What to Expect From U.S. Public Transportation

For most newcomers to the United States, one of the first challenges is mobility. Unless you have a driver's license and a vehicle or live in an established urban area like New York City or San Francisco, you will likely have to deal with a limited public transportation system.

Like in most other countries, there are basically three modes of public transportation: the bus, the metro and the train. Almost every city has a bus system and access to the national railway system, but only the larger metropolitan areas have metro transit.

Buses

Intra-city bus travel is the most common form of public transportation in the USA. Bus transit can take several forms including diesel buses, electric buses, and streetcars. Often buses perform well when they are given exclusive use of a traffic lane in congested areas, but can be slowed by the ebbs and flows of daily traffic if no such lanes exist.

City bus systems in the USA typically have well-organized schedules, but the size of the city often determines the frequency of bus stops and how late the buses run. In many small and medium sized cities, buses stop running fairly early in the evening, while in larger cities with very extensive bus systems (like San Francisco), they may run all night. Bus schedules and transfer information can be found at the main bus terminal for your city and sometimes at individual bus stops.

In many places bus fare is around $1 but don't expect to get change. The bus driver in almost every case has no change nor access to the money collected or the fare collection box, so bring exact change for the fare or expect to pay a higher price for the ride. Most buses accept coins.

University Buses:

Many colleges and universities offer a campus bus service for the convenience of students. Often this bus service is provided free to students. University bus service is generally limited to campus and sometimes places nearby which are frequented by students, including apartment complexes and shopping areas.

Many colleges and universities also offer specific point-to-point buses or vans at night for students to help protect students from crime and to prevent students from driving drunk. In most cases you have to call ahead to use this service. This service is often called "safe ride" or "student escort bus. " During certain times these buses may be very busy so you should plan ahead to prevent long waits.

Metro Transit

Metro transit is any publicly owned train system for intra-city and regional travel. Subways, trolleys, and elevated trains as well as regional commuter rail are considered part of the metro.

The most extensive metro systems are found in the older, large cities in the northeast and in Chicago. New York in particular has an intricate system of commuter rail and subways that enable thousands of people to work in the city without using their cars.

In the entrances of most stations, you can find brochures of operating schedules, and in some cases, vending machines for metro passes. Depending on the time of day there is often someone to sell tokens or tickets and answer questions. Metro fare ranges from $1 to $4, depending on the city and in some cases on the distance you are traveling. You can order metro passes and fare-cards on the Internet in some cities, as well.

The hours of operation vary dramatically from place to place. For instance New York City leaves many trains lines open 24 hours while Washington D.C. shuts its metro down by midnight.

Some metro systems have earned a reputation for their cleanliness, security, and architectural beauty while other metro systems can be rather dingy in places. The Arts in Transit program, established in 1996, has added to the beauty of many metro stations. As a result, murals, wall sculptures, paintings, mosaic and terra cotta tiling decoration have been added to some metro stations. But, of course, you can still sometimes find graffiti and people singing or playing instruments for money in metro stations

Trains

Train travel is travel by rail between cities and over long distances. The only rail line in the USA is the federally owned company called Amtrak.

In almost every place other than the northeast, train travel is used more as a scenic travel option than a primary means of transportation between cities. This is due in part to the fact that train fare is often comparable to airfare.

Railway travel can also be used for nostalgic rides of varying duration through places of interest and for sightseeing. There are different classes of train cars as well as smoking and non-smoking cars. Fare prices are determined according to the distance and the class you choose to travel.

Charters for club organizations, church groups, birthday parties, receptions or other special events can be arranged and these group fares are often discounted.

Supplemental Transportation

Cabs:

Where bus, train and metro transport may not quite fit the bill, a taxi can help you complete a specific trip. In most metropolitan areas, you can call taxi companies for a car or in larger cities you can stand on the curb and wave to hail a taxi.

Cab fare can get rather expensive and usually you need to tip the taxi driver at least 15% for his service.

Public Bicycles:

One unique form of public transportation is only found in Portland, Oregon. It is a public bike system. Bicycles are donated by the public, painted bright yellow and left all over town. If you need to use one, just find one, ride it to your destination, and leave on the side walk when you're done so the next person can ride it.

Conclusion

Most newcomers will find getting to where they want to go is rather inconvenient without a car in the nation known as the "country on the wheels" unless you live in a large metropolitan area. So to get around without a car, it is necessary to get information on your city's public transportation systems and take advantage of it. Either that or prepare to ask a lot of friends for rides.