From the perspective of a person who travels a lot and exclusively uses public transportation; I think you don't value what you have.
American systems are not dependable, intercity and interstate travel is often not punctual to the point of futility.
There are very few examples that prove me wrong here (probably NYC<->NJ links being an exception)
Travelling around Los Angeles is just not possible, the buses are disgusting when they actually work and the time tables may as well be dinner menu's for value they bring.
Getting to LA from San Francisco required a coach, the coach was 8hrs late. There were no trains.
Going from NYC to Philadelphia by train cost me $300, when I returned it cost me $82 and was delayed by 4hrs.
Travelling around NYC using their underground was "ok" from a dependability standpoint; though I saw human excrement on many occasions, in one case it was smeared entirely on one of the benches where passengers usually sit.
I consider American public transport to be pretty poor. Where it is punctual it is disgustingly unhygienic. Where it is hygienic it is prohibitively expensive and non-punctual.
The rail networks prioritise freight and lines are fragmented heavily- it is common for one line of track to have several different owners as it progresses through a state. This causes delays as they do not seem to cooperate in using the tracks effectively, or delays from the use of a line causes cascading delays.
I've lived in Finland, England and Sweden- and I have travelled most of Europe (NL, DE, DK, FR, ESP) and have found public transport to be mostly punctual, in some cases it's actually "dependable" as in, I can rely on public transport getting me to my destination in a precise amount of time (+/- 10 mins).
This is definitely not the case in the USA outside of a few very major cities.
> Travelling around NYC using their underground was "ok" from a dependability standpoint; though I saw human excrement on many occasions, in one case it was smeared entirely on one of the benches where passengers usually sit.
“Many occasions” sounds like BS to me. Until the pandemic I rode the subway at least 12 times a week, every week for the past 22 years, and only saw human excrement twice (and one time it was actually a pretty funny story.)
I don't really know what's "normal" on the NYC subway to be fair, I don't live their and didn't travel during peak times.
I do slightly suspect that peak hours are more cleanly than non-peak time due to various economic reasons.
But I saw:
* poopy seat (when I got on the train at JFK)
* little human sized nugger, near the door, nearly stood in it as I disembarked a train near penn station.
* sticky urine floor near the door, which took me a good 1m30s to realise was definitely male human urine as I inspected the piss marks up the side of the door that I was pressed against during a busy ride.
> Going from NYC to Philadelphia by train cost me $300, when I returned it cost me $82 and was delayed by 4hrs.
Next time don't take Amtrack. Using NJ Transit from NY Penn to Trenton then transfer to SEPTA train into Philly will be < $30. The delays are unavoidable if something is broken.
Western Netherlands, or more specifically, the "Randstad" area. People like to complain about train punctuality but really, shit's quite dependable. Trains run regularly and on a fixed schedule, trams in metropolitan areas, buses perpendicular on those trams and in the less-densely-populated areas. Higher education students get free usage of public transport during their studies. I have a driver's license, but I won't be using it often.
London. Everyone likes to bemoan it usually, but you have connections via metro, train, tram, bus, boat or cycle to pretty much every major location in and around.
Alongside that you also have (putting aside the longstanding battle between them) a plethora of on-demand taxi services.
There are decent (although not high speed) train connections to most other major cities in the UK and even to continental Europe, there's an airport literally 10 minute car ride from the financial district, and two major European airports under 30 mins train ride away (obviously all dependent on your starting location within the metro area).
As an integrated system it's not perfect, but I'd certainly argue it's a viable aspiration for many cities to hit "good".
I've never had issues with public transportation in Brazil (living in small, medium and large cities). For the 5 years that I worked in person, I took the bus to work every day and I can only remember it failing me once.
Admittedly sometimes I'd fall asleep and miss my stop.
I was really impressed by Amsterdam’s transportation system as a whole - roads, bike lanes, light rail. As an American it felt like the city was designed to encourage walking or biking followed by public transport with cars as a last resort.
In the very heart of the city of Groningen (also in NL), regular cars aren't even allowed. Just buses, taxis, police, ambulance .. and delivery trucks I guess. Especially at night it's wonderful, imagine all the space that isn't filled with metal boxes.
Even though it is ageing and could be cleaner, the subway in Paris is amazing to get you anywhere in the city. Add to it buses, trams, bikes + very well connected train stations, and you have a very good public transport.
From the perspective of a person who travels a lot and exclusively uses public transportation; I think you don't value what you have.
American systems are not dependable, intercity and interstate travel is often not punctual to the point of futility.
There are very few examples that prove me wrong here (probably NYC<->NJ links being an exception)
Travelling around Los Angeles is just not possible, the buses are disgusting when they actually work and the time tables may as well be dinner menu's for value they bring.
Getting to LA from San Francisco required a coach, the coach was 8hrs late. There were no trains.
Going from NYC to Philadelphia by train cost me $300, when I returned it cost me $82 and was delayed by 4hrs.
Travelling around NYC using their underground was "ok" from a dependability standpoint; though I saw human excrement on many occasions, in one case it was smeared entirely on one of the benches where passengers usually sit.
I consider American public transport to be pretty poor. Where it is punctual it is disgustingly unhygienic. Where it is hygienic it is prohibitively expensive and non-punctual.
The rail networks prioritise freight and lines are fragmented heavily- it is common for one line of track to have several different owners as it progresses through a state. This causes delays as they do not seem to cooperate in using the tracks effectively, or delays from the use of a line causes cascading delays.
I've lived in Finland, England and Sweden- and I have travelled most of Europe (NL, DE, DK, FR, ESP) and have found public transport to be mostly punctual, in some cases it's actually "dependable" as in, I can rely on public transport getting me to my destination in a precise amount of time (+/- 10 mins).
This is definitely not the case in the USA outside of a few very major cities.
> Travelling around NYC using their underground was "ok" from a dependability standpoint; though I saw human excrement on many occasions, in one case it was smeared entirely on one of the benches where passengers usually sit.
“Many occasions” sounds like BS to me. Until the pandemic I rode the subway at least 12 times a week, every week for the past 22 years, and only saw human excrement twice (and one time it was actually a pretty funny story.)
I don't really know what's "normal" on the NYC subway to be fair, I don't live their and didn't travel during peak times.
I do slightly suspect that peak hours are more cleanly than non-peak time due to various economic reasons.
But I saw:
* poopy seat (when I got on the train at JFK)
* little human sized nugger, near the door, nearly stood in it as I disembarked a train near penn station.
* sticky urine floor near the door, which took me a good 1m30s to realise was definitely male human urine as I inspected the piss marks up the side of the door that I was pressed against during a busy ride.
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> Going from NYC to Philadelphia by train cost me $300, when I returned it cost me $82 and was delayed by 4hrs.
Next time don't take Amtrack. Using NJ Transit from NY Penn to Trenton then transfer to SEPTA train into Philly will be < $30. The delays are unavoidable if something is broken.
Those are the two routes I took, I can't explain why it was much more than $30.
Western Netherlands, or more specifically, the "Randstad" area. People like to complain about train punctuality but really, shit's quite dependable. Trains run regularly and on a fixed schedule, trams in metropolitan areas, buses perpendicular on those trams and in the less-densely-populated areas. Higher education students get free usage of public transport during their studies. I have a driver's license, but I won't be using it often.
Switzerland. As an American, I wanted to move there after zipping around the country on their buses and trains.
That was such a good experience, even the tickrt app brought me joy.
Stockholm's subway. I have also had good experiences in cities like Madrid, Milan and Lisbon.
As someone living in Lisbon and has been to multiple European capitals: we're not a good example.
Hell, the underground in Kyiv is better than almost anything in the US, imo.
Tokyo Subway is the most impeccably run system you'll ever seen in the world, it's really quite perfect. The trains even have warm seats in winter.
Aren't Japanese subway trains so crowded that a pusher is needed?
London. Everyone likes to bemoan it usually, but you have connections via metro, train, tram, bus, boat or cycle to pretty much every major location in and around.
Alongside that you also have (putting aside the longstanding battle between them) a plethora of on-demand taxi services.
There are decent (although not high speed) train connections to most other major cities in the UK and even to continental Europe, there's an airport literally 10 minute car ride from the financial district, and two major European airports under 30 mins train ride away (obviously all dependent on your starting location within the metro area).
As an integrated system it's not perfect, but I'd certainly argue it's a viable aspiration for many cities to hit "good".
I've never had issues with public transportation in Brazil (living in small, medium and large cities). For the 5 years that I worked in person, I took the bus to work every day and I can only remember it failing me once.
Admittedly sometimes I'd fall asleep and miss my stop.
I was really impressed by Amsterdam’s transportation system as a whole - roads, bike lanes, light rail. As an American it felt like the city was designed to encourage walking or biking followed by public transport with cars as a last resort.
In the very heart of the city of Groningen (also in NL), regular cars aren't even allowed. Just buses, taxis, police, ambulance .. and delivery trucks I guess. Especially at night it's wonderful, imagine all the space that isn't filled with metal boxes.
Even though it is ageing and could be cleaner, the subway in Paris is amazing to get you anywhere in the city. Add to it buses, trams, bikes + very well connected train stations, and you have a very good public transport.
Taipei's intracity transit, both buses and the metro system. Taiwan's intercity buses, rail, and HSR. Clean, very frequent, gets you everywhere.
Let it be known: I am about to indulge you knowing full-well that you're going to quibble over the definition of "good".
With that said, I have lived in the following places for more than a year, and found the public transportation to be good, if not excellent.
- Paris, France
- Lyon, France
- London, UK
- Amsterdam, NL
- Bayreuth, DE
Despite some well-known problems in some of these places (strikes in Paris comes readily to mind), the advantages remain enormous:
- Reduced motor vehicle circulation in the city
- A high degree of mobility at a moment's notice
- The ability to move around without breaking a sweat (sadly important when going to a meeting in a suit)
- The ability to get home while inebriated
- The ability for suburban (read: underprivileged) employees to participate in the heart of the regional economy
The list goes on...