Which cities work best?

Zaph0d

Everyone wants to solve the transport problems in Dublin but what do you envisage the solution to be? Which cities on earth have the best transport systems? London and Paris have extensive public transport networks but they are ten times the size of Dublin and they have a sack of their own transport problems. What about cities with about a million people like Dublin?

maxheadroom

Helsinki.

Imposter

Vienna works verys well and it has about 2m

mackerski

Munich - a bit bigger than Dublin and probably the best public transport I've used anywhere:

http://language.mvv-muenchen.de/en/mvv-info-service/ticketsprices/index.html

P&L

anywhere in Germany really... they dont count they're too good the likes of dresden though had advantages arising from unfortunate circumstances

mackerski

It's true that starting with an empty page makes things a little easier. Though prior to the late 60's, Munich's public transport was restricted to surface trams, buses and a single S-Bahn tunnel linking Ostbahnhof to Hauptbahnhof (basically, an east-west tunnel forming a diameter of the old-town).

All of the Underground services that followed (many of them replacing established tram routes) were built beginning, I think, 1968, initially to service the olympics. Most of the current network was in place by 1990 or thereabouts.

It goes to show what you can achieve, even on developed land, if you can find the money and don't mind making a mess.

Dermot

DadaKopf

Judging from the ones I've used, it has to be Helsinki. Brilliantly integrated and efficient system.

Never actually used the one in Zurich but, despite the memories of choking car pollution, I remember thinking I'd never seen so many trams before.

thejollyrodger

bagdad :P

sorry, helsinki

Darren

Hong Kong.

Fantastic rail link form the airport to the city. In the city you have the MTR which is a brilliant underground system. Cheap, spacious, air con. Trams and taxis are great too.

P&L

Originally posted by Darren
Hong Kong.

a lot of the heads who implemented the integrated ticket system there are now working on Dublin's own version

simu

Lille's pretty good and about the size of Dublin - two metro lines and many bus routes.

embraer170

Zurich or Geneva in Switzerland.

Mayshine

Singapore

I should know, I live there

Roller Toaster

Chiba in Japan is a port city with it's own airport and monorail system...it's like Tokyo only with better traffic.

netwhizkid

yoh, you guys left out like the best city in the world New York City, ok maybe the trains are a bit crowded, sardine like but theres a train between every 30 seconds to 2 minutes, and when the New Grand Central Mega Terminal is opened sometime during the next 25 years it's subways will be the envy of the world.

Regards netwhizkid

maxheadroom

Originally posted by netwhizkid
yoh, you guys left out like the best city in the world New York City, ok maybe the trains are a bit crowded, sardine like but theres a train between every 30 seconds to 2 minutes, and when the New Grand Central Mega Terminal is opened sometime during the next 25 years it's subways will be the envy of the world.

Regards netwhizkid

Yes, but we're talking about cities the size of Dublin. New York has (many many) more people than Ireland.

Victor

Brussels is good, although it and Belgium are a bit more compact than Dublin and it has a through running railway.

elivsvonchiaing

Anything on the mainland is more impressive as far as I'm concerned. Best impression was Prague - you could correct your watch by the arrival of trams.

By the mainland I mean Europe. I lived in the UK and had to travel on Connex. I just dread what they will do with LUAS. I remember billboards boasting 95% services on time - 95% of 6:00 am trains maybe - lies - damn lies and statistics.

I'm amazed at the diversity of replies and no-one mentioning the best commutes on earth. These are not by rail - but by ferry.

There have to be 20-30 of these in Greece alone - about 10 in the US. Figures purely guesswork. (Anyone care to enlighten?) My vote is elswhere anyhow- the Hamilton-Dockyard ferry in Bermuda - I have done this. I also have rave comments on Seattle, and New York.

If they do ever develop an all-weather hydrofoil - (that's affordable) - Howth - DunLaoghaire must surely be a ferry route - although I know of just two passengers - they claim the business is there (spotting fellow passengers) My own belief is that the business will be there.

There is either this or a there is bridge across dublin bay - that is what IS needed - correct me if I'm wrong - but yesterday!

Victor

Originally posted by elivsvonchiaing
If they do ever develop an all-weather hydrofoil - (that's affordable) - Howth - DunLaoghaire must surely be a ferry route - although I know of just two passengers - they claim the business is there (spotting fellow passengers) My own belief is that the business will be there.

Non-runner, whatever about London or Paris.

River ferries work between urban points, not suburban ones. The also work where the river is navigable - which the Liffey isn't (no in economic terms). Other ferries work from islands or across elongated estuaries. Generally they don't work from, one point on a coast to a point on the same coast.

Howth - DunLaoghaire. "Nobody" lives or works in Howth, so such a service would be utterly useless.

John R

There was a company set up years ago to use ferries on the Liffey from Heuston to Tara Street stations but it never went anywhere, not reaaly sure why.

Unless the Luas journey times from Heuston - Connolly speed up considerably ferries could be an idea that comes up again.

Victor

Originally posted by John R
There was a company set up years ago to use ferries on the Liffey from Heuston to Tara Street stations but it never went anywhere, not reaaly sure why.

Probably got stuck in a mud bank at low tide.

Originally posted by John R
Unless the Luas journey times from Heuston - Connolly speed up considerably ferries could be an idea that comes up again.

Oh it will. Expect a fairly consistent 10-15 minutes against a random 10-30.