by strangegrey » Sun Jan 16, 2011 12:02 am
Yeah, something's borked with the link.
While I'll agree with Dean that the NYC subway system is an amazing achievement....Im not sure I would call it efficient. It has to be one of the most fiscally mismanaged transportation systems in the world. The MTA is like a small mismanaged government, sort of like a reflection of the state of NY. They have been raising rates and cutting services for the past 15 years.....and stories about rail workers drawing full salaries out on work injuries playing golf and softball seem to hit the press at least 1-2x a year.
I would even debate the idea that it's efficient for the rider, as I used to commute from the end of the 6 line into manhattan before I got married (I lived in the bronx for 6 months waiting to get hitched in '98). The ride was never less than a 75 minute ride. A trip from a distance of 10-15 miles greater on the LIRR takes about 45 minutes....
Granted, having said all of this, I know this is in your line of work Dean...So there might be far worse systems in the US. I will also say that scale comes into play here.....the NYC subway system is incredibly huge...and the fact that they keep the thing running is amazing in itself. So I might be talking out of my arse.....
The transportation system that blows me away is the Walt Disney World transportation system. The bus/monorail/boat network they have down there is a well-oiled machine....and for the past 3-4 times we've been down there, we literally don't rent a car....we simply stay on property and take full advantage of the system.