Cities with good transportation system in US?
- Thread starter young_princess
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Ugh, As I Bay Area dweller I think San Francisco is horrible....I guess I am alone though. Sure you can get almost anywhere....but it takes forever, is usually pretty dirty and is expensive.
Seattle is good
Even though it is just buses, they are clean, plentiful, fast and actually resonably priced.
DC is good. I came here in 1991 and 1992 for summer internships and then permanently moved here in 1993 and transferred colleges. I didn't get my first car until 2002 and got around just fine without a car all over the area through college, law school and even while practicing as a lawyer for a few years. Bus, subway, taxi and Flexcar/Zipcar which are cars parked at the subway stations or at different spots around the area that you can schedule to use for stints at a time by joining and paying a subscription fee based on how much you want to use it. When I needed a car for major shopping or other reasons I just used Flexcar. Before Flexcar existed, I would occasionally get a rental car when I needed one for say a weekend. Most people I knew during the law school and intern years did not own a car. I didn't feel the need to get a car until I got ready to buy a home and needed more location options than those near subway stations...as my apartments were always not far from a metro stop.
ITA!
there was a range of plans depending on how much you needed it and you could change it monthly....I haven't used it since like 2002 and the prices are likely different now...
Here is the site http://www.flexcar.com/default.aspx?tabid=56
I hope someone would still respond to this, but does Pittsburgh have a good transportation system?
I live in the Philadelphia suburbs in PA, and there's really good transportation all around the Philadelphia suburbs and the Philadelphia area. In Philadelphia, the transportation system is really convenient between the trains, EL, subway, and buses & the good thing is that if you live in the suburbs around Philadelphia, there are many ways to get into the city. I hope I helped!!!so for Chicago, DC and Sanfran, can u pretty much go everywhere with their transportation systems? I'm looking for a city to intern in this summer. How about Pennsylvania's transportation system? thanks a bunch!
I lived in Pittsburgh for two years. I didn't have a car the entire time. I found the transportation system very easy to use and it got me everywhere I needed to go. They have a small subway, trains, inclines, and buses. Even when my boyfriend (now my DH) came to visit me with his car, we used public transportation. I lived on Mt. Washington and rode the incline down to the subway. I rode the subway to school. I always felt safe. It was not expensive. I would buy a monthly pass for under $50.
We've lived in Chicago, Philadelphia and DC burbs and all of them are OK if you a smart about where you live.
In Chicago and Philly, it's much dirtier and there are less areas to choose from, but DC is really good. You DEFINITELY could live without a car, but... it's expensive out here big time.
My husband works near the Congress and we live in a western burb in No.VA and from door to door, it takes him 45 minutes to get to work. If he drove, it would take him 35 minutes NO traffic and close to 2 hours with traffic.
In Chicago and Philly, it's much dirtier and there are less areas to choose from, but DC is really good. You DEFINITELY could live without a car, but... it's expensive out here big time.
My husband works near the Congress and we live in a western burb in No.VA and from door to door, it takes him 45 minutes to get to work. If he drove, it would take him 35 minutes NO traffic and close to 2 hours with traffic.
Chicago, I believe (correct me if I am wrong), has the largest transportation system outside of NYC. However, I personally think it's lacking.
There are two ways to get around: bus and train. And because there is no single comprehensive system like the NYC subway, it's really annoying that some areas are accessible only by train or only by bus (depending on where you live)... plus, it gets VERY crowded. You can literally sit on the bench and watch 4 buses go by that are too packed to let you in from 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm. They say this is because they're undergoing major renovations, which won't be done until next year (God willing)... but they keep halting construction due to lack of funding, etc.
Sorry, I totally ranted there...
I'll just say this: the people who say "public transportation is so convenient in Chicago" have obviously never owned a car. Though parking here is a real pain in the butt, and expensive as hell.
But that's the trade-off for living in a city full of interesting people and culture!!!
There are two ways to get around: bus and train. And because there is no single comprehensive system like the NYC subway, it's really annoying that some areas are accessible only by train or only by bus (depending on where you live)... plus, it gets VERY crowded. You can literally sit on the bench and watch 4 buses go by that are too packed to let you in from 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm. They say this is because they're undergoing major renovations, which won't be done until next year (God willing)... but they keep halting construction due to lack of funding, etc.
Sorry, I totally ranted there...
I'll just say this: the people who say "public transportation is so convenient in Chicago" have obviously never owned a car. Though parking here is a real pain in the butt, and expensive as hell.
But that's the trade-off for living in a city full of interesting people and culture!!!
