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Weather - Chicago
Education -
Further Education - Chciago
Diversity - Chicago
Entertainment - Chicago
Nightlife - Chicago
QoL - I can see both providing a good QoL
I basically like them equally, but the magnitude of the diversity in Toronto gives it a slight edge for me. I love love love them both, though. Toronto, Chicago, Minneapolis, and Washington are my favorite North American cities and I like them all basically equally.
You sound like the type of person I would get along amazingly well with.
Among places over 6 million people in North America, Toronto, Chicago, and Washington in the same order, (along with Miami and New York) are tops for me as well.
I also view Minneapolis as a very admirable city with great qualities. Haven't been but it's on the bucket-list.
I have heard that Chicago is a city where the public transit is phenomenal and that one can easily live without a car (if you're in the surrounding districts of the Loop).
I don't hear so much about Toronto though, I know they have a decent light rail system........but,
which city has a more city extensive public transportation network?
and therefore in which of these two cities is it easiest to have a car-free lifestyle?
I have heard that Chicago is a city where the public transit is phenomenal and that one can easily live without a car (if you're in the surrounding districts of the Loop).
I don't hear so much about Toronto though, I know they have a decent light rail system........but,
which city has a more city extensive public transportation network?
and therefore in which of these two cities is it easiest to have a car-free lifestyle?
Hmm.... maybe Chicago does?
Chicago L has a more miles of track than the Toronto's subway/RT. Also, the L reaches more places in the city of Chicago than the TTC subway/RT does. For example the EL reaches O'Hare, while the TTC subway does not at the moment). Not sure if there is any Chicago L lines under construction right now, but Toronto has:
-A 25 stop, 12 mile light rail line under construction, with a large portion of it underground/subway-like, opens in 2020.
-A 15 mile train link from downtown Union Station to the airport under construction, opens in 2015. Not operated by TTC but is still beneficial and noteworthy.
-A 5 mile, 6 stop TTC subway extension under construction, opens in 2016.
-A new fleet of streetcars that are to start on routes btwn 2014 and 2018 I believe. This would increase capacity A LOT, reduce overcrowding, are much bigger in size, have low floors, air conditioning, and an on board payment system to speed up service. The streetcars mainly run in the downtown area and have 51 miles of track which is the largest streetcar system in North/South America.
-A huge, $1 billion expansion of Toronto's Union station, opens in 2016.
The TTC subway has more frequent headways btwn trains (every 2 minutes during rush hour, and no more than 5 minutes during non-rush hour times), compared to the EL where some lines you have to wait 15 mins for a train. A lot of other projects and construction are going on to improve/expand service for not just the TTC but also Toronto's GO Transit (commuter rail).
Toronto's "Blue Night" service has 0 subway/RT lines that run 24/7 (last train is 1:30am), but has 24 bus routes/streetcar lines are in service 24/7 and have service that is 30 minutes or better which is the same as in Chicago (http://www.ttc.ca/images/fixedImages/TTC-Bluenight.pdf). From looking at both maps, the TTC does at better job at covering more areas of the city than Chicago does overnight.
Overall, in both cities it's possible to live without a car and get around. The main issue with Toronto's TTC service is it's expensive compared to any other North American city. It's $128 for an unlimited monthly pass, which is now going up to $133 starting in 2014.
Toronto has amazingly poor transit for a city of its size and transit-orientation.
In theory, Toronto should have better transit than Chicago, because it is more transit-oriented (higher transit commuting share and less car ownership).
In reality, the subway is basically two lines, and kind of sucks. It's generally cash only, and uses those old-fashioned tokens. Trains are crowded and decrepit. And the commuter rail is a relatively small system, has only one main station (which is not that close to the most desirable parts of downtown), and fully diesel (though granted Chicago is 90% diesel too).
Toronto has amazingly poor transit for a city of its size and transit-orientation.
In theory, Toronto should have better transit than Chicago, because it is more transit-oriented (higher transit commuting share and less car ownership).
In reality, the subway is basically two lines, and kind of sucks. It's generally cash only, and uses those old-fashioned tokens. Trains are crowded and decrepit. And the commuter rail is a relatively small system, has only one main station (which is not that close to the most desirable parts of downtown), and fully diesel (though granted Chicago is 90% diesel too).
Pretty much everything you said here is incorrect. Where do you come up with this stuff?
The subway is three lines (4 if you consider the Yonge and University line to be separate lines, since most people treat them as such). There are expansions currently under construction, including a brand new line along Eglinton avenue.
Many people use metrocards instead of cash.
Trains can be crowded for sure, but they don't seem decrepit to me at all, and there are many brand spanking new trains in service.
The Commuter rail service is quite extensive and increasingly frequent on it's busier lines, and Union Station is in the heart of the financial district and easily accessible by foot to the thousands upon thousands of office workers who commute back to their suburban homes.
Toronto more than doubles Chicago in terms of transit share.
Public transit commute modal share, 2011
Chicago CMSA: 11.5%
Toronto CMA: 23.3%
Toronto also has more than $10 billion worth of rapid transit expansion projects currently under construction, while Chicago has no rapid transit expansion projects under construction.
The ridership difference is so massive in fact, that the TTC ALONE does more boardings each day than Chicago's CTA, METRA, and PACE COMBINED. And that's not even counting GO Transit or any of Toronto's suburban transit systems.
Pretty much everything you said here is incorrect. Where do you come up with this stuff?
Yep. EVERYTHING MichiVegas said is incorrect. He knows nothing about Toronto's transit system.
Quote:
Many people use metrocards instead of cash.
In fact, that vast majority of people use Metrocards instead of cash. Myself included.
Also, Chicago's "El" has abysmal frequencies. On the Toronto subway scheduled headways are never longer than 5 minutes. On Chicago's "El" they reach like 15 minutes. I think they may even reach 20 minutes at times. Can't recall right now. Toronto's subway also carries WAY more people than Chicago's El.
And the comment about Toronto's subway trains being "decrepit" is laughable. I take the subway to and from work every day, and have yet to ride a "decrepit" train. Where are these "decrepit" trains, and why haven't I seen them? In fact, Toronto's open gangway trains are years ahead of any American subway trains. The USA still doesn't have a single subway system using open gangway trains, and none are planned for the immediate future. We've had them nearly 3 years now.
Last edited by Urban_Man; 11-30-2013 at 10:41 AM..
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