Favorite Public Transportation System

[Duke87 1,070]

Originally posted by: Merlin of Flyote

What good is a 24 hour system that you can't use because you might get mugged at 3am. quote>

Having been on the subway in New York at 3 AM, here's what I have to say to that:

On the train, you're safe. There are other people around and it's a small enclosed space, so there's nowhere for any troublemaker to run. If you're still concerned, ride in the center car (where the conductor is).

In the stations, you might have a bit more to worry about, but no more than you would out on the street. It's not the New York City subway that's dangerous at night, it's New York City, period. Most large American cities are the same way.

But the best way to avoid getting into trouble is very simple: avoid being out in public late at night alone. Bring a friend. Muggers won't touch you if you're not alone, since then they're outnumbered.

it is said that the entire Paris Metro can fit inside the Circle Line of London. quote>

A quick look at google maps easily busts that myth. the Circle line is about 4.5 miles across from east to west (even less north to south). The Paris metro is at least 8 miles across.

But, to say that the metro in Paris is small and compact would certainly be true (8 miles is less than the height of Manhattan, to give you an idea). But, in contrast, it's quite dense. In fact, it's the worlds densest.

[nofunk 1,933]

Originally posted by: Duke87

Originally posted by: Merlin of Flyote

What good is a 24 hour system that you can't use because you might get mugged at 3am. quote>

Having been on the subway in New York at 3 AM, here's what I have to say to that:

On the train, you're safe. There are other people around and it's a small enclosed space, so there's nowhere for any troublemaker to run. If you're still concerned, ride in the center car (where the conductor is).

quote>

Not to mention that you can get mugged in some stations in London as well. All big cities have problems like this.

I've ridden the New York subway a number of times late at night, and have never felt unsafe. If you are familiar with your surroundings, stay alert and stay out of areas you know to be dangerous, then the chances of you becoming a victim are really quite low.

[tarrina 2]

One of my favorite metro stops was in central Prague; it was really stunning.

[Meg 368]

Originally posted by: Duke87

But, to say that the metro in Paris is small and compact would certainly be true (8 miles is less than the height of Manhattan, to give you an idea). But, in contrast, it's quite dense. In fact, it's the worlds densest. quote>

I was surprised at what is involved in changing from one line to another on the Paris subway system. I'm used to the DC subway system. If you need to change from the red line to the blue line, you get off of the red line train, walk across the platform to the escalator, go down the escalator, and voila, you are on the platform for the blue line.

In Paris, transferring from one line to another involves leaving the platform through a series of stairs and tunnels that weave around and continue on for a non-trival distance before the next platform is reached. I had no idea that you needed to allocate 10 - 15 minutes just to change from one line to another.

[Merlin of Flyote 8]

My vivid memories of the Paris Metro the first time were:-

Trains with rubber tyres.

Gendarmes (Policemen) with guns. I'd never seen that before. it was 1965, I was 10 and you never saw Policemen with guns in Britain.

Also the old fashioned open back Paris buses.

[Duke87 1,070]

Originally posted by: SkiGeek

I was surprised at what is involved in changing from one line to another on the Paris subway system. I'm used to the DC subway system. If you need to change from the red line to the blue line, you get off of the red line train, walk across the platform to the escalator, go down the escalator, and voila, you are on the platform for the blue line.

In Paris, transferring from one line to another involves leaving the platform through a series of stairs and tunnels that weave around and continue on for a non-trival distance before the next platform is reached. I had no idea that you needed to allocate 10 - 15 minutes just to change from one line to another.quote>

That's because the DC Metro was all originally planned out as one coordinated system, so the station platforms at interchanges are right on top of each other,

The first lines Paris metro were built by competing companies, and so there was no such coordination.

New York is the same way. Most interchange stations are close to right on top of each other (or next to each other), but not all are. Changing between the (L) and the (1)(2)(3) involves walking all the way from 6th Avenue to 7th Avenue underground. The (A)©(E) are connected to the stop at Times Square by a passage of similar length, between 7th and 8th Avenues. On the other hand, there are stations closer together than that whcih have no free transfer between them. Rector Street on the (1) and Rector Street on the ®(W) are right next to each other... and not only is there no free transfer between them, there's no free transfer between directions, either. Getting from the (1) downtown to the (1) uptown requires going out through the turnstiles, going up the stairs, crossing the street, going down the stairs on the other side, and through the turnstiles on the other side (paying another fare in the process). Several stations in New York are like this, actually. So if you miss your stop, be careful - you may not just be able to get off at the next stop and turn around (for free, anyway).

[n-m-2k8-yeah 0]

I find getting around in paris completely confusing - I had to change 3 times from the metro to the RER and back again. It took around 2 hours to travel a journey that would have probably took 30 mins direct.

[Craig91 12]

I found the NYC subway fantastic...but then again I come from a city with minimal rail transport so maybe I'm easily impressed. In anyway, I found getting around very easy, as was finding where you are. it seemed that wherever you wanted to go, there was a station within walking distance.

[montrouge 2]

If you want to impressed, see the frequency in this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUtor-DtlYw

Originally posted by: Merlin of Flyote

My vivid memories of the Paris Metro the first time were:-

Trains with rubber tyres.

Gendarmes (Policemen) with guns. I'd never seen that before. it was 1965, I was 10 and you never saw Policemen with guns in Britain.

Also the old fashioned open back Paris buses.quote>

In 1965, the rubber tired MP59 train in the line 1 were new.

These were the newest rolling stock at this moment.

Today

The MP59 no longer run in the line 1 (remplaced between 1997 and 2000 by the MP89)

The MP59 still run in the line 4 and 11 but are view as dirty old train. These will be remplaced soon in the line 4.

There is no longer gendarme in metro but transportation policemen, RATP security agent and military for terrorism prevention.

The open back buses don't run aymore.

[Merlin of Flyote 8]

Originally posted by: montrouge

If you want to impressed, see the frequency in this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUtor-DtlYw

Originally posted by: Merlin of Flyote

My vivid memories of the Paris Metro the first time were:-

Trains with rubber tyres.

Gendarmes (Policemen) with guns. I'd never seen that before. it was 1965, I was 10 and you never saw Policemen with guns in Britain.

Also the old fashioned open back Paris buses.quote>

In 1965, the rubber tired MP59 train in the line 1 were new.

These were the newest rolling stock at this moment.

Today

The MP59 no longer run in the line 1 (remplaced between 1997 and 2000 by the MP89)

The MP59 still run in the line 4 and 11 but are view as dirty old train. These will be remplaced soon in the line 4.

There is no longer gendarme in metro but transportation policemen, RATP security agent and military for terrorism prevention.

The open back buses don't run aymore.

quote>

Yes I've been back many times as part of my work! Having said that I wouldn't count in offocial figures!

[villagemayor 0]

I have my vote with the Hong Kong transit system in general. Its cheap, convenient, you can use one microchip card for all transit companies, and gets you everywhere except in the middle of the country parks. Even if you don't use their subway you can still get around very easily. The only bad thing about it is that the buses tend to get icy cold in the summer.

[Merlin of Flyote 8]

I thought the Hong Kong buses had tropical (ie. full size) opening windows.

[davidaiow 2]

My absolute favourite (apart from the tfl network) is TransPerth, Australia. It is clean, safe, simple and modern. They are always expanding and improving and the fares are good value compared to other systems. Free travel within the CBD is awesome.

[biloxisean 0]

My absolute favorite system is the NY Subway. 24hrs, extensive and the improvements being made are right on time. But i'm going to miss the old S. Ferry Station.

Philly is pretty good if you factor in the extensive Suburban Rail Network (you can go from Trenton, NJ to Wilmington,DE)

But the absolute worse in America is the Baltimore Metro.  It could have taken a cue from the DC Metro 30 miles south and built a nice extensive network, but they built a system that is pretty useless. 1 line only on the West side of town, and 1line light reil on the west side of town. And this is from a city that is actually bigger than DC, which is only 30 miles away.

By the way, the NYC Logo sux, but the simple London underground symbol rules.

[Shlarin 0]

Systems I liked:

NYC Subway: I loved being able to go from point A to point B (at least in Manhattan) very quickly.. not to mention the trains had very short intervals in between.

San Francisco BART: Nothing nearly as impressive as the NYC subway but it did a decent job at connecting all the suburban downtowns.

German S-Bahns: I loved being able to go from the airport to the city center in the time it takes go eat lunch. I've only been on the trains in Munich and Frankfurt though.

Amsterdam trams: I wish they had a better subway system as it'll be faster but the trams make up their lack of speed by giving you excellent views of the city architecture and canals.

Davis, CA: Quite an impressive bus network in a town of its size. It even had a bus running to the Sacramento airport 25 miles away.

Systems I didn't really like:

Paris Metro/RER: There were too many lines and frequent transfers were required to change lines. I don't really mind transfers except that they often involved walking long distances.

Los Angeles: For the city dubbed the car capital of America, their public transportation is surprisingly adequate.. but pales in comparison to practically any European city. Ex: it'll take you about an hour to go from the airport to downtown (waiting time included.)

[nofunk 1,933]

I have a soft spot for Chicago's CTA. I love the city, and I love seeing all the neighborhoods from the elevated tracks.

I also really like San Francisco's BART system. It's very comfortable and you can get virtually anywhere in the East Bay very easily.

[rsd6000 8]

well - Newcastle is one of subway system - its nice and clean and its has wheelchair friendly access on all stations but some stations are older - meaning they have old ramps and small lifts - they recently changed some lifts

in holland - there rotterdam - which has clean stations and its has full access - simllar to DC but only two lines

Docklands and london underground - they are very clean but london underground don't have full step free network but docklands railway does have full step free access

i like DC subway system - i haven'r been there - its nice - i wished they would took over LUL - they can improve - putting more lifts and making better

[supermodelhk 0]

I say Seoul,South Korea because it is affordable and it takes you everywhere (airport, train station, city, out of city, your home, work, entertainment, sports complex,etc...)!!!

Also it is clean and the system is quite efficient, mostly on time.

There are washrooms, cultural events, shops, resting area within the stations.

And all the subway stations are connected with bus stops and you get a transfer credit

thus not having to pay double fees. They also do something to continually improve

customer satisfaction.

I am saying this comparing to NY, Toronto, San Fransisco and Chicago mass transits.

NY subway is just filthy. I sometimes worry having to breathe in there..so GROSS.

Toronto is so inefficient. The workers of TTC go on strike even though they are VERY WELL paid.

It's not like they go to university to work there, seriously they are so selfish, very rude and hot helpful

and they always threaten to stike and have done it too.. it's also expensive and the wait time can be ridiculous.

The few washrooms they have in their stations are unspeakable.

San Fran and Chicago they're also quite expensive and doesn't take you to less popular destinations.

[Merlin of Flyote 8]

Originally posted by: rsd6000

well - Newcastle is one of subway system - its nice and clean and its has wheelchair friendly access on all stations but some stations are older - meaning they have old ramps and small lifts - they recently changed some lifts

in holland - there rotterdam - which has clean stations and its has full access - simllar to DC but only two lines

Docklands and london underground - they are very clean but london underground don't have full step free network but docklands railway does have full step free access

i like DC subway system - i haven'r been there - its nice - i wished they would took over LUL - they can improve - putting more lifts and making betterquote>

Worth remembering though, the Tyneside system (Newcastle UK), is newish (1980's), the London system is the oldest (1800's). London Underground (tfl) is gradually improving the system where possible. However it is a big system and funds are limited and there are other calls on the finances. Also the London lines go quite deep underground and of course the cities (London, Westminster and Southwark) are quite built up. Space is at a premium in the capital.

There is a major rebuild at the moment of the East London Line extending further out, and joining it to the old (British Railways) North London line (Cinderella line).

Docklands (elevated rail) is of course much newer and was/is being built to modern standards with wheelchair access etc.. 

[grbac80 5]

Singapore - has a new subway system, well it's elevated out of the city, clean(in case you don't know already chewing gums are forbidden in Singapore) and efficient.

But best of all, all underground stations are air conditioned.

[earwax_man 18]

German S-Bahn

[NYCboy1212 0]

Originally posted by: supermodelhk

NY subway is just filthy. I sometimes worry having to breathe in there..so GROSS.

quote>

Dont know why you need to worry, even our billionaire mayor takes the subway everyday to work. 

[Duke87 1,070]

Originally posted by: supermodelhk

NY subway is just filthy. I sometimes worry having to breathe in there..so GROSS.quote>

Welcome to New York.

Yeah, seriously, it's not the subway system, it's the city. 8 million people with no regard for cleanliness. If you're from around here, you're just used to it. Par for the course. If you're not... yeah, I can see where it would seem appaling.

[Shlarin 0]

Originally posted by: NYCboy1212

Originally posted by: supermodelhk

NY subway is just filthy. I sometimes worry having to breathe in there..so GROSS.

quote>

Dont know why you need to worry, even our billionaire mayor takes the subway everyday to work. 

quote>

Ever see him on the subway, hehe?

Yeah, the subway sure beats driving in NYC any day if I need to get from point A to point B asap.

[Doofenshmirtz 0]

Well if i was to say my favorite form of public transit i would be basing it upon what i would prefer seeing, rather than what would work best. I happen to think trams are pretty nice units and have a nice style to them. I also like the older electric trains like the red rattlers. However that's just my opinion based upon character. In reality the thing which works best is of course dependent upon it's context, and every city is different, so i could for instance say buses are best but that might not apply to a different condition. Where i live in Wollongong everything is on a narrow coastal strip that goes back inland not much over five kilometres, so there isn't too much of a problem with congestion. We have a central railway line and a branch line and we have buses and taxis, and thats about it.

But for character i'd say trams cos they have character and look nice.

[bluemoose 223]

@ tarrina- you mean MUSTEK? my sister hates that stop b/c its so large, the are entrances like three blocks away from the actual station, its almost hilarious, its like an underground city. Thers like 5 different ways to go to transfer Trains. HAHA. At least Prague's system is efficeient and relativley fast

BTW, they are building a D line, to start at Hlavni Nadrazi and head south towards Pankrac i believe. There are also plans to build a metro to Prague Ruzyne Airport. That would be ultimately cool, especially since it takes like 20 minutes by bus now.

As for the NYC subway, i was scared when i was very small, and it seemed like the doors open and shut super quickly.

Oh, and i live in Semi Rural PA, so all we have is a small Regional Bus System, lol

[thepokemaniac 18]

I recently rode on Atlanta's MARTA and it was reliable, on time, and buying passes was easy. I have also heard LA's mass transit is pretty good too. However, maybe its just where I want, but, as soon as I got out of the subway station (Five Points) in Atlanta, there was a drunk homeless guy holding a can of beer and cussing everybody out. Perhaps Im not used to that, because, for those of you who know Atlanta, I got on at the Buckhead station, where there was nice artwork and stuff.

[hamsterTK 93]

since doofenschmirtz brought up your favorite system based on aesthetics and charm, I'd share more

I love the old South Shore in Indiana. It's sometimes called the last interurban. Of course that's untrue as many of these lines remain, but only the SS has kept going as serious public transit, not some tourist ride.

Everything from the mean-looking stainless steel cars to the nathan P5 horns, the rural setting and wooden catenary poles, I just love it. This is IMO what a "real train" looks like, not some fiberglass turd from Germany.

[Doofenshmirtz 0]

to HamsterTK- i wholeheartedly agree. THAT is a train. I've always liked the style of older electric trains, and the story here in Wollongong is the same as most places, you see some plastic fibreglass space age rocket ship come into the station and it just isn't the same. Here we have some trains from 1970 that run on the line that are allright, but aside from that it's mostly Tangaras and OSCARs which both to me at any rate look like they'd feel comfortable in Tokyo or perhaps Coruscant.

That train you posted is cool btw, has lots of character

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_rollingstock_in_New_South_Wales#Double_deck_Interurban_Cars

That link has pics and info on the trains that run where i live. imo the red rattlers are the best based on character (i've never ridden them but i've seen videos and pics of them etc) i also like the ones up to the Tangara, which i never really liked. The ones since the Tangaras i don't like much

[piccboi824 1]

    Comparing the transit systems of North America and foreign nations especially ones like South Korea is pretty ridiculous, we're too different in terms of infrastructure, economics, and organization. Everyting is going to be less expensive there, because the have less inflation and a weaker currency than we do here in the U.S. and Canada. That's why they can build a large system that goes to every destination and collect a lower fare because it is just cheaper. I think paying a $2.00-$2.75 fare is cheaper than paying 10-20 times as much to fill up your tank and sit in traffic and contribute to global warming anyday. 

     The Seoul Subway just doesn't come clean by itself, people have to constantly clean and maintain the stations in order to be that way. They can hire more santation workers because they have a larger population than any of the cities that you mentioned in North America, their system is run by three separate organizations, not just one, and because they are not required to pay their workers as much as we are required to pay ours. When you are one agency that must hire thousands of workers to operate vehicles and maintain trackage, I think you prioritize operation and function over cleanliness. plus, the New York, Toronto, and Chicago systems are way older than Seoul's system.

I'd have to say the the Chicago "L" is my favorite sytem because it connects you to the entire region. You can get to both airports, connect to all Amtrak and commuter train services, get to every sports complex, and reach the cultural and shopping destinations of the area either directly or through connecting service. What other destinations whould you need to go to? The buses are extremely reliable, there is never a long wait, and there are short headways between trains.