Best Urban Public Transit in the country (mostly rail but bus/commuter train also)

[vivo]

new york of course is the most extensive but i guess overall the stations are kind of shabby. plus it's 24 hrs. the 2nd best might be dc. goes up to 3 am on fri and sat which is great! i've used dc a lot. other ones to discuss are chicago (2 2 4hr lines), boston, la, san fran, cleveland, portland etc. la's is extensive but it's a huge urban area. they have built their system in a short amount of time. anyone here like philly's system?

good link:
http://www.urbanrail.net/am/america.htm

[littledancerus]

I've only used DC's but it was awsome! You could pretty much go anywhere on the metro. If there was a place you couldn't, you could take it to a bus stop that would take you right there. Plus, they were always decently clean & seemed pretty safe. I wish they had that kind of thing around here!! It makes for less problems with drunk driving!

[vivo]

well i guess commuter train is rail? also la supposedly has a good bus system but lot of people don't want to use the bus.

[lonestar]

well i guess commuter train is rail? also la supposedly has a good bus system but lot of people don't want to use the bus.

LA has a great bus system but is not a bus town...most people in LA like to keep nice cars. I have aquaintences and relatives (my step-mothers side) in Pasedena, Santa Monica, Huntington Beach, Seal Beach, Laguna Beach, and Dana Point and they all say the same thing: if you want to get into the LA scene get a cool ride or borrow enough to get one.

[yankeeyosh]

NOT boston.

[AshleyJordan]

My planning education tells me it's NYC, but my erratic commutes from Brooklyn to mid-town tell me otherwise! Portland, OR, has a great light-rail system that I hope will be a model for other medium-sized cities.
And not, definitely not Boston. The T is horrible!

[yankeeyosh]

And not, definitely not Boston. The T is horrible!

If the 'T' ran a bit after midnight, and/or there was better bus service, I wouldn't complain. But if you're going out on a weekend...you have to be going by 12.

Sounds like that segment of "Dirty Water" where The Standells sing "Frustrated women, have to be in by 12 o'clock"...cuz in Boston you HAVE TO.

[SpaceMonkey]

Not DC. There is only one track going in either direction on each line, so any time there is a problem with a train it gums up the whole system.

[SunDevil]

I've only used DC's and Chicago's. Chicago's isn't too bad, but it isn't the fastest. From what I remember of DC's, it was pretty good for tourists.

I would guess that Tokyo or London have the best one, but those are not in this country.

[Tenshi28]

Don't know if anybody's interested since the topic refers to the U.S., but to me the best subway system I have ever seen is Paris. Not particularly new or fast, but the extension of is just unbelievable. I think I read somewhere that anywhere in Paris you have a subway station less than 500 yards away.

The one here in Barcelona is pretty good too but there are certain places where it doesn't reach. But combined with the bus system and the recently opened tram service you can pretty much go anywhere. Unless until midnight that is.

[mishl982]

I've only used it in DC and NYC and I definitely like NYC's subway system more. It seems like there was a stop at every other corner and the trains moved fast, plus you never had to wait very long for the next train. In DC, yea there are stops in lots of places, but sometimes I'd have to walk 1/2 a mile or more to find a train station. Also sometimes I would have to wait up to 20 minutes for a train to arrive (and I'm talking about IN DC not outside).

[lonestar]

In terms of extensiveness and reach, New York with Chicago in second...However, the American Public Transportation Association has recognized the following as outstanding:

BART - San Francisco (named #1 public transporation system in US, 2004)
DART - Dallas
Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Orange County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

[cheshrcarol]

NY is good for the extensiveness, but DC is definitely cleaner and nicer. But I agree with the vote for Paris. Their system is awesome and safe. The first time I was in Paris I was 15 and the families we stayed with had no problem with all of us going out on our own (with our exchange student guides) and taking the subway at all hours.

[Tenshi28]

NY is good for the extensiveness, but DC is definitely cleaner and nicer. But I agree with the vote for Paris. Their system is awesome and safe. The first time I was in Paris I was 15 and the families we stayed with had no problem with all of us going out on our own (with our exchange student guides) and taking the subway at all hours.

It's similar here when it comes to safety. Is it really unsafe to take the subway at a later hour there in the US?

[rocket333d]

Boston's is awful. It's really dirty and gross, and because they mismanaged their funds, there's an enormous hike in prices coming soon. This summer the trains have been completely unreliable, and sometimes I find myself waiting a half hour or more for a subway.

ALSO, I spend $150/mo on transport passes, and they don't even work at all the stops! Don't even get me started on the Ruggles station. The turnstyles never work for my card and I don't think anyone ever cleans that place.

And the people are incredibly rude. In NYC, at least they know how to ride a subway! You get people in Boston riding one stop, which you can SEE from the previous stop they got on!!! You get people who think they're too good to sit down and, while there are plenty of seats open, the car's crowded because these self-righteous jerks are standing. And god forbid you sit down in front of one of them! They shoot you the nastiest looks!

Also, what drives me nuts are the people on the bus and subway who get on and stand right at the door, so no one else can get in, even though they can push down towards the middle or back very easily.

And why am I always sitting next to the smelly ghetto dude who sits with his legs so far apart, the two seats on either side of him are blocked? I'll be sitting down first, and then he sits next to me and jacks his legs apart, banging my knees and forcing me to either stand up or change seats.

Also, and this is not really everyone's problem, but it's a pretty bad one for me. Why is it that on some afternoons, the Marijuana Smokers Association of America comes and gets on the subway all at the same time? This would not be a problem for me if I weren't ALLERGIC AS HELL. My eyes water, my head hurts, and my throat actually starts closing up and I start wheezing if I even catch the stuff on someone's clothes. But it has to be a lot of people or someone who just smoked recently, and it is always really strong.

Oh lord, I complain a lot.

[weary]

i would have to say hands down NYC even though it's grimey. i've taken it at ALL hours and rarely ran into any problems other than the occasional bum or overly friendly dude. very easy to lean too.

growing up in cali i don't see how the hell BART got the #1 vote. BART sucked. most cali transit sucks. cali is a CAR state. if you have to take rail, bus, etc. it's going to take you 3 hours to get somewhere 10 miles away because of the routes and stops and transfers. SUCKS.

DC is def the cleanest i've been on and pretty good. but still it's slow and like another poster said, one issue on the tracks and the whole service for that line is screwed. and why aren't there any expresses?

boston - could take it or leave it.

[cheshrcarol]

Is it really unsafe to take the subway at a later hour there in the US?In NYC, absolutely. If you're mostly riding around Manhattan and in touristy areas, you'd probably be fine. But in the boroughs (brooklyn, bronx, queens) there would subway stop/lines that would be questionable late at night.

[Skyblade]

growing up in cali i don't see how the hell BART got the #1 vote. BART sucked. most cali transit sucks. cali is a CAR state. if you have to take rail, bus, etc. it's going to take you 3 hours to get somewhere 10 miles away because of the routes and stops and transfers. SUCKS.



I agree about BART. Its not extensive enough to be a great system. I lived in San Jose and we had to drive all the way to Fremont just to use BART. I really wish they would have better public transit in California. Currently I commute from Ventura to Santa Barbara each day for work, I take a bus, but there is always so much traffic between the two cities that even though its only about 35 miles apart.....it takes an hour to an hour and a half.....sometimes longer on the bus because of all the stops. Although, I have to admit, the price is pretty good $1.80 each way.

[weary]

I agree about BART. Its not extensive enough to be a great system. I lived in San Jose and we had to drive all the way to Fremont just to use BART. I really wish they would have better public transit in California. Currently I commute from Ventura to Santa Barbara each day for work, I take a bus, but there is always so much traffic between the two cities that even though its only about 35 miles apart.....it takes an hour to an hour and a half.....sometimes longer on the bus because of all the stops. Although, I have to admit, the price is pretty good $1.80 each way.

ha! i know exactly what you are talking about! many of my friends from palo alto & los altos did not even KNOW what BART was! :googly:

we used to call the fremont station FART...stupid i know. but it was funny when we were 12.

[lonestar]

i would have to say hands down NYC even though it's grimey. i've taken it at ALL hours and rarely ran into any problems other than the occasional bum or overly friendly dude. very easy to lean too.

growing up in cali i don't see how the hell BART got the #1 vote. BART sucked. most cali transit sucks. cali is a CAR state. if you have to take rail, bus, etc. it's going to take you 3 hours to get somewhere 10 miles away because of the routes and stops and transfers. SUCKS.

DC is def the cleanest i've been on and pretty good. but still it's slow and like another poster said, one issue on the tracks and the whole service for that line is screwed. and why aren't there any expresses?

boston - could take it or leave it.

I think BART won the award for environmental and cleanliness reasons...that's why I say that NYC and Chicago, while obviously older infrastructure, have the most efficient and expansive systems.

[wordsmith]

I've spent the most time on Chicago's El, but I've also been on the trains in DC and the BART, and when I was a student, the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit) in Ireland.

BART was the cleanest I've ever been on.

I don't really have any complaints about Chicago's system, and I was a heavy El user when I lived there b/c I had no car. I love that the Red Line, which is the main artery that runs the length of the city, is a 24-hour train, and think all the lines should be. It branches off enough so that most areas of the city are reasonably accessible, it's really extensive. I've never known it to be inefficient, and they come really frequently, much moreso than the city buses. One neat thing about the EL is that it travels the course of "The Loop," the old streetcar route, downtown on an elevated track (hence the name El), and some of the lines make it the cheapest architectural tour in the city. There are some neat views to be had just by riding the train.

The only real downsides to the El are that it can be pretty grungy at times, and in the case of the 24-hour trains and stations, there are some homeless people who just live on the trains. I knew a guy who used to come to a soup kitchen we worked with who would just ride the Red Line from one end of the city to the other all night long, because he had nowhere else to go. When somebody'd hassle him, he'd get off and wait at the stop for the next train.

[cheshrcarol]

I'there are some homeless people who just live on the trains. I knew a guy who used to come to a soup kitchen we worked with who would just ride the Red Line from one end of the city to the other all night long, because he had nowhere else to go. When somebody'd hassle him, he'd get off and wait at the stop for the next train.This is pretty common in NYC, especially in the winter. Trains and stations are warm and open 24-7.

[lonestar]

Wasn't Giuliani trying to kick the homeless out of the NYC trains when he was in office...I know he sent a lot of the homeless over to Jersey...

[vivo]

according to the responses which doesn't surprise me at all. I guess dc's is ok at the major pts within the city and I wouldn't mind taking the bus to georgetown. damn european cities! the cities and public transport are much better from what I gather. check out pics of the moscow metrow if u can. very grand! personally i don't mind much that all of nyc's stations aren't great. I'm more interested in the functionality.

[lonestar]

That's because in many European cities a decision was made to rely on mass transit, while in America it was decided in many cities that cars ruled.

Houston supposedly has a decent light rail system, and I know Austin is going to get one that runs north to Leander and Cedar Park in the next couple of years. Detroit is probably the biggest city in the US that doesn't have a transit system...does Philly?

[weary]

philly has the trolley cars or whatever they're called. i don't think it's very thorough though. not for how big philly is anyway.

[cheshrcarol]

Wasn't Giuliani trying to kick the homeless out of the NYC trains when he was in office...I know he sent a lot of the homeless over to Jersey...Yeah, the cops always give the homeless a hard time and make them move, but there's how many trains and stations in new york? They might move around, but with no home to go to they're going to try and stay in the warmth as much as they can.

[vivo]

That's because in many European cities a decision was made to rely on mass transit, while in America it was decided in many cities that cars ruled.

Houston supposedly has a decent light rail system, and I know Austin is going to get one that runs north to Leander and Cedar Park in the next couple of years. Detroit is probably the biggest city in the US that doesn't have a transit system...does Philly?

there's light rail in philly and i guess mostly trolley?

http://www.urbanrail.net/am/phil/philadelphia.htm

yeah i think most us cities elected to tear down their old streetcar systems. i know nyc didn't. who else? they are thinking of building a maglev from bmore to dc with future extensions but donnow if that'll pan out. also think it's still competing w/pittsburgh(ha! pittsburgh). been on the backburner i think. also a bullet train from sf to sd but who knows about that.

http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/route/default.asp

[weary]

i don't think cali will ever get a really elaborate subway-style rail system...and why should they? i don't think anyone's stupid enough to go around digging a bunch of tunnels in earthquake country! :rolleyes:

[wordsmith]

Chicago's systems is a combination of underground, street level, and elevated track trains, some within the same line. It's also pretty historic...the oldest sections of it date back to the late 1800s, around the time of the World's Fair there.

[weary]

so words when i go to chicago this winter i can scratch the rental car from the plan?

[wordsmith]

Parking can be a real bitch, can be costly and usually more hassle than it's worth (especially for a visitor, not somebody guaranteed zoned parking), and particularly in winter. I'd say it would depend on where you're staying.

[Skyblade]

It just bugs me that in California the solution to the traffic problem always seems to be adding another lane on the freeway (which they are in the process of doing right now between Ventura & Santa Barbara).

[SunDevil]

according to the responses which doesn't surprise me at all. I guess dc's is ok at the major pts within the city and I wouldn't mind taking the bus to georgetown. damn european cities! the cities and public transport are much better from what I gather. check out pics of the moscow metrow if u can. very grand! personally i don't mind much that all of nyc's stations aren't great. I'm more interested in the functionality.

I forgot about the Moscow Metro. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow_metro.

Check out the routes:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/14/Moscowmetro-2005-2.png


Here is the Tokyo subway map:
http://www.bento.com/subtop5.html


And here is the London Underground (The Tube):
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/pdfdocs/colourmap.gif