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Although the South is known for being more auto-centric than the rest of the country, that's not to say that there isn't a hiearchy of transit services, whether heavy rail, light rail, and bus (both commuter and general). Atlanta's MARTA, Dallas' DART, SunRail in Florida, as well as light rail in Houston, Charlotte, and even streetcars in New Orleans shows that it isn't to say that Dixie is fully void of public transit.
My rough ranking:
1. Atlanta
2. Dallas
3. Miami
4. Houston
5. Charlotte
6. Tampa
7. New Orleans
8. Austin
9. Raleigh
10. Orlando
For me, without considering ridership and trying to minimize the city's walkability as a factor and primarily considering the usability of the transit system itself, here is how I would tier them.
1a - Miami, Atlanta - These are pretty even but I'd give a slight advantage to Miami, possibly simply because I know it better. Metromover is the most useful stretch of transit in either region's core, certainly more effective than the ATL streetcar. MARTA has historical advantages but between Tri-Rail, Metrorail and the surprisingly fast-expanding Virgin Trains (just received approval for extensions South to Aventura and East to PortMiami, Miami's network can hold its own. And the ace up the sleeve is Miami's decent free trolley circulators in many neighborhoods: Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Downtown, Brickell Wynwood, Miami Gardens, and Doral. Even a sprawling suburb like Doral, where I live, has a decent and well-used free trolley system. Of course, it is paid for from funds that were supposed to go towards expansion of metrorail, so it's amazing what a nice bus system you can have when you divert tens of millions from expanding rail.
1b - Dallas - Ridership is low, system mileage is high, but I personally have always found DART rail to be quite useful and comfortable. I've taken it on many occasions from Love airport, from DFW airport, from urban core to other neighborhoods of interest. They have a couple heritage streetcar lines. I've used the buses also with no difficulty. They even have a commuter rail system I think called VRE which I've never used but is yet another option to connect to Fort Worth/DFW airport.
Houston, NOLA - Houston seems to be a bit less comprehensive than Dallas. It's been about 10 years since I used the system extensively, so my impression may be a bit out-of-date, but I don't believe they've made any major strides since. NOLA's system is mediocre, but the city is so incredibly walkable that mediocre is serviceable.
Orlando, Austin - These guys have serviceable bus systems and primitive single commuter rail lines. I want to say Orlando's is slightly more useful, connecting a few destinations throughout the region, while Austin's is strictly connecting park and riders to a single destination (downtown).
Raleigh, Tampa - Not much to say here. I used transit around Chapel Hill and then also to the main transit center in Raleigh. It was ok for buses. Tampa has the TECO streetcar which is undergoing a mini-rebirth with free fares and discussion of possible expansion, but really don't see a lot of promise for anything to happen anytime soon.
Charlotte, Memphis, VA Beach, SA are all systems that I have no experience with personally. I would guess and put Charlotte somewhere either right before or after Dallas.
Orlando, Austin - These guys have serviceable bus systems and primitive single commuter rail lines. I want to say Orlando's is slightly more useful, connecting a few destinations throughout the region, while Austin's is strictly connecting park and riders to a single destination (downtown).
One thing I will say, Orlando REALLY blew it in terms of urban planning when it came time to redoing I-4. They easily could have implemented Sunrail into the design, having a rail system running either parallel or OVER the Interstate, in order to serve a MUCH higher population, as well as numerous office parks and commercial centers. But no, instead we have a rail system with stops in remote areas like this: https://www.google.com/maps/@28.3870...7i16384!8i8192
Granted, if one works downtown or near it, it can be useful (I use it, and I work downtown) but it could have been SO MUCH BETTER
For me, without considering ridership and trying to minimize the city's walkability as a factor and primarily considering the usability of the transit system itself, here is how I would tier them.
1a - Miami, Atlanta - These are pretty even but I'd give a slight advantage to Miami, possibly simply because I know it better. Metromover is the most useful stretch of transit in either region's core, certainly more effective than the ATL streetcar. MARTA has historical advantages but between Tri-Rail, Metrorail and the surprisingly fast-expanding Virgin Trains (just received approval for extensions South to Aventura and East to PortMiami, Miami's network can hold its own. And the ace up the sleeve is Miami's decent free trolley circulators in many neighborhoods: Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Downtown, Brickell Wynwood, Miami Gardens, and Doral. Even a sprawling suburb like Doral, where I live, has a decent and well-used free trolley system. Of course, it is paid for from funds that were supposed to go towards expansion of metrorail, so it's amazing what a nice bus system you can have when you divert tens of millions from expanding rail.
1b - Dallas - Ridership is low, system mileage is high, but I personally have always found DART rail to be quite useful and comfortable. I've taken it on many occasions from Love airport, from DFW airport, from urban core to other neighborhoods of interest. They have a couple heritage streetcar lines. I've used the buses also with no difficulty. They even have a commuter rail system I think called VRE which I've never used but is yet another option to connect to Fort Worth/DFW airport.
Houston, NOLA - Houston seems to be a bit less comprehensive than Dallas. It's been about 10 years since I used the system extensively, so my impression may be a bit out-of-date, but I don't believe they've made any major strides since. NOLA's system is mediocre, but the city is so incredibly walkable that mediocre is serviceable.
Orlando, Austin - These guys have serviceable bus systems and primitive single commuter rail lines. I want to say Orlando's is slightly more useful, connecting a few destinations throughout the region, while Austin's is strictly connecting park and riders to a single destination (downtown).
Raleigh, Tampa - Not much to say here. I used transit around Chapel Hill and then also to the main transit center in Raleigh. It was ok for buses. Tampa has the TECO streetcar which is undergoing a mini-rebirth with free fares and discussion of possible expansion, but really don't see a lot of promise for anything to happen anytime soon.
Charlotte, Memphis, VA Beach, SA are all systems that I have no experience with personally. I would guess and put Charlotte somewhere either right before or after Dallas.
This is pretty close to how I see things, ... but you've got to consider Charlotte. No, I've never been to Charlotte either, but I've followed their transit exploits, and for its light density and sprawl yet strong downtown, Charlotte is doing a nice job with its 18-mile single line (2 branches) system, which looks to expand with either commuter rail to the north or a 13-mile extension of the LRT southeast to Matthews.
I'm thinking Miami, with its arsenal of Metrorail, Metromover, Tri-Rail (now in downtown Miami) and Brightline/Virgin Florida, is pretty comprehensive. Their biggest hole, though, is that tight, wacko-dense South Beach is unserved by rail and this must be corrected.
Atlanta's MARTA is very strong inside the City and some close-in suburbs. But the region is so incredibly sprawling with crazy freeway traffic, the area is screaming for commuter rail, which I'm not seeing in the city's immediate plans.
Atlanta
Miami
Dallas
Houston
Charlotte
New Orleans
Austin
Bus
Houston
Atlanta
Miami
San Antonio
Dallas
New Orleans
Transit systems
Atlanta
Miami
Houston
Dallas
Charlotte
San Antonio
New Orleans
Austin
I’m seeing people put Houston low or saying it hasn’t don’t much of anything. If you only focus on rail, I see your point although two lines have opened this decade. The bus reimagined system has help guide the city to have the highest bus ridership in the Southern US and it covers more of the city with better timing than it previously did. Dallas or Houston systems will never catch Atlanta for obvious reasons. Dart bus ridership is quite underwhelming tbh.
This is pretty close to how I see things, ... but you've got to consider Charlotte. No, I've never been to Charlotte either, but I've followed their transit exploits, and for its light density and sprawl yet strong downtown, Charlotte is doing a nice job with its 18-mile single line (2 branches) system, which looks to expand with either commuter rail to the north or a 13-mile extension of the LRT southeast to Matthews.
I'm thinking Miami, with its arsenal of Metrorail, Metromover, Tri-Rail (now in downtown Miami) and Brightline/Virgin Florida, is pretty comprehensive. Their biggest hole, though, is that tight, wacko-dense South Beach is unserved by rail and this must be corrected.
Atlanta's MARTA is very strong inside the City and some close-in suburbs. But the region is so incredibly sprawling with crazy freeway traffic, the area is screaming for commuter rail, which I'm not seeing in the city's immediate plans.
The biggest frustration to those of us from Miami is the lack of rail between downtown & South Beach. The planned route called BayLink which has been deemed a high priority corridor has been studied & planned for over 3 decades now but has not come to fruition.
There are 14,000+ people who do this daily commute on buses.
It's obvious the demand is there.
The biggest frustration to those of us from Miami is the lack of rail between downtown & South Beach. The planned route called BayLink which has been deemed a high priority corridor has been studied & planned for over 3 decades now but has not come to fruition.
There are 14,000+ people who do this daily commute on buses.
It's obvious the demand is there.
Would BayLink be an extension of Metrorail or Metromover? Frankly, I think a Metromover extension may make the best sense because of its smaller size and ability to fit and turn in tight spaces, which S. Beach has plenty of.
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