Comments, opinions and an occasional ramble
Singapore, Boston and NYC public trains matchup
For almost all of my travel in the United States last month, I was mainly using public transport (that’s because I was mainly in cities). I had the opportunity to ride the New York subway, operated by the Metropolitan Transport Authority (MTA) and the Boston T, operated by the Massachusetts Bay Transport Authority (MBTA). So, how does the train system stack up when compared to Singapore’s SMRT and SBS Transit?
For starters, let’s deal with the most sensitive topic of price. Both the MTA and the MBTA operate on a single fare system. It doesn’t matter how many stops you ride; the price is the same. The New York subway’s ride is USD$2 per trip using the Metrocard, while the Boston T ride is USD$1.70 per ride using the Charlie card (it’s 2 bucks if you pay cash). There are pros and cons of a single fare system. I think the biggest advantage is that you always know how much you are going to pay if you choose to take the train. The bad thing is that if you are riding only for a couple of stops, it can feel like a rip-off.
However, the good thing is that both the New York subway and the Boston T offers the unlimited ride option. For a certain price every month, you can take as many rides as you wish on the train. That will take the pain off having to pay a fixed fare for only a few stops for the frequent rider. The MTA charges USD$81 for the monthly pass, while the MBTA charges USD$59. In Singapore, you get only unlimited rides if you are a student or a full time NSman. It would be nice to have an unlimited pass in Singapore but I suspect that will result in adding an extra sardine into a can already full of sardines, especially during peak hours.
Singapore wins hands down on the cleanliness and general comfort in the trains. The trains in Singapore are extremely spacious and clean compared to both the New York subway and the Boston T. Even the design of the train station is superior. In New York and Boston, for many stations, you better make sure you know which direction you are heading and enter the fare gantries on the correct side because you cannot get to the other side once you are past the fare gantry (unless you have a death wish and decide to try your luck running across the track).
However, in terms of design, there’s something about the New York subway that stands out, and that is the availability of express trains. These trains run on different tracks and they don’t stop at every stop. This means if you are traveling long distances, you can hop on an express train and get off at the nearest express train stop to your destination to hop onto a regular train. This is a real time saver that I wish the Singapore train system has. I’m sure more people will be keen to take the MRT if there’s an express train service to cut traveling time by up to 50%. Unfortunately, I don’t think this is possible because of the way the train tracks are laid out in Singapore.
Overall, despite its faults, I would rate Singapore’s train system above that of New York and Boston. Although we don’t have the unlimited fare option, I think the general cleanliness and spacious design of our trains more than make up for it. But, don’t take my word for it. If you get the chance, go try out the New York subway and the Boston T.
| Print article | This entry was posted by Aaron Ng on 20/01/2009 at 9:05 am, and is filed under Perspective, Travel. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site. |
about 3 years ago
Agree with you Aaron. But if we want to really compare, we should compare Hong Kong, Japan, Germany and Taiwan’s public transport to ours. These places have public transport systems that are far superior to ours.
Have you noticed then when it comes to airports, schools, etc. our beloved gahmen always compares us with the best airports (Hong Kong airport, Narina Airport, etc.) and schools (Harvard, MIT, Oxford, etc.) but when it comes to public transport, they use Thailand, USA, Australia as a yardstick. Why the “not so good”? Why not Hong Kong, Japan, Germany and even Taiwan?
When we can reach that standard and maybe surpass it, we compare ourselves with the best, if not, we just compare ourselves with the “not so good” and conclude we are the best. Wonderful isn’t it, win-win in all cases.
about 3 years ago
My two cents.
Agree with your assessment of NY subway. Access for disabled people and baby strollers is a lot more inconvenient compared to Singapore.
I’ve stayed in Tokyo and also been to HK (briefly). Both of their train systems are pretty good. HK is excellent when it comes to frequency. Tokyo’s train system is able to integrate different companies and maintain good service delivery over such a wide geographic scope. Having said all that, I’m not sure if its really appropriate to compare Singapore with Tokyo. Singapore’s train system is really so much simpler (and smaller) than Tokyo’s.
In the same breath, its even more superfluous to compare Singapore with Japan. Apples and oranges. Japan has many areas that are served infrequently by buses or a single train line, i.e. the smaller towns in Tohoku or NE region.
about 3 years ago
A few more tidbits about the New York Subway system from someone who has lived here for about 3 years:
1) The unlimited rides ticket can also be used on buses. In fact, if you use the normal metro card, your bus ride following a train trip is free, as is the subsequent bus rides should you switch buses.
2) Peak period travel on the NYC subway is actually more comfortable than peak periods on the SMRT trains, at least for the east-west line.
3) Crime in NYC subways are definitely higher than SMRT, but that might be indicative of the crime rates in the cities themselves rather than just the subway network. However, New York is a pretty safe city.
4) NYC subway is the only train system to run 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It’s also one of the oldest train systems in the world, and one of the largest.
5) NYC subway moves about 4 million passengers a day on average, compared to 1.6 million for SMRT. One should note that the NYC subway does have a lot more stations than SMRT’s 64.
6) Eating and drinking are pretty much allowed on NYC subways, and there are mini grocer stands that sell food in the larger stations, which affects the cleanliness of the trains and stations.
7) It is very clearly indicated on the entrance to subways whether the train is going uptown or downtown, hence one should pay more attention to signs before needlessly using the wrong station.
9) Tourists can buy unlimited cards that last 7 days (possibly less) for $21.
Interesting quirks about the NYC subway:
a) the subway is used as a network to transport rubbish.
b) the constant maintenance and building of stations/new lines means that on weekends the lines are in absolute chaos. Most New Yorkers just kind of shrug it off, but it’s pretty damn irritating.
c) the NYC subway is host to a lot of buskers, so if you ever have the time to watch them, it is much advised.
d) some train operators still mumble the station names and other vital information passengers need to hear (such as disruption to train lines)
e) station attendants are guilty of this as well.
f) NYC subway employees have also organised strikes in the past when unhappy with their pay and benefits. I think there was a strike in 2005 which kinda paralysed the city. In the end the workers got a pay hike and commuters stopped grumbling about the mumbling train operators.
about 3 years ago
One last thing:
with regards to handicapped access, it is true that some stations are not wheelchair friendly. What wheelchair users do is take a train to a station with wheelchair access and use the myriad buses in New York to get where they want.
To my knowledge, all NYC buses are very wheelchair friendly, and drivers will assist wheelchair users in boarding and alighting. This system has been in place as long as I have been in NYC, possibly longer.
about 3 years ago
I feel that it is not really appropriate to compare cleanliness and general comfort of our MRT system and that with the MTA and MBTA systems which you have mentioned. The former systems have been up and running for a much longer time than SMRT. This means that the design and construction of the stations and tunnels cater for transport capacities within their era (which can be one century ago). This is certainly the case for the London Underground (aka The Tube) in which many of the deep level trains and stations are so much more uncomfortable and less spacious compared to the MRT system.
about 3 years ago
One nitpick here. While I can’t speak for Singapore (never having been there to begin with), I can speak for NYC, and I note that not all stations are divided to prevent people from crossing the station when one goes through the turnstyles (“fare gantreys” as you put it). Many of the local/older stations on the IRT (Interborough, one of the three railroads that were cobbled together to make up the NY subway)(and perhaps BMT (Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit) and IND (Independent Subway) as well) are set up that way, but on many (express) BMT/IND stations (and express IRT stations) there are connections and corridors. Some local stations may have those connections as well.
about 3 years ago
Hi Ricky,
In Singapore, every station has connections and corridors within the station to trains in any direction. I’m not exactly saying that the NYC train system is bad, but rather, when compared to Singapore’s system, the older stations are certainly more badly designed. However, I love the express lines. It cuts travel time tremendously.
about 2 years ago
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about 2 days ago
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