they start with “Y” and end with “C”. Other liveries start with “T” and end with “C”. Does the “Y C” stand for yellow cab or is it just coincidental? When and why did the numbering convention change?

Answer

Taxi and Limousine Commission spokesperson Jason Kersten said the numbers on the plates changed in 2018 after the state Department of Motor Vehicles changed the format. That's because they wanted to reduce the additional time and cost it took for making license plates that were tailored to a driver's medallion numbers. And yes, the "Y" and "C" do stand for Yellow Cab.