3 ms·
I think part of it has to do with how the lines are financed and built. In Japan and Korea for example, individual companies own the lines and stations and basi
by bane 8y ago
I think part of it has to do with how the lines are financed and built. In Japan and Korea for example, individual companies own the lines and stations and basically use them to funnel customers to shopping areas where they actually make their money.
In the U.S. they are built as public works projects and owned in the end by some local municipal authority. Since they are public property, there's no incentive/ability to conduct commerce there. It would be like having a McDonalds inside of a library.
- icebraining 8y agoAs far as I know, stations in Western EU are also mostly public works, and they do have shops. As an example, Brussels-Central has multiple coffeeshops (including a Starbucks), a waffle kiosk, a fast-food joint, a newsstand, and even a small supermarket. And funny you should mention libraries; my local public library has a private café inside (not in the reading area, of course).
- bane 8y agoHa! I stand corrected! In the U.S. at least it's pretty rare to see shops of any kind inside of subway stations or libraries. There's a few news stands in some NYC subway stations, but not many. I've been throughout much of Europe and don't recall seeing many stores in most of the subway systems -- but maybe I wasn't paying attention. But there will be some kind of place to get a bite in many train and even bus stations.