10 Best Cities for Public Transportation

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Salt Lake City should be near the top...

SLC of UT 1:12AM April 05, 2012

Los Angeles public transportation is not optimized due to the size of LA. You would need more lines and stops than NYC for LA to even be considered has having sufficient public transportation

hill of NY 8:07AM February 07, 2012

funny how none of these are in the South.

C.N. of TX 12:58AM January 29, 2012

How is Chicago not in the Top 10 and really, number 13?
With the second highest ridership in the entire U.S., Chicago accounts for nearly 25% of mass commuters in the U.S. (NY is over 40%). The “L” train serves 7 different lines where it’s nearly accessible anywhere within the city and goes out to the suburbs. Let’s not forget that they operate over 140 bus transit routes on the CTA alone. This doesn’t even include the Free Enterprise Bus system or PACE bus system. Perhaps we should also mention the 18 Metra Train routes servicing stations in the suburbs and all the way into Wisconsin and Indiana or the Metra Electric Lines. Add on the ATS system, Lake Michigan Ferry System, Street Trolley System, as well as Express Bus Route Systems and Bicycle Commuter Lanes and Chicago should have easily made the top 10. Perhaps you should revisit the wonderful survey and see how all this was completely missed as I’ve been to many of the cities listed and can truly only say New York and Denver are the only competing cities.

Dan of IL 1:56AM January 01, 2012

the one thing missing from these ratings is driver attitude. San Francisco driver are horrible-- unfriendly, disrespectful, and i've personally had drivers close the door on me three times, and several times drive right past the bus stop without stopping.

johny why of CA 8:49PM December 04, 2011

I'm from southern Cal too but I don't use a car at all and the trolley only takes me about 110 dollars a year. I use it every day to go to work and school. Its good for me. Sorry you have such a bad experience, maybe you don't know the deals? -to MIZ RAVEN

Kelly of CA 2:27PM November 27, 2011

Omg! This so wrong!!! Public transport in Boston is fantastic!!! In SoCal it's horrendous!!! It's expensive, the trains don't run late enough, if you want to go somewhere that's 20 minutes driving expect to take at least an hour in SoCals bus system! Boston should be closer to the top spot while SoCal should not even be on this list. I live in north county san diego and I have to go to Anaheim tomorrow with my son. For us round trip it is $80.00!!! I could drive my 1972 suburban there and back for $50.00....... So the only reason to take public transport in SoCal is to be politically correct and not to deal with traffic! In Boston you don't need a car at all and I went all over the place for no more that $5.00 a day!!!

Miz Raven of CA 4:19PM November 20, 2011

Portland's TriMet tickets will buy two hours of time.
Apologies for the mistake.

AS of OR 6:20PM August 29, 2011

As someone who lived in Portland, Oregon for about three years, I am truly surprised to not see them in the Number One spot! I actually found this article whilst trying to see which other cities I could move to without owning a car. Portland's system is BRILLIANT with the MAX (Metro Area Transit) stretching from Hillsboro to Portland to Gresham. (Hillsboro is west about 1/2 an hour from downtown Portland by car and the Eastern Gresham suburbs another 30-45 from Portland, also by car.) They have the MAX stretching East-West and North-South, with buses running from all "Transit Station" ports that the MAX serves. Additionally, the downtown set "benefits" from the Streetcar (which is admittedly more for modern aesthetic versus functionality, as walking a Portland "block" (more appropriately referred to a half-block) is doable in just about the same time depending on other motor traffic in the streets and the corresponding weather.
As for the others listed above, Honolulu's and Denver's systems are noticeably more intermittent and dispersed. In Honolulu, transfer tickets are collected on the second bus; in Portland that ticket buys you as many rides as you can take in one hour. Denver and Aurora's buses are significantly aesthetically-outdated, much like the buses of Hawai'i. What would our systems be like today if GM hadn't bought out all the cars parts companies and forced the closure of electric rail car systems all over the countries in order to push the automobile as a "necessity" and simultaneously connive with their government counterparts and lobbyists in order to achieve more roads and highways for their cars to be driven on?
Hopefully more cities will transition into fully-functioning public transportation systems. As it is, I'm looking to foreign countries for their transportation systems- Bogota's Transmilenio is highly commendable, though they are facing ridership issues with over 900,000 people per day riding the buses. Europe's another possibility; after a first-hand experience come the fall, perhaps a state over there will look better than anywhere else.

Ashley Summers of OR 6:17PM August 29, 2011

I've been taking the bus around north San Diego this summer in response to the article. It's doable, but requires much more planning. I still need a car because my favorite grocery store is only available by car, even though it has 2 locations. The closest bus stop to my house is .9 miles away, so I get in some exercise in addition to saving wear and tear on my car. Google Maps and my smartphone are invaluable in planning: bus routes are now on Google Maps.
As for LA: I've taken the train to Anaheim from San Diego and then caught the bus to Disneyland and found it very easy and convenient. I don't know about giving up my car in either location unless mass transport were to improve dramatically. But, I can cut my driving in half easily with the bus system here in San Diego, so I think the article was accurate, given that the current state of transit in this country.

SDSwimmer of CA 12:30PM August 06, 2011