Mt Vernon West Metro North Station

Average Metro North Train Station.
Been using this location for my Metro North (Harlem Line) use since the late 80’s. Not too much has changed other than some cosmetic differences on the platform. The best modification was the digital board they added with the schedule (Grand Central bound side only) — relying on the garbled speakers always sucked. At least the train fare went to something decent… because it doesn’t go to the actual rail service or their schedules.
Inside is drab and blah. Sometimes it smells, sometimes it doesn’t. I never bothered with the store/​eatery inside or any of the overpriced vending machines. They have 2 ticket machines inside, but probably need 2 more since the IQ challenged sometimes tend to take a much longer time to operate the simple machine. There is a booth inside with an agent sometimes, but for anyone in the early morning or evening would be out of luck.
There is some slight parking about a block from station, but the area isn’t an area I’d want to leave a car at night. At night, sometimes shady characters can be inside or outside the station. During any time here, there are also some strange people… but that’s everywhere.
There’s one thin stairwell (one stairwell for each side) for exiting passengers and depending on how crowded the train is, it could be a few minutes before you can exit.
There is a cab stand across the street and the cab drivers will be on top of most exiting train riders, but I guess it’s their job. There’s not much room for cars to wait for people they’re picking up.
There is the 7 bus across the street for the station — but much like the Metro North itself, the bus can be late at times.
There are much better stations and much worse stations, but this isn’t too bad.

This morning I went up to the teller to ask a simple question. I wanted to get a ticket from Mount Vernon West to Tarrytown, which is on a different line, so my question was if I could buy both tickets there or if I would have to buy my Tarrytown ticket when I transferred at Harlem. Instead of answering my question the man told me I should take the 7 bus to Yonkers (which is on the same line as Tarrytown) and take the train from there, or take the train to White Plains and take a bus from there. I thanked him for trying to save me money but told him my job was paying for the ticket and I’d worked out the times with the trains and wasn’t sure I would be on time if I took the bus. He kept interrupting me as I tried to explain myself (why I even had to justify my choices to a stranger is BEYOND me) and would not answer my question.
While I appreciate this man’s attempt to save me money and possibly time, I was extremely put off by his condescending and demeaning manner, his refusal to answer my question, and his rude interruptions.
My recommendation: don’t bother asking for «help» here– you are much better off on your own to save yourself the early morning frustration of being talked down to.
It’s not all bad though– in the winter there are heated booths on the platform.

It’s outside so you’ll get cell reception but the exit is only at one end so if you’re coming from Grand Central, make sure you are at the front of the car when you get on & not the back. Not the most populated area but doesn’t seem overly sketchy. Tolerable at least & the bus stop is right outside the station.