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To clarify, you mean "public transportation" or "transit" system?
Because one could easily argue that San Diego has a better transportation system than any of the ones mentioned. It's incredibly efficient to get around by automobile and the transit system is pretty good itself. As a whole, the transportation network works very well. As a result, San Diego has the shortest commute of the 25 largest metropolitan areas. So if we are talking about the ability to move people, San Diego should be in the running.
Now I understand there are plenty of other metrics to rate a transportation system (access, cost, options, etc.), but at the surface, San Diego's is the most efficient.
NYC, Chicago, DC, etc. have good transit systems, but does it really have a good transportation system? Traffic is a nightmare, so I'd say no.
In LA I was shocked to see that the trains only come in every 10 minutes during rush hour, and some main bus lines only come in every 30 minutes during rush hours as well.
You may not like MTA. But there is no way these cities would surpass it in 100 years let alone 20 years.
Again Quality, not quantity. The MTA is extensive, but is one of the worst in on time performance, cleanliness and fleet quality/age. Just because is the most extensive doesnt make it the 'best'. Yeah theres 20 million people in the metro, it better be the most extensive? It just doesnt meet the cut for on time performance and quality of the product, partially due to lack of funding.
Ive lived in 4 major cities including NYC, and it was the most unreliable service out of all services Ive been on. The PATH system (NJ -> Manhattan), separate from the MTA, is one of the best systems Ive been on in contrast.
in 20 years, (by quality.. not quantity, sorry MTA)
Top 10 Rail Only
1. Los Angeles
2. San Francisco
3. Seattle
4. Washington DC
5. Portland OR
6. Boston
7. Chicago
8. Philadelphia
9. New Jersey & PATH
10. Denver
It's been many years since I lived in DC, and I understand the Metro hasn't been
as well-maintained as it should have been (giant understatement?),
but it has to be better than SF.... BART skips big sections of the SF Metro area,
and doesn't even serve SF itself adequately -- it has only one line in SF, and no service in
the entire NW half of town. Basically BART is a funnel to pour suburban
commuters into downtown SF... the DC Metro is a much more comprehensive
transit system. The Purple Line is a sign that Metro is adapting to suburb-to-suburb travel;
how many other US systems have done that yet?
Seattle and LA both have impressive plans on the drawing board... will they come to fruition??
I refuse to believe any list that doesn't include Philadelphia. There aren't too many public transportation systems that are as good and as comprehensive as SEPTA is. As a whole, and among other things, Philadelphia has:
-A good percentage of the population that does not own a vehicle. About 30% of households within city limits do not own a car.
-Three subway lines (the El, Broad Street Line, and Broad-Ridge Spur) that cover portions of the northern, southern, western, and northeastern reaches of the city. Bus and trolley service fills in many of the gaps.
-An agency, only one of two in the US, that runs all five modes of transportation: heavy rail, light rail, commuter rail, bus, and electric trolleybus transportation.
-A fully-electrified, fully-integrated, through-running Regional Rail system, complete with 13 lines that cover the region. SEPTA's Regional Rail system is the only true unified commuter rail system in the US. On weekends, the maximum headway during non-peak hours is typically 90 minutes.
-24 hour service, including 24/7 service on certain routes.
-A 24/7 subway service to Center City from South Jersey, courtesy of PATCO. The only other city that has such a service is NYC, courtesy of PATH.
-Passes that convert to Anywhere Passes on the weekends, allowing one to ride anywhere within the system. For example, a TransPass excludes trips on the Regional Rail during the week. On the weekends, that TransPass can be used on the Regional Rail, valid for trips to any of the four zones.
While Philly DOES need more subway lines, SEPTA is significantly better than most PT systems across the nation. I'd rank SEPTA only behind the MTA (NYC), CTA (Chicago), and WMATA (DC) by a few hairs. The T (Boston) can't compete with SEPTA due to how early it shuts down (how can subway service end before 1AM on a Saturday night?! That's mindblowing!), and other systems simply can't compete with the breadth of SEPTA.
Pretty sure Chicago has 2 or 3 24/7 lines as well.
I would squeeze DC Metrorail between those 2. Despite Metro's well-publicized failures, accidents, system-wide poor maintenance shutdowns and even fatalities in recent years, it is still a great system in terms of comprehensiveness, extremely high patronage, modernity, fast, clean and comfortable service. There's never a safety issue in or around any Metro station. The system is well lit, well patrolled and gets you where you need to go... quickly!
On these overall merits, I'd put it ahead of CTA, even though Chicago's system is very, very good.
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