The Top 10 U.S. Cities for Public Transportation

The best pizza. The most beautiful women. The finest wines. Plenty of cities claim to have these. But which cities are competing for a medal that means a greener, possibly longer-lasting planet? These ten cities have committed substantial budgets and time to making public transit not only accessible, but also appealing.

10) Honolulu, Hawaii
It’s not only the city’s efforts that put Honolulu among the top ten. Honolulu residents play a large part—they are bus lovers. Honolulu is in fact the only city on this list without an urban rail system. This is soon to change though, as the city is looking to build a 20-mile above-the-ground rail system that will transport residents to neighboring Oahu. No wonder Hawaii is considered the happiest state.

9) Seattle, Washington
Offering its residents the traditional bus and rail systems, what makes Seattle unique is its monorail right in the city center, as well as ferries. Seattle gets extra green points for being ranked the third-highest per-capita transit spending in 2008.

8)San Diego, California
We all know the famous San Diego trolleys that have graced the big screen many times. This social form of transit moves passengers through the city and even into the suburbs. San Diego is also a stop on the major southern California Metrolink passenger rail system.

7/6) Salt Lake City, Utah (tie)
Providing public transportation to an extensive urban and suburban population (approximately 1.7 million) requires a large investment—one that Salt Lake City has made, putting it at a tie as number 6. TRAX—Utah’s light rail system—is currently undergoing expansion, anticipating four new lines to the three-line system. This will give easier urban access to the suburban population.

6/7 San Jose, California (tie)
Most of the San Jose area receives its public transportation from the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, which provides both bus and light-rail lines. The city ranked even higher in the safety category, reaching number 3 in the top 10 in 2008.

5) Portland, Oregon
In the public transit world, Portland is famous for its Free Rail Zone, an area in downtown Portland where light rail and streetcar rides are free 24/7, seven days a week.

4) Boston, Massachusetts
Boston was a trailblazer in the public transit movement. Since 1631 Boston offered ferries that connected the city’s peninsula to the mainland. Today, the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority provides multiple options to commuters, still running commuter ferries, as well as buses, rail lines and the “T”—it’s subway system.

3) Los Angeles, California
63. That’s how many hours in delay each driver in Los Angeles is estimated to experience per year in traffic. That could be the reason for the city’s popular public transit systems, including the L.A. metro bus and rail systems that run Monday through Friday. This system includes 2,600 buses and a 7.9-mile rail system track.

2) New York-Newark, N.Y.-N.J.-Conn.
To be expected, New York City is ranked number one in passenger trips as well as government spending per capita on public transportation. On an average weekday, the public transit ridership is estimated at over 8.4 million customers. The 2010 budget for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in the area was $13.4 billion. A more staggering figure—the city made up 40% of the nation’s public transit trips in 2008.

1) Denver-Aurora, Colorado
The area offers commuters bus and light rail lines, as well as airport shuttle services.
Denver’s MailRide bus lines carries shoppers over the mile-long 16th Street mall at no cost, seven days a week. Currently, the city is taking on a multi-billion-dollar project to expand its transit system by increasing light real, commuter rail and rapid bus transit lines.

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