Not completely true. I live in Brooklyn and have 12 subway lines within 3 blocks of my apartment, plus the LIRR. I can be in mid-town Manhattan in 15 mins., and at the beach on Long Island in less than an hour. I would never even consider owning a car. The subway is fine and I only spend $20 per week.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Transportation- For Those In Large Cities
- Thread starter Sideonecincy
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Not completely true. I live in Brooklyn and have 12 subway lines within 3 blocks of my apartment, plus the LIRR. I can be in mid-town Manhattan in 15 mins., and at the beach on Long Island in less than an hour. I would never even consider owning a car. The subway is fine and I only spend $20 per week.
Currently they run 2 blocks apart. 8 blocks is too much. The CBTC (communications* based train controls) and ATO (automated train operation) are supposed to shorten that length, but the thing is you have a really old system and its going to take an awful long time to revamp the whole system and that time is crucial especially when the city is growing. There is a New York times article that says the current Capital construction plans, by the time they're done will be just enough to tide the city over. They even go as far as saying the 2nd avenue line which hasn't even opened yet is already filled to capacity with riders according to current blueprints. Other than that we have the 7 line extension going on which I don't think will help anything except for lengthening up the schedule and slowing up regular consistent service on the 7.
Articles on Capital Construction Plans:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/06/27/2007-06-27_here_come_sardines-2.html
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20F15FC345B0C758EDDAF0894DF404482
Commuting throughout the outer boroughs isn't that easy. If I want to travel from Elmhurst to Woodhaven on the train its about an hour to an hour and a half ride on the train. When by car its less than 20 minutes. I find it much easier and faster to get places in queens and brooklyn from places in queens and brooklyn by car than by train and/or bus.
But what do I know, I'm just a lazy bastard who prefers driving a couple blocks to walking them.
The west coast, of they USA, is notoriously bad with public transportation. Not every city, but it just isn't good over here.
Really? I always assumed Seattle was a "progressive" city and would have excellent public transportation. I'm going to Edmonds, WA this summer..... hopefully it wont be too hard to get into Seattle without a car.
the south is very poor in this regard. besides maybe atlanta and a couple other big southern cities, you need a car if you want to live in the south. same for texas.
new orleans used to be decent from what i heard, but then the city was destroyed...
miami has decent public transit, but broward and palm beach, blah.
again, i wouldn't depend on just public transit, but also look at how people are bike friendly in the areas. places like san diego are very nice to bikers, only got nearly run over once in several years there. again, just don't look at bike trails, look at bikers on the city streets, how many times do you hear a biker being run over in the area.
florida, nearly run over almost every time, even on a 1 mile trip to the local stores. bikers getting run over here all the time, and south florida is known for the worst drivers in america (yes, even worse than new york, and that's partly due to the new york influx here).
I grew up in Southern California and am therefore used to the exclusive use of cars rather than public transport. After living for years in Europe, however, I have seen the other side and never wish to go back. I am fortunate that I currently live in Atlanta, which has a rudimentary subway service (MARTA). I am able to use it to go to work, and so I use my car only a handful of times a month. I wish I didn't have to use my car at all, but MARTA isn't a mature enough system for that. MARTA consists--and this is only a very slight exaggeration--a single north-south line and a single east-west line. It therefore cannot be used in all situations, as in Boston or New York. All plans to expand MARTA are voted down by taxpayers. It has been explained to me that those who succumbed to white flight don't want a MARTA station in their neighborhood. Pathetic.
I live in the Murrieta/Temecula area in Southern California and public transportation is not good at all, you have to have a car to get anywhere.
I sort of disagree. I think the Paris Metro is amazing. I don't care about looks so much as running on time. Besides, Paris is also very walkable. Also I love Line 14. Ultra fast and unmanned! My one complaint would be the lack of air conditioning on some lines.
Boston - Depends on where you live. I personally hate the 'T' and drive everywhere instead. The Redline runs really well and quickly. The Green line is like molasses, esp. the B line which goes by BU and BC - not to mention packed and sometimes impossible to get a seat. And the T is hardly ever on time for me.
My favorite is of course the German rail system. Most efficient system I've ever experienced.
you would think that, but no. You should be able to get to Seattle fine, the buses are OK
Phoenix is terrible. We have a bus line with decent routes, but none into the suburbs at all. They don't want a bus line anywhere near their houses and 3 cars.
A light-rail line is going to open in a few years, but it has an extremely limited line.
Thankfully I work and go to school almost right near where I live, so I have a bike.
A light-rail line is going to open in a few years, but it has an extremely limited line.
Thankfully I work and go to school almost right near where I live, so I have a bike.
Pfff... cars, subways, "els" or however they're called... the best point to point transportation has of course always been by helicopter... as if there was any doubt 
Try a German-speaking part of Switzerland (the people are more Germanic than the Germans themselves!). I just got back from Basel and not only were the trains always on time, but so were the trams on the extensive tram system. The furthest I had walk was from any given point to the nearest tram stop, usually within 100 m. This was heaven for a public transportation lover such as myself.
In terms of passengers carried it appears that Tokyo followed by Moscow and Seoul then NY shift the most people around on a daily basis.
The buses I have been on in German-speaking parts of Switzerland have been awful - One closed a door on my sister, another closed on a push chair, quite a few just drove right past people (while there was plenty of space in the bus, and people were waving obviously)...TWICE in one week a bus I was in crashed into a car,...
Chicago is pretty decent. the closer you are to the EL the better though. there are parts where its just hard to get to. if you live and work in the city though Public transportation would certainly be easy enough. outside of the city? well depends then.
Chicago is a pretty bike friendly place too.
Chicago is a pretty bike friendly place too.
Psychofreak--sorry the bus door was slammed on your sister! I saw the same sort of thing happening as well. I guess the BVB decided to sacrifice friendliness at the alter of efficiency. At the same time, you have to respect their priorities of placing the system above the individual. There may be isolated complaints but the vast majority of people have none.
I did the T for about 5 years going from one end to the other and transferring to another bus. I found the schedule worked quite well and could get where I needed to be on time (generally). While longer, it was much more productive than my current driving commute.
If you think the B line sucks, you must never have had occasion to ride the E line (Huntington Ave.). I don't really consider the green line part of the subway/bus system for that very reason.
If I were to live in Boston again, I'd seriously consider dumping the car and going with Zipcar or the like + a T Pass.
B
Sorry blue I went walkabout for a while:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro_systems_by_annual_passenger_rides
Londons seventh behind Paris.
Its good here in detroit the busses have bike racks on them and we have this mini subway in the sky thing that goes around downtown. Im 15 and i get to school on time (a seven mile trip) every day.
Actually I went to Latin so I took the E from Longwood every now and then. I think my classmates and I were the ones spilling from the platform onto the tracks, drawing the wrath of many T workers.
I lived in between BU and BC while in high school though and I hated trying to get home. If I wanted to take the T, it meant standing on the platform and hoping not just for a train, but also for one that wasn't packed to the brim with people. Eventually my friend and I gave up on the green line, took the bus and walked further. At least we wouldn't be waiting ages for a train.
Yes, if I return to Boston (moving to Germany again) I would want to live in Brookline on the C line actually and just ditch the car altogether. I love my car, but it's a hole in my wallet too.