Better with respect to whom? (Comparative adjectives require something to compare) Since Shanghai has somewhere around 24 million people [1] and is ranked 10t

Better with respect to whom? (Comparative adjectives require something to compare) Since Shanghai has somewhere around 24 million people [1] and is ranked 10th in population density [2] in the world, I would expect it to have a "better" system regardless of who you compare it with. By contrast, the first US city in the top 125 cities is San Francisco at 104th, and a population density 5 times smaller than Shanghai. However, "better" is more than just how big the system is. Beijing has a huge subway system, but using it to go across the city takes an hour (e.g. from Sihui to Zhongguancun). In fact, it seems like every mode of transport in Beijing travels at the speed of a bike. A cab gets stuck on the ring roads; the bus requires waiting and has lots of stops plus traffic lights; the subway requires a walk to/from the station, plus waiting, plus a likely 5 min transfer walk, plus waiting, not to mention that you'll be standing up that whole time, and squished if during rush hour. (On the plus side, when I was there it was practically free at 33 cents a ride.) Unfortunately, biking in Beijing is like swimming with sharks (cars) in muddy waters (air). So... Beijing has a huge system, but is it "better"? Well, yes and no... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai [2] http://www.citymayors.com/statistics/largest-cities-density-125.html http://www.citymayors.com/statistics/largest-cities-density-...