Maybe its what you think is the best based on your experience or based on statistics, whichever you prefer.
-System lends well to transfers?
-Allows Bikes on the trains/buses/ferrys?
-Stops in worthy locations?
-Speed?
-frequency of stops?
-frequency of trains/buses?
-Closed/Open?
I just wanted to see what people think.. I love public transit, its my life, I rely on it.
I live in San Francisco and work in Berkeley. My commutte starts on a bike, goes from the Outter Sunset 6miles to Embarcadero BART
Station(IMO more of a commuter rail that goes through the downtown of SF then a traditional Subway.)
This is the only station in my direction that I can bring my bike on the BART train.(Its the only way besides a TransBay bus that I can get my bike across the Bay)
Get out at Ashby BART and ride the bike a mile to work. 1hour total door to door. Personally I think the BART system is slow, smelly and doesnt go the places I need it to. Nor does it make it easy for a bicyclist to get around the hilly city. But at least I can bring it on the train somewheres. Also seems like I wait for nearly 10-15mis during rush hour commute for a train in my direction.
Growing up in NY, I know that NYC subways is wayyyyyyyyyyyy better then BART
I used to have a website that had the website for every transit agency in the world and pictures of every train car/bus in their fleet. But I can no longer find it.
I second Tokyo. It is so reliable the transit authority has to hand out "notes" if you are delayed because your boss would not believe you with out one. It is also so clean you can eat off the floor.
tokyo is kind of overly confusing though... suppose if you are from there it is easy but then, why do they nees so many bloody lines... and they have the above grade system and the below system... i think it's actually privatized right? different companies? makes for a little too complicated imho...
my favorite subway is probably hong kong or washington dc...
i mean i love tokyo, it's fun, and the transit works, but its not the best transit imho... its a little too organic imho for me, not a designed machine but more like a evolved organism... but kindof cool i guess, i do like the way the city develops nodes around subway stations there though... like the different stops at each neghborhood, the different social atmosphere at each neighborhood... different districts with different character... ginza for shopping business, etc... akihabara for nerds basically... shibuya younger generation bars etc... harijuku for younger fashion district, etc... shinjuku, omote sando for shopping, fashion higher end, etc... each has its own culture
i like the hong kong transit including... the old school pieces: like the star ferry and the hong kong island trolleys... i love how despite having the super high tech state of the art efficient condition subway system with tunnels under the bay (which costs about the same), people still love to take the ghetto old school double decker trolley instead, if they have time... Also: the outdoor escalators that run up the hill on the island... Somehow the infrastructure itself in hong kong has personality there, they're sort of places in themselves, not just the in between places... And there are sort of the same kinds of nodes at stations in Hong Kong as in Tokyo...
pound for pound freiburg is an amazing (but small) system based on inter connectivity of rail/bike/tram/bus.
seattle's is an effing joke. it's 99.9% buses, which are horribly utilized
-the seats should be flipped up during rush hour
-not baby carriage/luggage friendly during off-peak hours
-horrible payment system
-bus stop are too close together in city, increasing duration of travel considerably, especially when coupled w/ horrible payment system
-lack of inter connectivity/efficient nodal transportation
-lack of well-designed map/plan
also, no one gets up for pregnant women and elderly anymore. it's really pathetic (i'm talking to you, hipster w/ the iphone pretending you don't see her)
it's sort of the city of indecisive bickering and then jumping the gun and no follow through... the monorail that basically became a tourist ride... the little bits of street car that are disconnected and don't go much anywhere that the majority of people stuck in traffic and riding buses go to... the tunnel, light rail has promise but then... the fact that the light rail shares the tunnel with buses basically means, even though the rail moves fast, its just waiting behind buses no?? might as well take a bus... well i guess once it clears the tunnel it is fast travel to the airport or outer stops but i've never gone out that far... They also need to extend the light rail to: the east side, redmond bellevue kirkland etc. and beyond... and up to the university, and also: queen anne, ballard, fremont imho...
tokyo is great. my only other real living in the city experience is london. subway system was not so good when i lived there.
tokyo is definitely organic. which means there is redundancy and overlap...which means there is choice... which is a very good thing. amazingly, new lines are being added still. and they all run on time. of course! if they don't what is the point?
I will second Vienna. I lived there for a while while in school and it was great. The different levels of transportation make it really easy to get around and it is cheap! Subway/ Light-rail/Bus...makes it really easy to move about the city. Plus, their dedicated bike path system is really great because it puts the bike rider out of harm's way of car traffic without making you have to pedal so far out of the way from where you are trying to get...and of course, yes, there is the road for the cars which isn't so bad either.
I went to Berlin a few years ago, and their mass transit was amazing, and very comprehensive. They have the S-Baum and the U-Baum, which is a surface train that forms a ring around the city (an El, if you would), and a subway that weaves it all together, respectively. Built into all of the S-Baum stations are a series of shops and restaurants, which creates a destination at each station.
In addition to that, they had a tram system that connected all the major neighborhoods, busses that went everywhere and an extensive network of bike paths. This whole system made it very easy to get around. It also allows you to live without a car, which contributed to the quiet/uncrowded/pedestrian friendly nature of the city.
On top of that, it was clean, fares were pretty cheap (since the mass transit there is owned by a private company that receives large government stipends.), and buying a ticket for the train is optional. That’s right, they didn't have turnstiles or gates you had to present a ticket to. Basically, you buy a ticket, or you don’t. At random intervals, a plain clothes transit cop will ask to see everyone’s ticket, and if you don't have one, you get a serious fine.
They also had connections to the ICE train and Eurostar trains at all the major S-Baum stations. So traveling out of Germany was easy too.
although when I was living there, they did not run all night [only during specific holidays + festivals] but they were a reliable means of commute for the day.
The night buses, however, provide enough support to get one home at a reasonable time, as they run hourly and cover a solid portion of the city.
Hong Kong's Subway + Bus system is one of the cheapest and effective in the world, and basically covers anywhere you might want to go. When I visited I found it an amazing way to travel and one of the only places in the world you can take a bus or subway straight from the densest city to complete nature in hours. I love that they keep old systems like the ferry and street cars running at absurdly low prices as well.
I also remember reading somewhere that it is a profitable system since they are also real estate developers (and HK is so dense). Potentially a lot of room for corruption in the interaction of public and private there (this is a polite way of putting it), but it is definitely successful.
NYC's metro service is worn down in many ways but its hard to argue with 24 hour service and express lines. Real hard to argue. Does anyone else in the world even do this?
Madrid! Cheap, clean and efficient. 11 Subway lines. 3 light rail lines. 9 regional trains.. not to mention the high speed system that connects to the rest of Spain. They really take pride in their system with out charging you outrageous amounts of money. I'd say the same for London but it's just too expensive. In Madrid, you have to pay one extra euro to get to the airport. In London, you have to pay at least 20 pounds to get to Gatwick.
How about light rail, and high speed rail? The high speed rail in Japan us pretty awesome... Super quiet, you feel like the train is flying but low to the ground, landscape flying by... And every station has unique bento box lunches that are unique to the station... Different kinds of train lunches basically... I love how in Japan all things get taken to the extreme and people get so into it... Like there are "train fans" who are geeks about trains... And there are rankings and awards for those Bento boxes... And the train is always on time... The high speed rail costs basically the same as a plane ticket to the same destination but people prefer riding the train... It's basically on magnets and superfast...
its funny but no one mentioned Curitiba , Brazil..
their efficient bus systems are world's most efficient and could kick any of those Railway lines butts in terms of efficiency at 1/10 of the cost!!!
I'll second Master Builder's praise of the Berlin system.
Like the city itself, it's a little old, a little ugly, and a little beat-up, but somehow it just works.
My only complaint is some of the odd discontinuities between the various systems. For instance, the fact that the U1 terminates at Warschauerstraße and you have to transfer to the tram if you want to continue travelling north. Then again, that's entirely understandable considering the history of the city. But still not particularly convenient.
Another interesting thing to consider is whether or not the system is privatized. I know that in Japan and China a lot of the mass transit is privatized and not actually directly "owned and operated" by the government. I know for China in particular, that can be a gray area but I wonder if there is a discernible difference in efficiency, cleanliness or cost.
I agree with Masterbuilder and IamGray! At least out of the cities I've visited/lived in Berlin's system is the most reliable and most comprehensive.
bRink- Boston's is the worst! I live there now and after living in Berlin it drives me crazy when I have to take the T. I've given up and switched to biking.
I haven't made it to Berlin but I have heard similar things to what Master Builder and tactile said. Has anyone here been to Zurich? I hear the system is great there as well. Ditto w/ Bogota, which uses all buses to move people around and has one many awards. Would be interested to hear from anyone who's been there.
Hong Kong's metro is really nice and easy to use, but also covers a smaller area than Tokyo. I do love taking the little buses to the smaller towns around Hong Kong Island. Possibly the best "public transport" experience I've had. And of course the cheap ferry ride is always good.
For me, the organic nature of Tokyo's metro and the amount of lines and choice makes it more interesting than Hong Kong's system. And think about the size of Tokyo vs. Hong Kong, or anywhere else for that matter. I think initially most of Tokyo's metro was built by the government but I believe it's almost all privately run now. You need a really high amount of density to run large metro system profitably.
I haven't been to Seoul but I imagine it must have a pretty great system.
intotheloop, I found Zürich's system far better than the ones found in North American cities of the same size, but comparable to other networks in the German-speaking world.
Considering their relative "smallness" from an American perspective, cities like Basel, Vienna, Stuttgart, Hanover, Frankfurt, Salzburg, Graz Bern, etc. have some very respectable transit systems.
Hong Kong
- decent, economical, good-coverage, accessible, comprehensive, incredibly fast (up to 30sec/train), safe and reliable (no strike ever, crime rate incredibly low) and not killingly packed (in comparison to tokyo's)
- should also mention the Octopus - hongkong's electronic payment system. The same smart card can be used for virtually all fast food restaurants, vending machines, garages and convenient stores in addition to the transit system
Shanghai
- trying hard to mimic hongkong's but still under-developed
- close at 11? (even so during the expo)
Tokyo
- huge network, too many lines and options (like .... fast, super fast, ultra fast) making it less comprehensive, killingly packed at most hours (perhaps that make it fun for tourists)
Seoul
clean and efficient but not as characteristic as hongkong's / tokyo's
london
- beautiful music, nice crafted Tube culture, historical, safe but unreliable, jubilee line has nice concrete
DC
impressive architecture by Harry Weese, fast and generally reliable
Boston
safe in general but slow and unreliable though it's way better than it's bus system
NYC, Philly
depending on which line; some lines are fine; others are "adventures" at times
LA
you certainly enjoy owning the whole station and the train... can't really see anyone and can't actually go anywhere
Barcelona
you'll definitely lose a wallet or a laptop. it's exciting!
Zurich, Basel
i enjoyed a lot how the tram system integrates with the street. you feel so easy to jump off and on a tram
Frankfurt, Berlin etc
decent and comprehensive
Paris
i just tooked a few rides. it's okay. i like the double-deck train along the river
how about Curitiba's transit system? has anybody been there?
Hmm ya but true it's pretty dated and not the model of cutting edge efficiency... :P isn't it like one of the first subways ever built?
But I think somehow it works... Connects pedestrian neighborhoods so you don't feel a need to have a car like you do in most US cities... Boston Commons and the public garden, outward to all the Universities, etc... Ties together the city, fits in with the character of the city... I'm thinking mostly of the green line... What would Boston be without the T? I have a soft spot for those old school cars and squeaky wheels... :P
Regarding Hong Kong: that subway has some of the most well designed and holistically planned transfers at major intersection stations I think... Not sure exactly but the Trains on the same line are arranged such (stacked?) so that at certain stations where you would expect a high volume of people moving from one line to the next, you don't have to go up any stairs or follow alot of wayfinding signs or corridors... Instead of the usual platform where you expect trains moving in the opposite direction to be on the opposite side of the platform, I seem to recall you transfer by basically crossing the platform and the next line is almost right there in front of you, super intuitive and direct in the wayfinding... Am I remembering correctly how it works? I'm not 100% how that transfer works but it was the most seamless transfer I gave ever experienced on a subway, no stairs required...
Also... You cannot beat that sexy British voice recording announcing every stop... :P
It's clearly not the best in the world, but I'm with bRink regarding the T in Boston. Unlike most other transit systems in the US, the commuter rail, subway, light rail, buses and ferries are all integrated in the same system for one. Also, for a city the size of Boston, the service coverage and frequency is pretty comprehensive. Once you consider the density, parking restrictions and traffic patterns, there are few places within the metro area that are better served by private cars than by public transit. There are obvious gaps--the need for an urban ring (or at least increased capacity on the #1 & #66 buses that serve as de facto urban ring lines), and insufficient service in many minority neighborhoods like Roxbury and Mattapan. The T is saddled with numerous problems--a much older system than most cities and the accompanying infrastructure, a state government that is so unserious about properly funding it that they transfered the Big Dig debt to the T, and the general age and layout of the city which makes it more difficult to connect various points easily. Despite all this, the T is mostly reliable (given the New England disposition there's obviously a lot of complaining about when it is not), comprehensive and cheap ($59 a month for unlimited travel). The system certainly needs improvement and expansion, but a visit to almost any other US city will reveal the quality of the T system in my mind.
Nov 9, 10 11:47 am ·
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Best Public Transit Systems in the World
Maybe its what you think is the best based on your experience or based on statistics, whichever you prefer.
-System lends well to transfers?
-Allows Bikes on the trains/buses/ferrys?
-Stops in worthy locations?
-Speed?
-frequency of stops?
-frequency of trains/buses?
-Closed/Open?
BART
I just wanted to see what people think.. I love public transit, its my life, I rely on it.
I live in San Francisco and work in Berkeley. My commutte starts on a bike, goes from the Outter Sunset 6miles to Embarcadero BART
Station(IMO more of a commuter rail that goes through the downtown of SF then a traditional Subway.)
This is the only station in my direction that I can bring my bike on the BART train.(Its the only way besides a TransBay bus that I can get my bike across the Bay)
Get out at Ashby BART and ride the bike a mile to work. 1hour total door to door. Personally I think the BART system is slow, smelly and doesnt go the places I need it to. Nor does it make it easy for a bicyclist to get around the hilly city. But at least I can bring it on the train somewheres. Also seems like I wait for nearly 10-15mis during rush hour commute for a train in my direction.
Growing up in NY, I know that NYC subways is wayyyyyyyyyyyy better then BART
I used to have a website that had the website for every transit agency in the world and pictures of every train car/bus in their fleet. But I can no longer find it.
Vienna. It is so extensive and cheap. I went out to the suburbs to see the Wotrubakirche while I was there and it was very effortless.
Tokyo has got to be the city to beat. Funneling 35 million people around central Honshu all day.
I'm not sure if they allow bikes on the trains though, I've never seen them, but it might just be a cultural thing.
I second Tokyo. It is so reliable the transit authority has to hand out "notes" if you are delayed because your boss would not believe you with out one. It is also so clean you can eat off the floor.
China! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmTqmHjXHns
tokyo is kind of overly confusing though... suppose if you are from there it is easy but then, why do they nees so many bloody lines... and they have the above grade system and the below system... i think it's actually privatized right? different companies? makes for a little too complicated imho...
my favorite subway is probably hong kong or washington dc...
i mean i love tokyo, it's fun, and the transit works, but its not the best transit imho... its a little too organic imho for me, not a designed machine but more like a evolved organism... but kindof cool i guess, i do like the way the city develops nodes around subway stations there though... like the different stops at each neghborhood, the different social atmosphere at each neighborhood... different districts with different character... ginza for shopping business, etc... akihabara for nerds basically... shibuya younger generation bars etc... harijuku for younger fashion district, etc... shinjuku, omote sando for shopping, fashion higher end, etc... each has its own culture
i like the hong kong transit including... the old school pieces: like the star ferry and the hong kong island trolleys... i love how despite having the super high tech state of the art efficient condition subway system with tunnels under the bay (which costs about the same), people still love to take the ghetto old school double decker trolley instead, if they have time... Also: the outdoor escalators that run up the hill on the island... Somehow the infrastructure itself in hong kong has personality there, they're sort of places in themselves, not just the in between places... And there are sort of the same kinds of nodes at stations in Hong Kong as in Tokyo...
pound for pound freiburg is an amazing (but small) system based on inter connectivity of rail/bike/tram/bus.
seattle's is an effing joke. it's 99.9% buses, which are horribly utilized
-the seats should be flipped up during rush hour
-not baby carriage/luggage friendly during off-peak hours
-horrible payment system
-bus stop are too close together in city, increasing duration of travel considerably, especially when coupled w/ horrible payment system
-lack of inter connectivity/efficient nodal transportation
-lack of well-designed map/plan
also, no one gets up for pregnant women and elderly anymore. it's really pathetic (i'm talking to you, hipster w/ the iphone pretending you don't see her)
ya true lol... seattle is kind of lame... haha
it's sort of the city of indecisive bickering and then jumping the gun and no follow through... the monorail that basically became a tourist ride... the little bits of street car that are disconnected and don't go much anywhere that the majority of people stuck in traffic and riding buses go to... the tunnel, light rail has promise but then... the fact that the light rail shares the tunnel with buses basically means, even though the rail moves fast, its just waiting behind buses no?? might as well take a bus... well i guess once it clears the tunnel it is fast travel to the airport or outer stops but i've never gone out that far... They also need to extend the light rail to: the east side, redmond bellevue kirkland etc. and beyond... and up to the university, and also: queen anne, ballard, fremont imho...
tokyo is great. my only other real living in the city experience is london. subway system was not so good when i lived there.
tokyo is definitely organic. which means there is redundancy and overlap...which means there is choice... which is a very good thing. amazingly, new lines are being added still. and they all run on time. of course! if they don't what is the point?
madrid metro - fast, cheap (1 euro!), intuitive, and unbelievably clean
my imperfect and limited rating of metrorail systems:
NYC (4/5)
DC (3.5/5)
Boston (2/5)
Chicago (3/5)
San Fran (2/5)
Pittsburgh (0/5)
Philly (0/5)
London (3.5/5)
Paris (4/5)
Rome (1/5)
Madrid (5/5!)
Barcelona (4.5/5)
Seoul (3.5/5)
the spanish systems definitely stand out in my mind. i'd love to ride tokyo's subway!
in barcelona, i watched 3 people get mugged on the metro, and then stopped a car jacking in process. and then ran for my life.
i don't remember the barcelona metro being particularly fast or efficient, though it might have been. the other incidents still cloud/bias that trip.
I will second Vienna. I lived there for a while while in school and it was great. The different levels of transportation make it really easy to get around and it is cheap! Subway/ Light-rail/Bus...makes it really easy to move about the city. Plus, their dedicated bike path system is really great because it puts the bike rider out of harm's way of car traffic without making you have to pedal so far out of the way from where you are trying to get...and of course, yes, there is the road for the cars which isn't so bad either.
I was totally impressed with the cleanliness, efficiency, and overall design of Hong Kong's system.
Doesn't Tokyo's metro stop at midnight?
I'm surprised Stockholm hasn't been mentioned yet, but I haven't been to Tokyo yet. It's not cheap though.
Having metros that stop at midnight is just asking people to drink and drive.
BART stops at midnight....even on Halloween this year. Last year they kept it open till 2am...when the bars close.
I went to Berlin a few years ago, and their mass transit was amazing, and very comprehensive. They have the S-Baum and the U-Baum, which is a surface train that forms a ring around the city (an El, if you would), and a subway that weaves it all together, respectively. Built into all of the S-Baum stations are a series of shops and restaurants, which creates a destination at each station.
In addition to that, they had a tram system that connected all the major neighborhoods, busses that went everywhere and an extensive network of bike paths. This whole system made it very easy to get around. It also allows you to live without a car, which contributed to the quiet/uncrowded/pedestrian friendly nature of the city.
On top of that, it was clean, fares were pretty cheap (since the mass transit there is owned by a private company that receives large government stipends.), and buying a ticket for the train is optional. That’s right, they didn't have turnstiles or gates you had to present a ticket to. Basically, you buy a ticket, or you don’t. At random intervals, a plain clothes transit cop will ask to see everyone’s ticket, and if you don't have one, you get a serious fine.
They also had connections to the ICE train and Eurostar trains at all the major S-Baum stations. So traveling out of Germany was easy too.
the metro stations in copenhagen are definitely the most beautiful stations I have ever seen or experienced...
http://www.google.com/images?client=safari&rls=en&q=metro+copenhagen&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=hurUTK2xBo7ZnAfJltHXCQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=2&ved=0CDEQsAQwAQ&biw=1539&bih=934
although when I was living there, they did not run all night [only during specific holidays + festivals] but they were a reliable means of commute for the day.
The night buses, however, provide enough support to get one home at a reasonable time, as they run hourly and cover a solid portion of the city.
another nice feature of the CPH metro are the windows at the front of the trains... the circular tunnels are lit and are quite beautiful to watch...
also worth mentioning is the aesthetic merit of the Washington DC Subway stations....
http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&q=washington%20dc%20metro&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&biw=1539&bih=934
absolutely stunning.
Hong Kong's Subway + Bus system is one of the cheapest and effective in the world, and basically covers anywhere you might want to go. When I visited I found it an amazing way to travel and one of the only places in the world you can take a bus or subway straight from the densest city to complete nature in hours. I love that they keep old systems like the ferry and street cars running at absurdly low prices as well.
I also remember reading somewhere that it is a profitable system since they are also real estate developers (and HK is so dense). Potentially a lot of room for corruption in the interaction of public and private there (this is a polite way of putting it), but it is definitely successful.
NYC's metro service is worn down in many ways but its hard to argue with 24 hour service and express lines. Real hard to argue. Does anyone else in the world even do this?
Madrid! Cheap, clean and efficient. 11 Subway lines. 3 light rail lines. 9 regional trains.. not to mention the high speed system that connects to the rest of Spain. They really take pride in their system with out charging you outrageous amounts of money. I'd say the same for London but it's just too expensive. In Madrid, you have to pay one extra euro to get to the airport. In London, you have to pay at least 20 pounds to get to Gatwick.
How about light rail, and high speed rail? The high speed rail in Japan us pretty awesome... Super quiet, you feel like the train is flying but low to the ground, landscape flying by... And every station has unique bento box lunches that are unique to the station... Different kinds of train lunches basically... I love how in Japan all things get taken to the extreme and people get so into it... Like there are "train fans" who are geeks about trains... And there are rankings and awards for those Bento boxes... And the train is always on time... The high speed rail costs basically the same as a plane ticket to the same destination but people prefer riding the train... It's basically on magnets and superfast...
its funny but no one mentioned Curitiba , Brazil..
their efficient bus systems are world's most efficient and could kick any of those Railway lines butts in terms of efficiency at 1/10 of the cost!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJR9uCSyGKM
What about... Boston? One of the oldest systems... The first?
And has character, the green lines streetcars goes underground, stitches together the city nicely, pedestrian areas as well...
I'll second Master Builder's praise of the Berlin system.
Like the city itself, it's a little old, a little ugly, and a little beat-up, but somehow it just works.
My only complaint is some of the odd discontinuities between the various systems. For instance, the fact that the U1 terminates at Warschauerstraße and you have to transfer to the tram if you want to continue travelling north. Then again, that's entirely understandable considering the history of the city. But still not particularly convenient.
Another interesting thing to consider is whether or not the system is privatized. I know that in Japan and China a lot of the mass transit is privatized and not actually directly "owned and operated" by the government. I know for China in particular, that can be a gray area but I wonder if there is a discernible difference in efficiency, cleanliness or cost.
I agree with Masterbuilder and IamGray! At least out of the cities I've visited/lived in Berlin's system is the most reliable and most comprehensive.
bRink- Boston's is the worst! I live there now and after living in Berlin it drives me crazy when I have to take the T. I've given up and switched to biking.
I haven't made it to Berlin but I have heard similar things to what Master Builder and tactile said. Has anyone here been to Zurich? I hear the system is great there as well. Ditto w/ Bogota, which uses all buses to move people around and has one many awards. Would be interested to hear from anyone who's been there.
Hong Kong's metro is really nice and easy to use, but also covers a smaller area than Tokyo. I do love taking the little buses to the smaller towns around Hong Kong Island. Possibly the best "public transport" experience I've had. And of course the cheap ferry ride is always good.
For me, the organic nature of Tokyo's metro and the amount of lines and choice makes it more interesting than Hong Kong's system. And think about the size of Tokyo vs. Hong Kong, or anywhere else for that matter. I think initially most of Tokyo's metro was built by the government but I believe it's almost all privately run now. You need a really high amount of density to run large metro system profitably.
I haven't been to Seoul but I imagine it must have a pretty great system.
intotheloop, I found Zürich's system far better than the ones found in North American cities of the same size, but comparable to other networks in the German-speaking world.
Considering their relative "smallness" from an American perspective, cities like Basel, Vienna, Stuttgart, Hanover, Frankfurt, Salzburg, Graz Bern, etc. have some very respectable transit systems.
Hong Kong
- decent, economical, good-coverage, accessible, comprehensive, incredibly fast (up to 30sec/train), safe and reliable (no strike ever, crime rate incredibly low) and not killingly packed (in comparison to tokyo's)
- should also mention the Octopus - hongkong's electronic payment system. The same smart card can be used for virtually all fast food restaurants, vending machines, garages and convenient stores in addition to the transit system
Shanghai
- trying hard to mimic hongkong's but still under-developed
- close at 11? (even so during the expo)
Tokyo
- huge network, too many lines and options (like .... fast, super fast, ultra fast) making it less comprehensive, killingly packed at most hours (perhaps that make it fun for tourists)
Seoul
clean and efficient but not as characteristic as hongkong's / tokyo's
london
- beautiful music, nice crafted Tube culture, historical, safe but unreliable, jubilee line has nice concrete
DC
impressive architecture by Harry Weese, fast and generally reliable
Boston
safe in general but slow and unreliable though it's way better than it's bus system
NYC, Philly
depending on which line; some lines are fine; others are "adventures" at times
LA
you certainly enjoy owning the whole station and the train... can't really see anyone and can't actually go anywhere
Barcelona
you'll definitely lose a wallet or a laptop. it's exciting!
Zurich, Basel
i enjoyed a lot how the tram system integrates with the street. you feel so easy to jump off and on a tram
Frankfurt, Berlin etc
decent and comprehensive
Paris
i just tooked a few rides. it's okay. i like the double-deck train along the river
how about Curitiba's transit system? has anybody been there?
I like the T!
Hmm ya but true it's pretty dated and not the model of cutting edge efficiency... :P isn't it like one of the first subways ever built?
But I think somehow it works... Connects pedestrian neighborhoods so you don't feel a need to have a car like you do in most US cities... Boston Commons and the public garden, outward to all the Universities, etc... Ties together the city, fits in with the character of the city... I'm thinking mostly of the green line... What would Boston be without the T? I have a soft spot for those old school cars and squeaky wheels... :P
Regarding Hong Kong: that subway has some of the most well designed and holistically planned transfers at major intersection stations I think... Not sure exactly but the Trains on the same line are arranged such (stacked?) so that at certain stations where you would expect a high volume of people moving from one line to the next, you don't have to go up any stairs or follow alot of wayfinding signs or corridors... Instead of the usual platform where you expect trains moving in the opposite direction to be on the opposite side of the platform, I seem to recall you transfer by basically crossing the platform and the next line is almost right there in front of you, super intuitive and direct in the wayfinding... Am I remembering correctly how it works? I'm not 100% how that transfer works but it was the most seamless transfer I gave ever experienced on a subway, no stairs required...
Also... You cannot beat that sexy British voice recording announcing every stop... :P
It's clearly not the best in the world, but I'm with bRink regarding the T in Boston. Unlike most other transit systems in the US, the commuter rail, subway, light rail, buses and ferries are all integrated in the same system for one. Also, for a city the size of Boston, the service coverage and frequency is pretty comprehensive. Once you consider the density, parking restrictions and traffic patterns, there are few places within the metro area that are better served by private cars than by public transit. There are obvious gaps--the need for an urban ring (or at least increased capacity on the #1 & #66 buses that serve as de facto urban ring lines), and insufficient service in many minority neighborhoods like Roxbury and Mattapan. The T is saddled with numerous problems--a much older system than most cities and the accompanying infrastructure, a state government that is so unserious about properly funding it that they transfered the Big Dig debt to the T, and the general age and layout of the city which makes it more difficult to connect various points easily. Despite all this, the T is mostly reliable (given the New England disposition there's obviously a lot of complaining about when it is not), comprehensive and cheap ($59 a month for unlimited travel). The system certainly needs improvement and expansion, but a visit to almost any other US city will reveal the quality of the T system in my mind.
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