A Look at America's Best Transit City

When the BBC wanted to look at where public transit was working in a 2006 series called "The Best Public Services in the World," they found their answer in America. And not in New York City or Chicago. They found it in Portland, Oregon. Home to TriMet, a regional transit operator that operates 3 light rail lines, a streetcar, and 92 bus lines (16 have service every 15 minutes.) The whole system has a GPS-based real-time information system based on numbers assigned to every stop. You can use stop numbers to call an automated phone number or visit a website to find out when you bus or train will arrive. The light rail serves the airport and the streetcar serves Portland State University. Also in town is an aerial tram, a network of bike lanes, and even a former freeway that is now an urban park. 96.9 million trips are taken every year, compared to 70 million on Port Authority. All of this in a metropolitan area with slightly less people than Pittsburgh metro area and a higher median income.

See the video of this system below, or click here: Part 1, Part 2.