A quick visual overview: Osaka vs. New York City

There’s no question that New York City  has far more lines and might evn be better compared with Tokyo, but even factoring in PATH, Metro North, etc. ,NYC doesn’t have anywhere near the mix of public and private lines that Tokyo does.  I’ve . . . → Keep Going: Subways*: Osaka vs. New York]]> I’m sure I’m committing heresy by saying this as a New Yorker, but I really dislike the NYC Subway system. Not for the usual reasons you hear: dirtiness, safety, etc. I don’t think either of those are nearly as bad as the media makes them out to be.

A quick visual overview: Osaka vs. New York City

There’s no question that New York City  has far more lines and might evn be better compared with Tokyo, but even factoring in PATH, Metro North, etc. ,NYC doesn’t have anywhere near the mix of public and private lines that Tokyo does.  I’ve travelled in Tokyo, I find it far easier than NYC

What Osaka has going for it is clarity. If there’s a stop, the train stops. End of story. None of this, it’s a cold Wednesday and there’s a squiggly at the stop name so we’re going to go express.

Not to mention the PA systems actually work in the Osaka trains so you can tell if, for some reason, a stop was going to be skipped.   No, I didn’t miss my stop, I scooted out the door in time at Union Square so that I wouldn’t have to backtrack from Canal to Astor Place, but I can see how easily it would happen.

Signage is a very good thing.

That said, the NYC system has some definite pluses: the fact that you can get almost anywhere at any time and it’s convenient. Rarely have to walk more than a block or two in Manhattan before you stumble across a line or fiv, but I think there’s a lot of room for improvement.

*And yes, I mean the train, not the restaurant. A similar analysis could apply though, I miss Subway Japan’s free tote bags