Whether you’re looking to explore a city’s best restaurants or get to work, you likely don’t want to spend large chunks of time-fighting traffic. Extensive public transportation can ease the burden that goes along with terrible commutes and other difficulties getting around. Here are three cities that have some of the most extensive public transportation options.
Boston, MA
Boston has a comprehensive transportation system that consists of trolleys, ferries, a heavy rail system, and a commuter rail system. There are three heavy rail lines that serve the city from each direction. The green line is a trolley that is branched and has 66 different stations. There are 133 total rail stations between all of the lines. There is also a bus rapid transit line that has its own lanes and tunnels. The “T” carries nearly 1.3 million passengers each day, and almost 800,000 of these are on the system’s rail lines.
Chicago, IL
Chicago has one of the better systems due to the ever-present “El” trains that run throughout the city that are part of the Chicago Transit Association. The El is the second-largest heavy rail subway system in the country. It currently operates 242 stations and has 11 separate rail lines, serving millions of passengers every year. In fact, over 1.6 million people each day ride the CTA to avoid commutes that can last for up to 90 minutes. For those with longer commutes into the city, the commuter rail system METRA serves over 200 stations throughout Cook County.
New York, NY
No discussion of the most extensive public transit systems can exclude New York, which has subways, railroads, ferries, and buses. There are three different commuter railroads to get people in and out of the cities that serve commuters in all directions. The iconic New York Subway runs day and night over 36 lines, serving nearly 500 stations. The subway system carries nearly 6 million passengers on weekdays and three million passengers each day on weekends. There are almost no parts of New York City that do not have their own subway stop and those that do not are easily a bus ride away from the subway station. Many people who live in New York find it completely unnecessary to own a car and for good reason.
No one loves driving in stand-still traffic on their commute home. If you do not want to spend time-fighting daily traffic, consider living in a city that has a comprehensive public transit system. It could make your commute much more bearable.