10 Best Cities for Public Transportation

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there is no way san Diego can be number 8 Maby for the core of downtown but there are like 5 major job centers and not all of them have good transit. the coaster is cool but a lot of the ares are only served by peek hour loopers. so if you work over time you are out of luck. several of the jobs i have applied for lately involve walking at least a mile. Get real. but i guess it is true I can get a light rail train in san diego and work in downtown LA.

John of CA 11:32AM June 11, 2011

After having lived in NY, Chicago, and Boston, and now temporarily (I hope) in Denver, I can only assume whomever decided that Denver has the best public transportation, has never actually been here. As all of those other cities have vastly superior service to Denver, and also at a much better price.
The public transportation system in Denver is very limited, runs infrequently, and does not go to most places you need to go, or when you need to go there. There are also very few bus shelters to protect you from the often dreadful, and extremely unpredictable, weather. It is quite impossible to live comfortably in Denver without a car unless you live and work in a very limited area. By my standard that is the measurement of good mass transit system, that you can actually be comfortably, and economically, without a car. Also annoying since it cost more, much more, to register a car in CO than it does anywhere else I have ever been either.
For Chicago to be at #14 and Denver #1. If you were ever actually here you must have spent way too much time at a happy hour, the only thing Denver really does better, or cheaper, than any place else.

EMM of CO 3:53AM June 10, 2011

I'm sorry, but have you EVER tried to get around LA in anything other than a car? It's laughable that the Los Angeles area is ranked 3rd. There is no more hostile a city to public transit than LA.

George of CA 11:42AM May 23, 2011

As someone who lives in Austin and has visited or lived in several of the other cities on this list, I whole-heartedly disagree with these rankings. Ask any resident of Austin who cares about public transportation and they will tell you how badly it sucks. A city like Dallas has much more encompassing public transit that people can use to commute from the suburbs to downtown. I have absolutely ZERO idea how a city like Chicago could be ranked 10th and Austin could be so high up. I wonder if the people who compiled the "data" even visited the cities....

Stephanie of TX 4:13PM May 09, 2011

I completely agree with Dan on that one. Seattle should not have gotten an honorable mention here. I lived in both Chicago and Seattle, and comparing the CTA Metra and the Loop sprawling conveniently throughout every major part of the city, with Seattle's fragmented light rail lines, their buses that slide down the seattle streets in the winter and bust through concrete walls, and their expensive, rust bucket ferries... I have no idea how they ranked Seattle higher.

Chris of WA 4:18PM May 03, 2011

Apparently US News has declined to elaborate on how it achieved these calculations, and attempts to reproduce their results from the data they claim they used have been wildly unsuccessful.
So this isn't any kind of meaningful study or analysis, it is a wholly subjective opinion piece masquerading as science.
Either explain how you calculated these rankings or admit they reflect opinion and not fact.

SpyOne of VA 9:42AM May 02, 2011

This is a joke. I've lived in DC for 8 years and Seattle for 4. Trying to even compare DC's extensive metro system (80+ stops, moves hundreds of thousands a day, very well designed) to Seattle pathetic light rail system (downtown to the airport. woop.) is an exercise in futility. What else does Seattle have? Buses? A few ferries?
Come on!

Dan of WA 10:24PM April 15, 2011

(Comment by TC copied from http://www.shareable.net/blog/the-13-best-us-cities-for-public-transit) - Well said, TC.
"How is Dallas not on this list?! Already the largest light rail network in the United States, opened 28 miles of new line this year with another 20 miles under construction. Forty-four light rail stations just in the City of Dallas. Expansive bus network as well. Existing McKinney Avenue streetcar line in booming uptown neighborhood. Winner of the first round of grants for the Oak Cliff streetcar project, with a comprehensive 40 mile network in the planning stages. Commuter rail connecting downtowns Dallas and Fort Worth."
The rails are packed with commuters during rush hour and new accommodations for cyclists on trains and buses are integrating transportation modes making mass transit more practical. How did this "study" neglect Dallas?

AP of TX 4:16PM April 14, 2011

So..I am actually writing a paper on TriMet for my management class at University of Phoenix. I find this article and all of its comments about Portland's public transportation very interesting and helpful. I am from TN originally and there is not any form of public trans. in my home town. So from one side of it, public trans. here is amazing especially since I dont own a car but I will have to agree with most of the comments from Portland area residents.
TriMet is very unreliable and it's employees dont give a...ya know what I mean. Some are rude, racist, drive by people waiting at a bus stop followed by a finger from the very upset would be rider at the bus stop. That has been me on multiple occassions. TriMet offices could do nothing for me but apologize when I called and complained. Even getting to a bus stop early, an hour sometimes, makes me late for work.
But TriMet does have its good days. I use the bus system usually everyday either going to work or getting out of Forest Grove and heading into Portland to explore. So I am glad TriMet is here for my use but I am not convinced it is number 1 no matter the per capita, safety, and trips taken. Considering it number 1 because of that is not looking at the big picture. Reporting the "nice things" isnt good reporting.

Jesse W of OR 2:34PM April 11, 2011

Can anyone tell me what population number was used to compute per capita for this? FTA/NTD reports both regional census and service area numbers. Each would mean something different to my understanding of the criteria and results.

Mya Coursey of TX 6:40PM March 24, 2011