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Local Travel

New York City has one of the best public transit systems in the world. The city is so extensively networked with subway and bus lines that relatively few people bother driving within the city. Public transit is always faster, cheaper and more convenient for travel within Manhattan.

For travelers who prefer a private conveyance, the ubiquitous yellow taxicabs will take you anywhere you might wish to go. On the busier streets roughly every fourth vehicle is a yellow taxicab, even throughout the night. Taxi fare from any midtown location to another midtown location is usually around $5, likewise from any downtown location to another downtown location. Trips from midtown to downtown and vice versa are usually between $6 and $10.

Due to reforms put in place several years ago, the subways are now extremely safe and much cleaner. Riding from anywhere to anywhere is only $1.50, and the subway runs nonstop every day and night. The extent and convenience of the New York City subway system surpasses all others North America. Though most of the Convergence events we have planned will take place within the hotel's convention areas, the subways are the best means to get to all other locations.

Interesting Fact: If you counted every subway station in the entire USA outside of New York City, it would be almost exactly same as the number of NYC subway stations.

We don't recommend that visitors drive to and from Convergence events outside of the hotel. The city is often congested, especially during rush hour; and even residents find inexpensive parking difficult to come by. Individuals in nearby cities driving to Convergence will be pleased to know that our hotel has valet parking available, and we recommend that visitors leave their vehicle at the hotel.

Manhattan itself is geographically very small: only 14 miles long and 2 wide. This makes getting about the city very fast, no matter which option one chooses. Traveling the length of the island by car or by express subway takes between twenty and thirty minutes under average conditions.

With regard to our proposal, all but one of the events we have scheduled will take place in the lower fourth of the island. The hotel is conveniently located next to Grand Central Terminal (a major subway, train and bus terminal), making visiting any location a breeze. All of the scheduled (and unofficial events under consideration) are between one and three blocks from a subway stop.

Air Travel

Getting to New York City by air is simple and surprisingly inexpensive. The region has three international airports— equidistant from the hotel— in direct competition with each other for passengers, which drives down prices. Because these airports are hubs, travelers save money visiting New York over other cities because the flights are more direct. New York City is also the most convenient destination for potential Convergence travelers from Europe.

How inexpensive? We did some searches on Travelocity.com, Cheaptickets.com, and a few others to investigate what airfares might have been if Convergence in NYC was happening next month! We found roundtrip prices as low as $285 for Seattle, $198 for San Francisco, and $198 for Los Angeles. We can't guarantee those rates for next year of course, but they do give some points of reference. In addition, though fares fluctuate from day to day, those prices might have been significantly lower if we had made those "reservations" more than a month ahead. One of the best ways to save money on airfare is to purchase tickets in advance. Many more fares are found below.

But that's not all. We are incredibly grateful for the contribution of Ian Dutton, a Net.Goth pilot on Continental Airlines, who has provided our bid with a guaranteed 10% discount off any fare that Continental advertises, including all sale fares. This is especially significant since Continental has a major domestic and international hub at Newark Airport.

Sample Round Trip Fares

Departure City	US Dollars	Native Currency
Atlanta	$150	N/A
Boston	$116	N/A
Charlotte	$99	N/A
Chicago	$209	N/A
Dallas	$214	N/A
Detroit	$158	N/A
Houston	$160	N/A
Kansas City	$208	N/A
Lincoln	$228	N/A
Las Vegas	$236	N/A
Los Angeles	$198	N/A
Memphis	$172	N/A
Miami	$98	N/A
Minneapolis	$178	N/A
New Orleans	$186	N/A
Orlando	$98	N/A
Pittsburgh	$180	N/A
Philadelphia	$118	N/A
Raleigh	$177	N/A
Richmond	$108	N/A
San Francisco	$198	N/A
Seattle	$285	N/A
Washington DC	$108	N/A
Amsterdam	$222	NLG 540
Berlin	$348	DEM 750
Glasgow	$295	GBP 196
London	$292	GBP 194
Melbourne	$998	AUD 1714
Oslo	$470	NOK 4197
Paris	$234	FRF 1691
Rome	$276	ITL 588814
Sydney	$998	AUD 1714
Toronto	$98	CAN 146
Vancouver	$288	CAN 428