The Best Cities for Public Transportation
Public transportation refers to the use of large vehicles to commute mass numbers of people from one location to another all at once. The mass transit system can be buses, subways, rail service, ferries, trolleys or some combination thereof.
The earliest U.S. entrepreneurs of public transportation could be found in New York City in 1832 where the first horse-drawn buses where used. Today, most major U.S. metropolises have some form of public transportation.
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Portland, Oregon
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The most impressive innovation of the Portland, Oregon public transportation system is its incredibly user-friendly TriMet system, which plans a commuter's trip from one destination to another seamlessly with times and transfer locations. TriMet has a phone line to speak with live operators, an iPhone app and text capabilities. Portland also features a section of downtown called "Fareless Square," which provides free transportation within that area. Its Metropolitan Area Express (MAX) provides a commuter light rail system from the outskirts of Portland into downtown. Between a wide variety of bus routes, commuter trains and an aerial tram, Portland is a model upon which many other cities base their public transportation plans.
Salt Lake City, Utah
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The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) operates the mass transit system in Salt Lake City, Utah. This extensive public transportation system operates a comprehensive interaction of bus, light rail (TRAX) and commuter rail (Frontrunner) lines. Not content with the status quo, future innovations include the Frontlines project (set to be complete in 2015) promises to add 70 miles of rail to several towns on the outskirts of the city and out to the Salt Lake City International airport. The goal of the Frontlines project is to decrease traffic congestion by providing more transportation options to rural communities.
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New York City, New York
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Dating back to the earliest version of public transportation with the omnibus (a horse-drawn bus) in 1831, New York City has one of the oldest public transit systems in the world and the oldest in the U.S. Since that year, transit has grown exponentially within the city. In 1904, New York built the first subway system in North America. Today with nearly 8.4 million daily users and 760 miles of subway lines, the transit system (now run by the Metro Transit Authority) has grown into the largest and most effective transit system on the planet. The MTA also provides convenient bus routes, multiple ferry landings, an electric rail system (PATH), monorail system (AirTrain) and cooperation with the New Jersey Transit Authority connecting Manhattan to New Jersey.
Boston, Massachusetts
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The Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (also knows as "The T" to locals) features a combination of ferries, buses, electric trolleys, light rail commuter lines and subways all servicing Boston and surrounding areas. With 1.2 million riders, the T also has the busiest light-rail in the U.S. The system is always looking to widen its accessibility to potential riders and improve on its available services. The commuter lines currently stretch across a third of the state of Massachusetts.
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