travelin_man_yeah t1_j0v8190 wrote on December 19, 2022 at 5:52 PM

NYC is good but go to Europe or Japan or Taipei. Most of their public transportation systems put the US to shame.

irckeyboardwarrior t1_j0vjim6 wrote on December 19, 2022 at 7:07 PM

You can't exactly generalize Europe like that. I went to Norway and the public transportation was okay but certainly nothing to idolize and/or write home about. And in some countries there is barely any public transportation at all.

Plexaure t1_j0vmr25 wrote on December 19, 2022 at 7:28 PM

Yeah, most of Europe's public transportation networks are very small compared to NYC and most of Europe drives if you don't live in city center... same as here. Plus, the MTA does not close overnight for maintenance like in Japan. In Japan, each train line is a different and separate fare.

Pennwisedom t1_j0vv8f7 wrote on December 19, 2022 at 8:23 PM

> In Japan, each train line is a different and separate fare.

Each system, not each line. It's easy to travel without crossing into different systems most of the time. Also it doesn't even matter too much because you pay by distance, and all you do when going between systems is tap at the gate, so a route from X->Y via one system or via two different systems does not usually change the price that much.

Also the time of the last train really depends. On the Yamanote line the last train is 1:20 and the first is 4:30, so that's only a three hour window, they sure aren't doing huge amounts of maintenance in that.

travelin_man_yeah t1_j0woper wrote on December 19, 2022 at 11:46 PM

Really? Outside of NYC, most of the city public transportation systems are crap in the US. Maybe the Chicago L or DC Metro are of mention but what beyond that. Look at all the BS LA is going through just to get city rail at LAX. I can get to city center from most large city European airports in minutes on rail.

Yes, lots of people drive to or in outlying European areas but outside of the NE corridor, where is it convenient to take rail city to city in the US? I've traveled a lot on European rail and it's hands down no comparison to US regional or Amtrack. I mean come on, Deutsche Bahn or French SNCF high speed or even regional compared to NJ Transit or Amtrack? That's like comparing a 62 Buick to a 2010 BMW...

Use-Quirky t1_j0vzpad wrote on December 19, 2022 at 8:52 PM

Yeah, I agree. I haven’t had amazing public transit experience in Europe. Maybe I’m missing something but it’s just okay.

WorthPrudent3028 t1_j0w5kgv wrote on December 19, 2022 at 9:31 PM

Yeah, Belgium is underwhelming too, even in larger cities. In small towns, they usually have a bus that rarely runs, which is better than US small towns but not by much.