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145 Comments
- washingtonydc, on 10/12/2007, -1/+27I'm sad to see DC's didn't make the cut. it's certainly not the largest (though it is the second largest in the US--and probably at least as big as Montreal's, which is on the list), but it's clean and efficient. It's not perfect, but the fact I depend on it daily and don't hate it has to mean something.
In fact, all of the highlights listed for London's Tube can also be used to describe DC:
Cushioned seats? Yes.
LED time displays hanging from the ceiling in stations indicate the number of minutes you need to wait before the next train? Yes, both on the platform and now increasinginly on a sign before the gates, so you can know how long it is before you even pay.
Eclectic station artwork? Got us here. Unless the ads selling weapons system near the pentagon count.
Fare cards allow you to touch against a subway turnstile and go? Yes, thanks to the magic of RFID. They work on the bus system and parking garages also. - skored, on 10/12/2007, -4/+21I think the smell of urine is actually a mainstay in most subway systems :)
- IceIX, on 10/12/2007, -2/+17No DC Metro on the list so no Digg. Metro rocks (as much as a metro can rock).
- DrOnion, on 10/12/2007, -4/+19What other underground do you know of that runs 133.7 miles of track? That by itself is reason enough for the Paris underground to be on the list.
- Scrappy1850, on 10/12/2007, -2/+17DC Metro is the CLEANEST! no dirty people or dirty things. if you bring a Snapple on a train they throw you on the 3rd rail
- Gman311, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13dually noted, DC Metro is the shiz, quick and relatively cheap.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -5/+16In Atlanta people say that MARTA stands for Moving Africans Rapidly Through Atlanta.
- AyoRayRay, on 10/12/2007, -3/+14If only the New York City subway system was a little bit cleaner and more appealing...
- sergeantmudd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11I just moved from Chicago to DC. My jaw almost dropped when I saw the difference. The stations are huge, the train is quiet and cleaner, and so far it's considerably better about being on time
- atticus8, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11Having been all over the US and Europe, I'll tell you that the Washington DC metro is definitely the cleanest and probably the most efficient metro I've been on. The top choices on the list are excellent choices but the lack of DC is a mistake.
On the reverse end of things, I've been living in Philadelphia for the last few years, and I love the city above-ground, I really do. Having said that, it needs to gets its goddamn act together with the subway system, because it is laughably bad. Philadelphia is coming back, and I could be one of the hotspots in the US again, but the first thing on the list should be the goddamn subway. Experiencing its tininess in such a big place like Philly for the first time is jolting, like walking into Steve Jobs' house and finding out he uses a Commodore 64.
Oh, and @smuikas, people don't have a car in NY for many reasons, not just the subway, like for instance the INSANE costs of owning a car there. I love how the parking lots charge you $40 more per stay if you drive a luxury vehicle. I've seen signs downtown that list the models you will be charged more for. - Homunculiheaded, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9I'm really glad the MBTA didn't make it, I think the experience is literally what it is like to travel through the bowels of hell. Nothing let's you know how horrible corruption is in Boston politics like the atrocity that is the MBTA.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -6/+15They forgot the most advanced transit system in the world, Los Angeles: http://www.glowfoto.com/static_image/26-134003L/6948/jpg/02/2007/img4/glowfoto
Oh wai...
Seriously though, this makes me depressed that my city is so incredibly backwards. - inmatarian, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9The new york city trains are actually a little dangerous. Not from crime, that's been way down lately. The trains themselves don't come close enough to the platforms, and there are quite a few cases of people slipping over the gap, or even falling it. I'd like to see the MTA fix that.
- TheShrike, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Yeah, I was kind of surprised at DC's absence on the list. I've ridden trains all over the country, and DC's Metro is definitely the cleanest and fastest- and considering those two factors... the best value for the fare. It isn't a very extensive system, though, so no points for sheer scale, I guess. Maybe it's not listed due to that, and the stark utilitarian feel. It's clean, and fast, but it has no personality at all. Almost like every station is just a copy of the last.
- kazimir34, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8I don't see how the system can be undersized when everybody in Paris is within 0.3 miles of a station.
- SunDestroyer, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8The London secret tunnels, abandoned tube stations that have been out of service for 60 odd years and the myths of the ghosts that haunt them is what I've always found to be more interesting.
- awm4, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8The worst Mass Transit Train system is in Atlanta. The MARTA is dangerous and slow.
- Smuikas, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7The 4/5/6 line at Union Square (14th st) has movable metal platforms that extend to close the (admittedly) large gaps between the train and the platform. Unfortunately, the station uses sensors to figure out if the train is there and extend the platforms - and the sensors rub against the train, or something, making the station one of the noisiest in terms of high pitched squeals. Most /subway/ stations the gap is less than 3 inches - I'd like to meet someone who can fall through that. The Long Island Railroad, on the other hand, has some pretty horrendous gaps - and this is the system that most of the slips are noted on. The biggest issues come from people who stupidly try to hold open the door with their luggage and get their bag stuck inside or outside the train, with them on the opposite side getting dragged.
If you see an empty car in an otherwise crowded train, DONT GET ON THAT CAR. More than likely someone took a dump in there, or puked, or it smells so strongly of feet (probably a fungus issue) that you'd get sick if you stayed more than a few minutes on it. And whatever you do, don't fall asleep on the L (the most modern, and the line they're testing the arrival time LED signs on) late at night. You might wake up somewhere you really don't want to be - like Broadway Junction in brooklyn. - lodhesn, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I've been on most of these (8/11) and Hong Kong's is definitely the best. I may be a bit biased because that's my hometown, but seriously compared to all of these (especially NYC Metro and London Tube), Hong Kong's MTR is the most efficient and cleanest. Usually navigation is relatively difficult for foreigners (Tokyo JR), but everyone I know who has visited has complimented the system as being the easiest to get around. Plus, it seems that HK's is the only system to have screen doors between the train and the platform, preventing dangerous accidents from occurring.
- thruandthru, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5WHAT?! The T in Boston didn't make the list?
(sarcasm) - Jomwilli, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8Where is Washington D.C's metro at? Mucho better than New York or Paris.
I'd say.....
1)London
2)Moscow
3)Washington, D.C. - starvo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5You can pay for your parking using the DC metro card? Ohh, it'll never happen in Boston, but that's be great if we could pay for parking with the Charlie Card.
- harumph, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8a minor point but a decent amount of the tokyo system is aboveground. in general, that whole country has stellar train service. you can hit really remote points on clean, (stress clean here) reliable and punctual trains. you really can set your watch by them.
as for new york, it is a pretty comprehensive system but there are some big gaps in queens and brooklyn. the system is really dirty, unreliable and generally unpleasant outside of manhattan. you get a lot of really loud, inconsiderate people, trash etc. there is little impetus to make people act civilly and this is definitely a city where you can get shot or stabbed for just asking someone to quiet down. the 24hrs a day part is a big plus however. - iOsiris, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4The HK one really is very efficient & clean
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6As someone who lived in DC and now lives in NYC, they aren't even close. Sure, the Metro is newer and cleaner. Big deal. It doesn't have remotely the coverage and reach of the NYC. It's not even in the same ballpark. Functionally, it's completely different. The Metro as someone said gets people in and out of the city. In NYC, it's how people get around the city.
- IanRReardon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Worst Subway system in the universe: BOSTON.
MBTA is so bad.
They just put in these new card reader systems that replaced the turn styles. They have been in for like 3 months and every day atleast 50% of them are broken. So now like 300 people have to go through 3-4 gates and you end up waiting 5 minutes just to get into the damn subway.
When they are working, people just force themselves through them and don't pay!!
Not to mention my monthly train pass went from 124 to 165 dollars a MONTH in january. I live like 4 stops outside the damn city. - eleventh, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4@valardur
I agree, shutting down at 3am on the weekends is what draws the line between DC and the World Class metro systems. - eleventh, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4For those of you complaining that DC is expensive, please keep in mind that it is the LEAST subsidized subway system in the country. Sure, NYC's is much cheaper, but it gets much more of its funding from tax payers.
I've spent 4 summers in Montreal and almost 4 years in DC. The systems are quite similar in scope, layout, and size. I have to give my vote to DC on this one too. Montreal's subway stations (especially the outer ones) frequently feature graffiti and boarded up doors, whereas DC's are all consistently clean and well lit. The biggest ding I can give to DC is the lack of train frequency - Montreal is far superior in this regard.
Lastly, if you want to see a really clean subway, check out some of the new stations in Athens - they are literally some of the cleanest public places I've ever been in my life:
http://www.figure-ground.com/travel/greece/athens/0014.jpg
http://www.ametro.gr/main/communication/gallery/images/stations/20/7.jpg - valardur, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Agree with all the above posts about the "goods" on DC's metro, however I would like it if it operated for longer hours. Kind of annoying to miss last train and be trapped on a place since there are no other affordable forms of transportation.
- lucas911, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4What about B.A.R.T.?
I mean the architecture / art of the stations is AMAZING... - rstarr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3((sigh))
Agreed.
The new Charlie Card system is garbage too, I think it takes a degree in hieroglyphics and Cracker Jack decoder ring to figure the system out.
However, highly amusing to watch tourists struggle with it.
My favorite is the people who go to the debit/credit lines and start complaining about it not accepting dollar bills saying "Paper is still currency you know! This is still America! Just because I don't have a card doesn't mean I can't ride!" However if they chose to read the GIANT YELLOW signs above them they would move 2 feet to their left and pay with cash.
God I love tourists. - Tanpreet, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Mike Harris = teh suck
- starvo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Oh come on now, the MBTA is one of the finest..
Oh, I can't even joke about it. It's pretty craptacular at best. It's really cheap, which is a huge plus, but the Orangeline never fails to annoy the hell out of me. (Of course, playing count the empty thunderbird bottles is always a fun game on the MBTA.) - diulei, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Japan's JR/Subway system rocks. Minus the cutoff at midnight (give or take 30 mins).
How I hated the days I drank a little too much and missed the cutoff - staying out til 5am against your will, or paying US$50 to get home in a taxi, is not fun at all.
Other than that - best system I've ever used - clean, convenient, and punctual. This is in comparison to my experiences in London, Paris, NYC, SF, and DC. - tizz66, on 10/12/2007, -4/+7I liked the New York subway. As a tourist, there's something really distinct and appealing about it.
- Mexrocker, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3There's so many down sides to the NYC subway system, as much as I may hate my long ride to City College in Harlem, the Subway gets the job done. I've been so lucky to snag a seat for my hour long trip. I just wish they could get rid of all the panhandlers. Most of them are really annoying....
- VeganG, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3@kaplanfx
LA Metro sucks. It goes nowhere, the stations are few and far between, you have to be pretty lucky to walking distance from one. To do something as simple as getting from Burbank to Pasadena on it (just an example) you have to go downtown to Union Station first -- you have to go through Union Station to get practically from anywhere to anywhere. Downtown LA may technically be the "center" of LA, but only on paper; downtown LA is on the southeastern outskirts of where normal people spend their time in LA. - rspeed, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Oh man, I'll never forget my first MARTA trip. At first I was thinking "oh hey, this isn't that different than the DC Metro!"
Oooooh how wrong I was.
God damn those trains were slow. And the escalators are ridiculously narrow (at least at Peachtree Center).
The people were certainly "urban" but not really in an unsettling way. One guy with "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" as his ringtone really amused me. - aschocobo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3DC trains shut down at 3am...but reopen two hours later at 5, on weekdays. the buses run all night, as far as i know. but i stopped using metro. it's a nice system though.
- userundefine, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Hoodlums and pickpockets? I don't know where you're from but it's clear you've never actually *lived* in Paris. The métro is quite safe, very fast, and among the cleanest in the world.
About Paris's "size"... where have you been in Paris that you were just stranded without a close métro stop? You can look at figures all you want but until you experience it every day you really have no clue how great the Paris métro is. - placeboeffect, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I definitely agree. The Montreal Metro is the best mass transit system I've been on (though I've only been on Toronto, Boston, and Edmonton's as well). It's fast, efficient, and the stations are all unique.
- BobTGoon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3After traveling through Europe this summer I was very impressed with the London tube ("mind the gap") and the Paris metro, which was very easy to use for a foreigner.
Berlin also had a great metro, except for the Brownshirts looking for tickets.
Milan had kind of ***** trains, but the buses were great for the most part, and as far as I could tell, were free. We tried to pay a couple of times, but the locals waived us off. - Alex33, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Go Montreal Subway!
- bobba, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I can vouch for the Pyongyang metro, it smells a bit funny, but you can't beat the price (it's free).
London tube; bit expensive but there are maps, and signs everywhere, it's amost impossible to get lost. Not so great during rush hour(what mass transit is?) But it will get you where you want to go. Oystercards rule.
Glasgow; forget it.
New York; Dirty, no signage of any worth, but really cheap - $2 from anywhere to anywhere, suck it up London!
Washington; lovely, clean, cheap, but not so good in the city.
Boston; ok, a bit confusing.
Seoul; Quiet, cheap, very clean. Almost perfect.
Paris; muggers, snobbyness but reasonably priced.
Berlin; bit like London really, a bit cleaner than the district line but dirtier than the Jubilee line.
I'd love to go on the Mosow tube, surely that one is the winner? - aubrey, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I really enjoyed using the Hong Kong MTR system for the couple of weeks I was there last year. My favorite thing about it was that the Octopus cards you use to pay fares not only worked on the buses, trains, boats, and some taxis, but they also worked at McDonalds, 7-11s, and pretty much every other chain market, convenience store, and fast food place.
I even saw an octopus card reader with a 10 key pad next to the front door of a church. I'm not sure it was used as a tithe station, but I can't imagine what else it could have been used for.
Using the Octopus card to pay for things really clued me in into how clunky and slow using debit cards is. - bigredgpk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Boston has the worlds oldest Subway system.
And they also had the first underwater line (Blue line)
Other then that it's total crap - Dracominor, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Agreed! I lived there for a while, and the metro was not only convenient, but the artwork was beautiful.. i always loved how no one seemed to notice art above their heads..
http://www.metrosantiago.cl/metro_arte_detalle.php?id=3c59dc048e8850243be8079a5c74d079
http://www.metrosantiago.cl/
(that and it was safer than buses when riots were going on above ground.. ) - counterplex, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I think one of the most fascinating things about the London mass transit system are the high speed trains that connect the outer suburbs to the Underground. I was there recently and those trains are FAST! I was on the platform and when this train passed, it lifted loose clothes and didn't even bother slowing down. Later I rode in one and it was perfectly comfortable w/o most of the noise generated on the outside.
Having said that, either the NYC metro seems more extensive than the Underground or maps for the latter are just laid out in a more simplistic fashion. Anyone who has experience with both? - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Fun fact: you know the cute little tune you hear each time a Montreal metro is taking off, this is not a recording, it's actually the sound of electricity powering the train.
- wonko33, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2When I was a kid they used to have a little dude with a javelin drawn on the wall of the tunnel and when the metro moved it was animated like a flip book. It was between Berri-de-Montigny and Ile-St-Helene stations on the yellow line.
Another fun fact is that they used the dirt when they dug it to make islands in the St-Laurent River -
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