In class this week, Ralph Buehler, PhD as an Assistant Professor in Urban Affiars & Planning, lectured us discussing the use and accessibility of public transportation in the United States, as well as overseas. One of his main points of significance is how the United States usage rate of public transportation is below many other countries across the world. Buehler mentions that the lack of biking and side-walk paths is a major part of the issue. But because the most destinations in the United States can only be accessible by an automobile, it generates many different problems for the environment and atmosphere. The dependence on foreign oil and high pollution rates has led to higher gas prices and an increase in greenhouse effects. Even with high gas prices, Americans tend to travel further than Europeans daily and parking is inexpensive and usually available.
This link leads to an article that explains the ten cities with the best public transportation and why. Cities such as Curitiba, Brazil and Hong Kong have highly regarded transit systems and known to have excellent public transpiration systems. Curitiba consists exclusively of buses running on dedicated lanes and remarkably, over 85% of the entire population uses this most of transportation. In Hong Kong, the public transportation system is all but what the residents need in the extremely crowded metropolis. But what these cities have in common that the United States do not is the availability of public transportation.
Sources: http://www.gadling.com/2010/11/04/top-ten-cities-with-best-public-transit-systems/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+weblogsinc%2Fgadling+%28Gadling%29
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