August 2009 Weddings
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QOTD

Do you live in a city with a good public transportation system?
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Re: QOTD

  • Hahahahahaha!

    So yeah, London was awesome and I always thought about how it would be tough to make the transition back to any US city because nothing would compare.  Little did I know...

    PP has no public transport.  You either take a tuk tuk or a moto anywhere - but tuks tuks are more expensive so we've started taking motos all the time.  It's terrifying.  There are literally no traffic laws so people drive on the wrong side of the street, run red lights, etc.  I really hate it but it's the only way around.  Luckily the UN has a bus for employees so E has transport to and from work.  Once I start working I may have to hire a driver on a monthly basis. 

    Now jumping domestically.

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    Well that was a crazy couple of years.

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  • As Leo said, London has good public transportation.  When it's working (they are constantly doing "maintenance works").  And when they're not on strike (I think they went out 4-5 times last year).  And when it's not too hot (no air con).  But they're clean, reasonably timely, interconnected, and have a pretty broad reach.
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  • Once you get into the city, we have decent transportation. I can't really speak for the bus system, since I've never had to use it. When I did look into it once, it seemed sort of complicated, but I'm sure it's fine once you figure it out. I do know that Boston's T system is a little tricky due to all the line changes. Again, I've never had to use it, so not positive.
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  • Not.at.all. We have buses but I wouldn't ride one unless I had to to see a dying family member or something drastic like that. Jacksonville is huge and there's not really a city center that most people go to like in other cities. I would love to live in/by a city like DC or Boston with a great public transportation system.
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  • I'm just going to say, I live in Maine.  However we do have Amtrak, and town buses, but that is about it.  So for what we do have it is ok, but nothing like a subway.
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  • Good in the sense that I can get to where I need to go . . . bad in the sense that it's falling into disrepair and the system and its employees seem to get worse and worse as time passes. There's basically no money for improvements, the decision the board makes are idiotic, and it all gets passed onto the riders through higher fares. And then there's more and more violence popping up in the system between riders.

    H and I have always said the Metro will be one of the things that pushes us over the edge and sends us to another city. We're not there yet, but I can see it happening soon.
  • nope. as Sir Charles Barkley would say, it's "turrible"

    and Ohio's joke of a new Gov just shot down 400 million federal dollars to start up a new high-speed rail system. Now, California, Florida, and New York get our "free" money (and new jobs). So, if any of you live in those states - things could be looking up! I would say "you're welcome," but it was so not my choice.  

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  • Eh, it's OK. In the core of the city, it's pretty good. That's the area where we've been house hunting, and the transit is a large part of the reason why it's so expensive.

    In the suburbs (still Toronto but the outer ring), it's not great. The west and north ends of the city are OK; most of that area is one short bus ride away from the subway. The east end is terrible; most people have to take multiple bus and train rides to get into the core. It sucks because these are the parts of the city that most need it, IMO.

    The neighbouring municipalities have commuter trains which get into the city pretty quickly and reliably, but are expensive. I can't comment on their own transit systems but I imagine most of them are not great.

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  • Hamilton isn't too bad.  The city is laid out pretty grid like, so most major streets have a bus running down them.  I've only taken the bus to the train station once, and it was really straight forward.  My favourite part was a scrolling marquee of which stop was next. 

    Southern Ontario is also all connected by the GO Train/Bus system which is also pretty good.

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  • No.  It's awful.  The buses have terrible hours, and they have cut routes drastically to save money.  I live less than 8 miles away, and it would take 2 buses and approximately 2 hours to get home (including a 1 mile walk).  Denver (an hour away) is developing a good light rail system, but it probably won't reach us.
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  • imageSusiOT:

    Good in the sense that I can get to where I need to go . . . bad in the sense that it's falling into disrepair and the system and its employees seem to get worse and worse as time passes. There's basically no money for improvements, the decision the board makes are idiotic, and it all gets passed onto the riders through higher fares.

    Chicago is pretty much the same.  We have the El (elevated train and subway), a bus system, and a suburban rail.  I take the subway to and from work, and it usually takes me 20-30 minutes door to door, which IMO is really good.  That being said, there are many areas of the city where I can't get to on the subway.  I can get to most of them by bus or by a combination of bus and El, but it's definitely not convenient.  For instance, one of my old jobs used to take me 25 minutes to drive to work, but it would have taken over an hour and a half to get there by public transit.  Last year they passed a law giving free rides to seniors, which is great except that there was no income threashold, so you could be rediculousy wealth and ride for free as long as you're old, and there is no enforcement so I could get my grandpa to get me a free card and just use it (not that I would do that). 

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  • No. I work in a college town that has a good bus system, but I live in a small town 10 miles out and all that we have are taxis.
  • Boston's is pretty good - you can get to most parts of the city and immediate surrounds via T (our subway), and if you can't get there via T, there is a huge bus system.  I've always made it a point to live very close to the T, so I rarely take the buses. We also have a water taxi system for those living across or down the harbor, and also a pretty good commuter rail system for those living in further suburbs.

     

    The Green Line was America's first subway line, and it still seems to run like it.  A lot of it is above ground right through populated city areas, so it can be subject to the whims of traffic and pedestrians, which makes it pretty irregular and annoying.  But all the other lines are much more streamlined and automated, which is good. 

  • SusiOT pointed out the bad things about D.C. but I still say public transit here rocks. 

    It's clean and I never feel unsafe (even going home alone at 9:45 on a Saturday night after 4 pitchers of sangria).  I take the subway in to work most day and the subway plus a bus home in the evenings.  Out in the burbs, I still feel like you need a car, just for the sake of saving time, but you can get almost anywhere with the bus system.

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  • The local bus system is pretty good and you can get you just about anywhere in the area.  Inside the city there are Strassbahns (street cars) that are also clean and useful, plus the regional and intercity trains are good for going city to city.  Overall, Germany has a really good public transport system and I know several locals that never drive anywhere.
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  • imagerebaann:

    SusiOT pointed out the bad things about D.C. but I still say public transit here rocks. 

    It's clean and I never feel unsafe (even going home alone at 9:45 on a Saturday night after 4 pitchers of sangria).  I take the subway in to work most day and the subway plus a bus home in the evenings.  Out in the burbs, I still feel like you need a car, just for the sake of saving time, but you can get almost anywhere with the bus system.

    :) Trey didn't have his phone with him, so he didn't get the picture of the receipt until the next day.

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  • I live in Atlanta. I ride the trains when I need to to get to a hockey game or the airport. There are only 4 lines and they overlap so they don't really have a great reach. They are also never on time. So it takes forever. I took the train to a hockey game one week and walked to the arena the next time and it took less time for me to walk.

    I've been to many cities, chicago, san fran, nyc, paris, london, to name a few so far the best transit system I've experienced has been in Barcelona. I wish I could move there system here.

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  • Philly has Septa who is notorious for delays and such. I never really have a problem when I ride. The subway system is nothing like NY or such. I would say that would be a downfall and there have been some incidents on them. Out in the burbs we just have the rails into the city and some bus routes. I really only take the train in some times.
  • Seattle's public transit is good. It includes buses that run just about everywhere, the ferry system for access to and from the islands as well as a light link rail, that goes from downtown Seattle to the Airport. It has several stops along the way with pay and park lots, so that's how a lot of people avoid having to pay for parking downtown. There is also an Amtrak station right downtown.

    New parking rates went into affect this month, and we're now said to be in the top five of the most expensive places to park.

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  • imageeeeeva:

    I've been to many cities, chicago, san fran, nyc, paris, london, to name a few so far the best transit system I've experienced has been in Barcelona. I wish I could move there system here.

    I would agree with this. I've been to many cities in the US and Europe including most of the cities that you listed and would definitely agree that the best was in Barcelona. I went there at 15 with my HS Spanish class having never used major public transportation before, and I was able to navigate the system on my own with other HS students.  

  • Considering how big of a city L.A. is, our public transportation is a joke. The bus system is okay but you can't count on getting anywhere on time because the buses are never on schedule. The train system, specifically the Red and Gold lines which I have used, are great, but I would have to take a bus to get to either one. I admit, it has gotten better and they're expanding the routes for some of the trains which is also great. I don't use our public system though because it's not convenient for me.
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  • there is no public transportation in Sebewaing MI if you need to go some where and your car wont start you call a friend/ family menber to come get you, you stay home and call in sick, or you put on your tennis shoes/snow oots and start walkin thta happy little but to your destination. bundle up its cold
  • ditto Susi and Rebecca. unfortunately, I don't live or work in the actual city of DC, so I have to drive my car everywhere during the week. but if I go into the city, I take the Metro ALWAYS. I guess since I don't take it on a regular basis, it seems cheap to me... at least for me, it's cheaper than having to find parking and losing my sanity attempting to drive in the city. like Rebecca said, I always feel safe on the Metro, even though I drive to one of the ghetto stops on the green line... which I do... every time.
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  • No.  But I also live in a town of 27,000 it will take a max of 20 minutes across the whole town.  Being a college town the University has buses that run from lots at various points across town to the union. It is also easy to ride your bike (that is when it is when it is not -30 out).

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  • Oh dear Lord, no.  Thanfully, I don't rely on it.
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