As a New Yorker visiting HK for the first time this week, it's hard not to walk away impressed. The NYC Subways are so completely inferior it's no wonder they

As a New Yorker visiting HK for the first time this week, it's hard not to walk away impressed. The NYC Subways are so completely inferior it's no wonder they operate at a loss. I ride the A/C trains daily and my commute varies from 30-90 minutes depending on an unknown set of variables. At least 2 days a week I find myself cursing the subway for being late, running with delays, or getting me stuck underground somewhere without any notice or announcements. Perhaps even more inferior than the actual train experience is the wayfinding experience. The MTR's letter/number exits (which google maps supports wonderfully) makes leaving the subway as great as riding it. Even as a 7-year veteran NY'er I sometimes find myself trying to figure out which is the right exit to take at each station to get above ground. I usually say "ok I want to go south east, find the most south east exit I can" but as a tourist this must be so confusing. It almost seems like a catch-22. If the MTA got their shit together and fixed up the subway lines to make them more reliable, maybe they'd be closer to breaking even, but since they are in a deficit (or are they? [1]) they can't actually fix things on time or properly at all. I have to say the NYC subway is mostly pitiful (especially outside of Manhattan) and the MTR is nothing short of impressive. [1] http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/09/28/mta-audit-reveals-unanticipated-surplus-of-nearly-2-billion/ http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/09/28/mta-audit-reveals-una...