Criteria for voting consists on:
-Cost
-Efficency
-Easy to use?
-Clean/Modern?
-Size of system
-Ridership
-Speed, is it easy to get from place to place?
^^ Beijing and Shanghai will have the most extensive metro systems - but an extensive metro system does not equal an extensive and effective transit system. For large cities like that you need to combine rapid with slow transit and thus the success of the system may be hampered.
Consider Tokyo a better example as it runs a dense metro primarily in the CBD with different grade (local, rapid, etc) , highly frequent commuter trains too. Cities that combine different transit systems will ultimately have more success than those which focus on one alone.
I think that's the reason why I originally voted for Paris, although that was also because I thought I should choose a city I've actually been to.
Paris has many different trains systems (Trams, Metro, RER, commuter trains, inter-city trains) that give it a big advantage. Hong Kong and Japan also seem to pull this off effectively, though I haven't been to either city.
^those metro systems in beijing and shanghai are building/planning to have regional lines as well. the intercity rail lines have various terminals, serving far-off commuters. it doesn't make sense for them to NOT do that.
IF things go according to plan, there is little doubt in my mind that these cities will have incredibly functioning systems. of course, there are always potential pitfalls. if things fall apart economically the transport plans could never be completed. or, more nefariously, if the land speculators and developers lobby/bribe their way through, china could end up with vast swaths of car-dependent sprawl. but as of now, high-density development with extensive PT investment is the way to go.
I think Tokyo has the best transportation system. At least from what I have seen so far. Clean, fast, comfortable.
The next in my top would be Budapest and Vienna.
Oh, and that Zurich map...:nuts: now I am hoping to visit Zurich as soon as possible.
It is a great blog - I tend to go there a couple of times a week to see if there is a new rant on the transport conditions in Auckland there. Jarbury and I tend to air our grievencies with Auckland transit on Kiwiscrapers too!
Thanks davsot. The city I live in probably has the worst public transport system of any developed world city its size in the world, so there's plenty I can moan about!
How bad is Auckland's PT? really This isn't the first time that I read that it was "the city with the worst PT system in the developed world" before. I mean it has railroads and a decent bus system, right?
I mean, it would obviously have some competition for that moniker in the US Sunbelt.
No system comes close to moving the number of people around as Tokyo. It's a fine tuned, highly sophisticated, multi-pronged, seamless, transit system serving 35 million residents.
What about cleanliness, coverage, usability and efficiency?
If a small system provides excellent city wide coverage for a compact city, I think it's just as good as a large system covering a large city. An extensive system does not always equal an effective or efficient system.
Octopus Card contact-less smart card launched in September 1997, home of the world's first major public transport system using this technology. According to Octopus Cards Limited, operator of the Octopus card system, there are more than 17 million cards in circulation, more than twice the population of Hong Kong. The cards are used by 95 percent of the population of Hong Kong aged 16 to 65, generating over 10 million daily transactions worth a total of about HK$29 billion (US$3.7 billion) a year.
Hong Kong Trams... regardless of distance the fare is $0.25 USD for adults and $0.13 USD for children / seniors. Average frequency during peak hours: 90 seconds.
To give another example of why Auckland's transport system is one of the worst in the world, I am looking into moving from where I live at the moment in Sandringham (about a 20 min bus ride from the city) to Herne Bay (about a 10-15 min bus ride to the city). However, my job is still in Avondale (about a 30-35 min bus ride from the city).
Whilst Melbourne has a OK-ish rail network (overcrowded and constantly delayed) it's tram network really saves the city from complete implosion. It's always frequent (about 4 or 5 minutes in peak,goes to 12 or 13 minutes off peak and maybe 15 minutes on Sundays) and generally clean. Many parts aren't grade separated though, so trams can get stuck in traffic but generally not for long. The map can be quite confusing as all the lines are the same colour, but Melburnians seem to be born with the map tattooed on the back of their heads.
A map from 1998, showing some of the lines separated (about 10 or so lines use St. Kilda Rd & Swanston st, so they're just shown as being the same colour rather than making the streets really huge on the map)
^^ How is PR part of the US? Are you actually a state, or...?
Sorry if that sounds offensive, I don't mean for it to be. I just don't know much about the US-PR relationship. I always thought Porto Rico was its own country.
Well, when exactly did you learn about the island? That name (Porto Rico) hasn't been used since 1917. And you're not the first so I'm not angry or anything would like to know where everyone reads all this. I mean the name existed for some 20 years of our history and then it was gone. Pssh. :lol:
Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the United States (Australia is a different kind of commonwealth). We're some form of a free associated state and for many years the government has tried to hold a referendum to make the final decision. The people almost always pick to stay as we are, but the time will come when we have to make a decision.
We must abide by all federal laws and our government works like any other state, as in it can govern itself, with the main difference is that we have a bicameral system. We will be hosting the Central American Games and we have our own Olympics team.
Puerto Rico used to have a great national train system and extensive tram lines in many major cities, but it was all destroyed during the car era in the US (in the 1950s). The boom in suburbs, cars, it's all led to sprawl throughout the whole island and our highways are heavily congested. We need public transportation desperately and at least the governemnt seems to be paying attention, but they could always do a better job.
Ahh, ok. So you're basically what the British would call a 'Dependent Territory' like the Jersey Islands or the Falkland Islands. That makes more sense.
And excuse my spelling of Puerto Rico - I wasn't sure how to spell it when I was writing it. You never really hear much about PR on this side of the world, as it's not in our sphere of influence (most of our news is about Asia, Oceania or Europe, there's not many Americans here and we don't have a lot to do with the Americas). I'd just assumed that PR was its own country, as it didn't have a place in the '50 states'.
Very intelligent post above, I must agree. The car and suburb age ruined so much of America. It seems if WW2 never started the age, we would all live in high rises and take subways around.
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