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Not as much: Chicago (CTA + Pace) has 1.8 million weekday riders, Boston (MBTA) has 1.3 million riders, Washington DC (MetroRail + MetroBus + Commuter Rail) has 1.3 million riders. New York City (MTA + commuter rail + PATH + suburban buses) has about 10 million riders. Chicago is the second largest, but the gap between NYC and Chicago is much larger than Chicago and the next largest city for transit ridership. My numbers aren't exact, and some are double counted because people do rail to bus transfers, but the relative difference should be about right.
Chicago's rail system would need to double to even begin to compete with NYC when it comes to ridership. And even then, NYC would need to expand rail in the Bronx, Queens, and the New Jersey side to be at the level of ridership they should be at.
It's amazing being on the train in Chicago (or any other city) and seeing the "quality" of people transform as you go from one neighborhood to the next.
"Quality" of people? Are you for real? The income level may change, but that's no way to evaluate quality of a person.
You haven't always taken mass transit to work though. I explicitly said "taken". If you've taken the bus, should i assume you were the driver?
Huh? Usually the popular vernacular used in reference to riding a bus is "they have taken" a bus.You make it sound as if you are referring to someone who has driven the bus.Or maybe even stole a bus.
To clarify for you because I suspect everyone else was clever enough to understand what I meant, I always rode mass transit to work. There, does that make you feel better? When I worked, the great majority of the time I rode mass transit on off hours to appointments, recreation and anyplace else I needed to go after work and on weekends. Now that I am retired, I ride it just about anytime of day. The areas in which I traveled included downtowns and all neighborhoods within and outside the cities in which I lived.
"Quality" of people? Are you for real? The income level may change, but that's no way to evaluate quality of a person.
Thanks for correcting me as I'm sure it made you feel negatively. I was reluctant to use the word and that's why I used quotations. However, there is some truth to it. When I use the word quality, I am not referring to income, education, etc. Unfortunately, in the lower income areas, you'll usually find criminals and other undesirable people of the sort. That's what I meant. You can definitely see the difference as you switch neighborhoods... People start to fight each other, things are stolen, things are vandalized, and so on.
A speak on this from the perspective of a person who lived in a lower income neighborhood... Not the worst nneighborhood in the city but even where I was, the dynamic of the train changed dramatically.
It has always been interesting to me how people have viewed public transit. It seems that in a lot of cities with bus systems only, the only people who ride are the ones who have to. In the ones with rail transit, it seems that a lot more people choose to ride even if they can afford to purchase a car. Even in cities with really efficient bus systems, (I think Miami has a great bus system) it's usually left to people who "have to ride." The only exception to this in Miami and other systems, is in tourist areas. I have noticed that buses are used quite frequently in South Beach but still not as much as expected or what is used by tourists in New York City.
I recently went to South beach with a friend. I suggested taking the bus from the airport to our hotel on the beach and my friend said, "No way! We're taking a cab." The cab ended up costing us around $40.00 and it took us about 30 minutes to get to our hotel. On the way back, I said, "We're taking the bus. No questions." After a couple of bucks and a relaxing 45 minute ride with lots of nice people, we made it to the airport. My friend couldn't believe how much better of an option this was.
I know that most of you believe that mass transit is a good option in some cases but it's always nice to convert someone when you can.
Miami does NOT have a good bus system, though we have a few bus lines that are "usually" usable, mostly the Beach, Biscayne Blvd., and Little Havana lines. Except when there is traffic and accidents and events... Which is often. Miami has ZERO dedicated bus lanes in the city--only a poorly run busway which connects to the Metrorail in the southern suburbs. Oh, and busses break down a lot. And no, there is no GPS tracking on any of these heavily used routes so you can't tell in advance if it is delayed or broken down. It's remarkable how much ridership Miami's buses get, all considered. For one thing, many tourists on the Beach are Europeans who are more open to using public transportation while on vacation, also in the city there is more poverty than most US cities.
I have always been very good at expressing myself however a stroke I suffered a couple of years ago has rendered my speech and writing abilities a bit less than adequate at times.
I will attempt to make it more clear to those who need literal translation. Then I will move on.
1. I have never owned a car.
2. With little exception, I ride public transportation the majority of the time. It is my main means of transportation.
3. I travel by bus during the off hours in many different neighborhoods depending upon where I need to go.
I have no more to say.
Last edited by nei; 01-27-2015 at 08:03 AM..
Reason: cleaned up response to deleted post
theres plenty of old people and young people that have never owned or driven a car in city's with public transportation. having a car wasnt a good experience for me, but walking to or from the bus wasnt eather. still better then having a car though
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Usually the popular vernacular used in reference to riding a bus is "they have taken" a bus.You make it sound as if you are referring to someone who has driven the bus.Or maybe even stole a bus.
. Miami has ZERO dedicated bus lanes in the city--only a poorly run busway which connects to the Metrorail in the southern suburbs. Oh, and busses break down a lot. And no, there is no GPS tracking on any of these heavily used routes so you can't tell in advance if it is delayed or broken down. It's remarkable how much ridership Miami's buses get, all considered. For one thing, many tourists on the Beach are Europeans who are more open to using public transportation while on vacation, also in the city there is more poverty than most US cities.
