4 ms·
> The Boston T is not anywhere near as good as the NYC subway My experience of the T is some decades old; I understand it has indeed deteriorated quite a bit s
by pdonis 2y ago
> The Boston T is not anywhere near as good as the NYC subway
My experience of the T is some decades old; I understand it has indeed deteriorated quite a bit since then. But when I used it, I had reasonably contemporary experience of the NYC system as well, and the latter, at that time, was not as good. Any such comparison will of course change over time.
> how it affects city life.
Which, again, is all that appears to be on your radar. But not everyone's life is "city life".
- DiogenesKynikos 2y agoThey obviously don't have metro systems in Chinese villages. But Chinese cities do have great metro systems, while American cities are lucky to have any metro at all, or even a decent bus network or a few tram lines. > My experience of the T is some decades old Yes, it's extremely old. The Green Line looks like something out of the early 20th Century, and an important stretch of the Red Line had to be shut down a few years ago for emergency repairs, because they suddenly determined that it was too dangerous to continue operating. The whole system is on life support. The NYC Subway is the only American system that could possibly compare to systems like the Paris Metro or the London Tube. But as I said, all these systems are terrible compared to the standard metro system you'll find in large cities in East Asia. Mainland Chinese cities have fairly standardized (which is how they keep costs down), very modern systems based on the Hong Kong metro. Taipei has a great metro system with a similar design. Japanese cities also have very extensive metro systems. I've heard great things about the Seoul metro system (though I haven't seen it first-hand). But my point is that 90+% Americans have no idea about these systems. Without some basic exposure to the alternatives that are out there, it's pointless to say that Americans have made an informed choice. They make due with what they have, and largely don't know what the alternatives could be.
- pdonis 2y ago> Without some basic exposure to the alternatives that are out there, it's pointless to say that Americans have made an informed choice. What is your exposure to alternatives other than the one you have said you prefer?
- DiogenesKynikos 2y agoI've lived in various American cities with different levels of public transit. As I said, I far prefer the typical city layout in Europe and East Asia.