Originally Posted by mattygobatty
[SIZE=2]This summer I from New York to Montreal and back, then San Francisco and back. I've taken the bike on several train trips along the Bos-Wash corridor using Amtrak, and I have used it quite a bit on the New York City subway. There are several water-taxi options around NY which I have not tried yet, and then there in Long Island Rail, Metro North Rail, and New Jersey Transit Rail all of which I intend to check out. Of all of them, Metro North is the only one that requires someone to have a "permit" to bring a bike on board.
NJ Transit does not require you to have the bike in a bag or even a pass. The Long Island Rail road requires a pass ($5.00) and it's the same one you have for Metro North. The Path system also require the bike to be folded. Amtrak requires the bike to be folded and in a bag.
You sound like a person who really needs a GPS. I like maps but only to be used as a source of info for my GPS.