John Cletheroe's
USA and Canada Holiday Hints
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Public Transport In The USA And Canada
Introduction
If you were seeking information on the Subway submarine restaurant chain and obtained this page by mistake, please refer to the Subway page in the restaurant section.
Public transport is a subject area where my knowledge is very weak, because I have always travelled within the USA and Canada by means of rented car. However, it is an important subject and therefore I would like to expand this page in the future.
If anyone can offer any general advice, I would be pleased to include it, or a link to it. You can email me using the link at the bottom of this page.
Some General Terminology
- Bus Route: On a road sign, a Bus Route (or BR, Bus Rte, etc) is not a route used by buses. It is a business route. Business routes are the opposite of by-passes, taking traffic off a main road and through the central part of a town. Business routes are often signposted off Interstates and other freeways. Business route highway marker shields have the same shape and are marked with the same road number as the main road but with the prefix or suffix BR (or similar) and a green background.
- Rapid Transit: Any form of public transport. Often far from rapid, of course.
- Subway: Underground railway, metro. Occasionally there is some confusion with the Subway chain of submarine sandwich restaurants.
- Transfer: I think this is the use of a ticket purchased on one route, on another route, within a certain time limit and with no additional charge. British public transport does not have this concept, so it's always been very much a mystery to me how it actually works in practice. I think most mainland European countries use the transfer system, and I think that there the general rule is that a ticket must be "validated" by being punched by a machine with a stamp which indicates the time at which the ticket was first used and therefore by implication the time at which the ability to transfer free of charge will expire. I don't know if the same applies in the USA and Canada. I also think the transfer system implies that the same fare is charged regardless of distance travelled but this might not be correct.
Some Specific Names Of Public Transport Systems
The following list is just a humble beginning and very far from complete. I would greatly appreciate any suggestions for additional entries (you can email me using the link at the bottom of the page).
For external links, please refer to the External Links - Public Transport page.
- BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) - San Francisco Bay (California) area subway system.
- BMT - Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation. A subway (underground railway) system in New York City. Originally an independent company but now part of New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (NYMTA). The lines built by BMT are still commonly known by that name.
- BSDA (Bi-State Development Agency) - The organisation responsible for public transport in the St Louis, Missouri area.
- CalTrain - A passenger railway service between San Francisco and San Jose, California.
- CTA - Chicago (Illinois) Transit Authority.
- DART - Dallas (Texas) Area Rapid Transit.
- Dash - A local bus service operated in the Los Angeles (California) area by LADOT (Los Angeles Department Of Transportation).
- ETS - Edmonton (Alberta) Transit System.
- IND - Independent. A subway (underground railway) system in New York City. Originally an independent company but now part of New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (NYMTA). The lines built by IND are still commonly known by that name.
- IRT - Interborough Rapid Transit. A subway (underground railway) system in New York City. Originally an independent company but now part of New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (NYMTA). The lines built by IRT are still commonly known by that name.
- LADOT - Los Angeles (California) Department Of Transportation, who operate a local bus system in the area.
- MARTA - Metropolitan Atlanta (Georgia) Rapid Transit Authority.
- MBTA (Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority) - The organisation responsible for public transport in the Boston, Massachusetts area. Boston had the first subway system in the USA.
- Metro Rail - Los Angeles (California) area subway/light railway/tram system.
- Metrolink - Los Angeles (California) area commuter railway system. I think some other US cities (possibly including St Louis, Missouri) also have public transport systems with the same name.
- Metrorail - The subway system in Washington, DC, operated by WMATA (Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority). Often just called "Metro".
- MTA (Maryland Transit Administration) - The organisation responsible for public transport in the Baltimore, Maryland area.
- MUNI - San Francisco (California) area subway, bus and cable car systems.
- NYMTA (New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority) - The organisation responsible for public transport systems such as subway (underground railway), light railway and bus services in New York City. NYMTA's subway lines include those originally constructed by BMT, IND and IRT and which are still commonly known by those names.
- PATH (Port Authority Trans-Hudson) - A subway (underground railway) line in the New York City area.
- SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) - The organisation responsible for public transport in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area.
- TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) - The organisation responsible for public transport in the Toronto, Ontario area.
- WMATA (Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority) - The organisation responsible for public transport in the Washington DC area, including the Washington DC Metrorail subway system.
Public Transport Fares In Some US Cities
USA Today 7-Mar-03 included a list of the public transport fares in some US cities. The statement of a single fare in each case reinforces my theory that the same fare is charged regardless of distance travelled.
- Atlanta $1.75
- Boston subway $1
- Chicago $1.50
- New York City currently $1.50, due to rise to $2 with effect from May-03 or later.
- Philadelphia $2
- San Francisco bus/train $1 (rising soon to $1.25)
Shuttle Buses At Airports
The vast majority of large US and Canadian airports have shuttle buses which convey passengers between airport terminals and car rental company offices. In most cases each car rental company operates its own fleet of shuttle buses. One notable exception to this rule is San Francisco International Airport. The cost of using these shuttle buses is always included in car rental fees and you never pay on the bus. I have never seen anyone tip the driver of a car rental shuttle bus but I suppose it could happen.
In addition, some of the more upmarket hotels and motels located close to major airports run free shuttle buses for use by their patrons.
Shuttle Buses In National Parks
Some of the most popular US National Parks have free shuttle buses. These are designed to cut down the amount of traffic using the parks' roads and to avoid problems with visitors having to repeatedly search for parking slots. These buses are always free of charge. You can hop on and off a shuttle bus at any stop. A map of the routes is provided in the literature given to visitors when they enter each park. In most cases there is a very frequent service. No eating or drinking is permitted on shuttle buses. I very highly recommend making full use of shuttle buses where they are provided.
Tour trams and similar facilities in National Parks are not free.
Alternatives To Car Rental
External Links - Ferries
External Links - Public Transport (Railways, Rapid Transit Authorities, etc)
Ferries
Scenic Railway Journeys and Tourist Railways
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