Hitchhiking in Manhattan For Hours

Dec. 21, 2005 — -- The New York City transit workers strike left over 7 million commuters scrambling to find a way to their jobs. Here is a selection of responses from ABCNews.com readers who detailed their Tuesday morning commute:

I walked from 98th and Amsterdam to 40th and Madison. Being from Austin, TX, if people there had to walk more then a mile to get to work they'd all have stayed home. I was so impressed by how great everyone was taking the strike and that just because the Union wants to affect us, New Yorkers still go about their daily lives and take it all in stride.

I think that even after the strike, I'm going to walk to work more often. Sure beats packing into a train every morning. The Unions need to realize that they are paid very well and already have benefits I only wish I had. It's spelled MTA not ATM.
-- Steven Henderson

My destination was Borough Hall, Brooklyn. I left my apt. on 122nd and lexington at 7 a.m. and car pooled to get to 34th street and 7th at 9:55 a.m. That's almost 3 hours just to get to Penn Station. I then got on the LIRR, to Jamaica Queens -- there I was disgusted at the massive line to transfer -- so I took a cab to Borough Hall! Amazingly I got to work at 12 p.m.
-- Brenda Laporte

Hitch-hike; 2.6 hours. Driver of the car, a total stranger, was very nice and even refused my offer to share the gas fare. I dropped several bills in his car, thanked him profusely, and bid him good day when he dropped me off just three blocks from my office. Who says New Yorkers are not friendly?
-- Anonymous

I had to walk 2 miles to work today. The union wants a piece of the 2 billion dollar surplus? How about the customers? MTA raised rates to $2 because of a budget gap? Baloney, give the ridership their lower fare back.
-- Anonymous

This morning I walked from Penn Station to Columbus Circle as didscores of others. The thing that impressed me the most was the calm and control of New Yorkers, mostly because of New York's Finest. The police were everywhere giving directions, coordinating riders for taxis at Penn Statation. and the Port Authority Bus Terminal and directing the thousands of pedestrians at the crosswalks. All with "good morning" and a smile. Thanks NYPD, you rarely get credit for all the good you do.
-- John Doherty, New Jersey

Had to go from Brooklyn to Queens, about 6 miles. Usually, I would take the G train, but since the strike was in effect, I had to come up with another plan. I had a bike as a backup, but figured I'd try my luck at hailing a cab on Fulton St. in Brooklyn. No problem! Caught a cab right away and was at work in 20 minutes! Many others weren't so lucky … Traffic going in the opposite direction on the BQE was extremely heavy heading toward the Williamsburg Bridge to Manhattan. Police had traffic stopped and were checking cars to make sure they had 4 passengers.
-- Pete Burke, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Easy … got on my bike and rode from 105th to Wall Street … Laughed the whole way at people in cabs/cars stuck in traffic with no place to go. It took me 45 minutes. Some people from work that live in the city drove, but how are they going to get home?? It's going to be a nightmare. TWU is selfish and spoiled.. hope the MTA fires them all.
-- Shawn

My options for getting to work from New Jersey to Manhattan are: walk 1 mile, take a NJ Transit train, transfer to another NJT train, transfer to a Path Train and walk 5 blocks OR Take 2 different NJ Transit buses to get to Port Authority; walk a mile from there. The company's CEO told all employees we could not take unscheduled time off during the strike.

I opted for the 2 buses and a LONG walk to come into town. I'll reverse the 2-bus trip tonight except I'll have to walk a mile in NJ because there is no local bus that goes closer to my house at night. I'm proud to support the union and will NOT cross any picket lines.
-- Katherine Diaz, New Jersey

I arrived at my work destination via carpool, however, I learned that some people are not as ready to offer help as they say. Comments made about having to pick up fellow co-workers were made and the hostile attitude was shown.
-- CD, The Bronx

I am a transit worker and I had to walk like everyone else to get to my stike area. I had to do what I had to do. I will continue to strike as long as it is warranted. People don't know what we go through. I have been spit on, hit in the face with a cantaloupe. I was ordered to be the first train through a fire that was supposed to be contained and I don't get paid for any of this.
-- Sylvia Long, Brooklyn, N.Y.

How are you dealing with the strike? If you would like to send in your comments click on this form and e-mail us for possible reporting on ABC News.