New York City: Mass Transit Capital of the World by Art Gib
Only one city in the United States can boast public transportation that outstrips the use of the automobile for commuters to get to work: New York City. A little more than 50% of all commuters got to New York by mass transit in 2005. A bit more than 50% may not seem that impressive until you realize that nationally, 90% of all commuters use cars to get to work.
New York also calls attention to itself for being the only U.S. city where more than half of all its households do not own cars. The most populous city in the U.S. has perhaps been forced to love mass transit, but the number of commuting options suggest that the demand more than justifies the supply.
In addition to an extensive subway system, New York City has also developed rail systems to further compliment the fleet of city busses and famous yellow taxi cabs that provide service to commuters and visitors to the city. Of these three the subway system is the most complex.
The New York Subway ranks as the largest rapid transit system in the world in terms of operating stations with 468 active stations. However, with an annual ridership of 1.5 billion it only ranks as the third largest system in the entire world.
Other underground systems like London's Underground may be more well known (and ironically at that as the London Underground sees about 1 billion annual passengers) but do not operate as long as the New York Subway, which operates for 24 hours a day. The underground system is well complimented by a vast rail network.
The commuter rail network connects the suburbs in the tri-state area to New York City. It has a total of 250 stations on 20 different lines. Like this commuter rail system the bus fleet is also quite large. In fact, it is the largest commuter bus fleet in the nation. Yet despite all these massive transit systems, New York can also claim the title of most energy-efficient commuter city in the United States.
For example, the national average for bicycles and walking as modes of travel into metro regions is about 8%. In New York the average is 21%, due to the 120,000 daily bicyclists and numerous pedestrians who commute to the Big Apple every day. In addition to various mass transit systems, New York experiences enormous daily traffic on its large network of expressways and parkways.
01insurance (http://01insurance.com/new-york-auto-insurance/) provides you side by quotes on New York auto insurance from all the top auto insurance companies and offer advice from agents who care about your best interests. Art Gib is a freelance writer.
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