How does public transportation in Japan compare with that of your country?

[Mikawa Ossan]

Japan's public transportation. How does it compare to the public transportation of your country? I of course am referring to trains, buses, and the like.

Personally I love the public transportation here. It's much better than what jokingly pases for public transportation in America. At least in the mid-west.

Although to be fair, Japan has a lot less distance to cover than America.

 

[Grandpa Frank]

Not to great here in Maine.

The 1 train only goes to Boston , Mass. a few times a day. Buses only run every 30 minutes to very limited destinations around the bigger towns. There are 2 bus lines that run between some of the bigger towns and other states, again very limited. Taxies here are old run down junks for the most part and dirty and worn out. Many Taxi drivers look like homeless people and treat you like crap and then expect a big tip. There are so few taxies around, the wait is almost always 30 to 45 minutes minimum. It tends to make everyone of the mind set , they must have their own vehicle to get around in.

Uncle Frank

☝

 

[.::b|ue Ash::.]

The amtrak here is pretty nice, but I vastly prefer the Bullet Trains!
They offer more room, more services, more comfortable, phones and you can still smoke on them!

Their taxi's are also nicer, you can always identify them (where as here, some taxi's aren't even labeled at all!), they are cleaner as well.

Their subways are nicer, cleaner, smoother, and you don't normally have to worry about traveling by yourself to certain areas.

I'm in the DC area.

 

[ArmandV]

Los Angeles transit has improved from the old days of the old Rapid Transit District (RTD) (or, as we called it, Rancid Transit District) since the metro rail was built. Still, it pales in comparison to the transit system in Tokyo.

 

[Karamuucho]

London has terrible transport, atleast in comparison to Japan.
It's slightly better now than it used to be, but trains are almost always late, delays are commonplace. Buses often come two at a time from bad time planning, sometimes three. The problem I have though is if you aren't a holder of an Oyster card, a local bus trip (even if it's just one stop) will cost you 2pounds, about 450yen.

 

[MeAndroo]

Los Angeles transit has improved from the old days of the old Rapid Transit District (RTD) (or, as we called it, Rancid Transit District) since the metro rail was built. Still, it pales in comparison to the transit system in Tokyo.

Indeed. Metro Rail construction has been pushed for some time, but there just isn't room to lay track in residential areas anymore. Buses are slow and dirty, for the most part, and the best one, the 25 cent DASH, only runs until about 6. The subway system is still underdeveloped and underused, but as the population in downtown's borders continues to increase, I expect usage to rise.

Compared to Tokyo, we're still in our infancy. Sad, when you consider the train tracks that used to exist in LA were destroyed in an attempt to push bus use by a power team of oil concerns and vehicle manufacturers.

 

[ArmandV]

Indeed. Metro Rail construction has been pushed for some time, but there just isn't room to lay track in residential areas anymore. Buses are slow and dirty, for the most part, and the best one, the 25 cent DASH, only runs until about 6. The subway system is still underdeveloped and underused, but as the population in downtown's borders continues to increase, I expect usage to rise.
Compared to Tokyo, we're still in our infancy. Sad, when you consider the train tracks that used to exist in LA were destroyed in an attempt to push bus use by a power team of oil concerns and vehicle manufacturers.

Aye, I am old enough to remember the streetcars that were in L.A. Those and the redcars were very efficient and convenient back in the old days.

 

[Mrjones]

Transportation in Finland with train or bus, is naturally much more worse than transportation in Japan.

 

[Taiko666]

London has terrible transport, atleast in comparison to Japan.
It's slightly better now than it used to be, but trains are almost always late, delays are commonplace. Buses often come two at a time from bad time planning, sometimes three. The problem I have though is if you aren't a holder of an Oyster card, a local bus trip (even if it's just one stop) will cost you 2pounds, about 450yen.

Yes, transport in London is very expensive, but whenever I go back I'm always surprised by the improvements. The Underground system is getting better, and trains run every 3 or 4 mins on the busy lines. And delays aren't as commonplace as they used to be. The air-conditioning is totally inadequate on the older lines though, and the grafitti and vandalism are very depressing. Above ground, things also seem to be getting better. All the old (40+years) trains have been replaced by natty new rolling stock, and timetables now actually mean something.
For me, the worst part of the British train system is that there are no excess fare machines... if you travel further than your ticket allows, you're committing an offence and are liable for a fine. And on a psychological note, Tokyo tickets gates are open by default, and only close if there's a problem with your ticket. This seems more welcoming than London gates.

As for buses, there are many, many more than in Tokyo. And they run 24 hours... Londoners often don't seem to appreciate that.

 

[maushan3]

One of the best things I've heard of Japan is public transportation; the one that there is in Mexico is good. If you want to travel to other cities it is rather cheap, but with low-cost airlines hitting the market, public buses are now being replaced by air travel. A one-way trip to Mexico City (around 1,000 kms now cost under $50 USD). In the city, in Monterrey, I've heard the subway is good, but rather limited. The public buses are very extense and every area of the city is covered, but they are ugly and very slow, but very cheap (40 US cents) a trip.

Mauricio

 

[Karamuucho]

As for buses, there are many, many more than in Tokyo. And they run 24 hours... Londoners often don't seem to appreciate that.

Yea, that I'll agree on, buses in Japan aren't as useful as in London. Also a lot are double-deckers.

 

[yukio_michael]

I live in Pittsburgh, where the public transportation is abysmal... At the very least, the buses seem to be frequent, but they are constantly under budgeted and there are always cutbacks... We have some sort of subway system that serves actually no purpose whatsoever.

Worse was when I lived in Orlando, where the buses could leave you stranded if you happen to miss them. You would wind up waiting another 50 minutes to catch the next one.

I miss the trains in Japan, they were great, and served almost every location you could think of to go.

 

[Taiko666]

Yea, that I'll agree on, buses in Japan aren't as useful as in London. Also a lot are double-deckers.

...and taking the bus is a lot more enjoyable than sweating on the Underground!

London's underground railway system is the oldest (and biggest) in the world, the first line having been opened in 1863 (Paddington to Farringdon, now part of the Circle Line.) That's 64 years before Tokyo's first line (Ueno to Akasaka.)

This is often proffered as an excuse for its dilapidated state. However, I think that if you've been running an underground railway system for 144 years you should've got the hang of looking after it by now

PS: If you're in London, take a look at Baker St Station on the Circle Line. It's been restored to its 1863 condition and looks great.

 

[tampopo]

I was gong to say it's shite compared to let's say Tokyo, then a poster mentioned the 24hr running and reminded me of the time I got caught in Tokyo because everything stops at midnight! I'd to get to Yokohama and too late figured out why people were jumping off the train from Shinjuku to Tokyo Stn at Shibuya??? (Shinagawa maybe )cos they could get the connecting train leaving Tokyo at 12.00. That was a long night of nothingness. I've only been there on holidays so can't compare it to a daily commute. I live near the city centre here and cycle wherever I want to go...Busses don't have interconnected ticketing, neither with each other or the DART dart.ie or the LUAS luas.ie or mainline rail. I don't use any of them.

 

[Supervin]

Ack, the Tube in London is terrible. Although Tokyo's is not bad, the Hong Kong one rocks.

 

[Davey]

I think transportation in Japan is great, the train comes almost every 10 minutes here in Kobe, and is always on time (something you can definitely can't say about Dutch trains).

Only thing I don't like is that it can be to crowded in Japanese buses or trains (Midosuji line Osaka, etc).

 

[Mrjones]

Public transportation in Finland is a joke. In city of 30 000 people, there is not enough seats in train. Public transportation of Finland cant be compared to Japan. Way better in Japan.

 

[miwasatoshi]

Phoenix has no passenger train service. At all. The nearest station is in Maricopa, and there is no regular bus line there. So if you're used to traveling by train, you'll hate Phoenix.

The light rail system is under construction and has not been implemented yet -- this should improve things around downtown and near Arizona State University.

Due to the sprawl (Google map Phoenix sometime, you'll be shocked) it takes hours to get anywhere by bus. Buses usually run every half hour, so if you happen to just miss a transfer, you have to wait. Traffic, especially on the freeways, can be bad, and since everyone here is from somewhere else, you can't count on consistent road behavior. Since buses use the same lanes as regular traffic, you can't rely on schedules for timely transfers, as they may quite late! Also, there is limited service on weekends; some suburbs refuse to operate bus service, or much anything else on Sundays, such as Mesa.

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On the other hand, flying domestically from Phoenix, virtually anywhere in the United States, is still much cheaper and easier per mile (even after 9-11) than flying in Japan. Of course, the distances are much greater, but it is nice to be able to fly to anywhere in Southern California for less than $100 in most cases (as opposed to, for example, Haneda-Hiroshima, same distance, $256). Of course, this is generally equaled by the Shinkansen, where the basic fare from Tokyo to Hiroshima on the Nozomi is ¥11340, and the reserved seat fares are cheaper.

Standard adult fare on a Greyhound bus from Phoenix to Los Angeles is a mere $44, but as they say, "You get what you pay for."

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Cheaper to visit my folks in Kona from here, too, though that's to be expected.

$625 Phoenix - Los Angeles - Kona
$1417 Narita - Honolulu - Kona (China Airlines, Aloha Airlines)

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Less cheaply, we have nonstop flights to:
*seasonal
US outside Lower 48: Anchorage, Honolulu, Kahului, Kona, Lihue
Canada: Calgary, *Edmonton, Toronto, Vancouver, *Winnipeg
Costa Rica: San Jose
Mexico: Acapulco, Cancún, Guadalajara, Guaymas, Hermosillo, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, Los Cabos, Manzanillo, Mazatlan, Mexico City, Puerto Vallarta
UK: London-Heathrow

(Interestingly, a lot of major Mexican cities are closer to Phoenix than to Mexico City!)

So - ground transportation in Japan is almost incomparably better.
Air transportation in the United States is better, but necessarily so because our train network has to cover far too much ground for it to be effective in the modern era. (Imagine the cost of laying down 100 times as much distance of Shinkansen to cover only twice the population of Japan ... doesn't sound like such a good idea anymore, does it?)