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USA: Transportation
2012-09-07
by Going Global
People moving from other countries into the United States are often surprised at the lack of public transportation. The United States is definitely the land of the personal automobile. In fact, most people have two or even three vehicles in one household and spend a great deal of their earnings on purchasing a stylish and serviceable vehicle. It is true Americans love their cars, but it is also a reality that even urban areas are large, dispersed and difficult to traverse conveniently with public transportation. That said, the city street, county road and highway systems within the United States are all extremely well-maintained everywhere in the country. Secured parking is readily available, road rules are strictly upheld by police and highway patrol, and road signs are clear.
Driving to work is the favored means of commuting, as nearly 9 out of 10 workers (87.7 percent) drive to work. The average commute time (for those who do not work in the home) is 25 minutes. Because the transportation system within the United States relies on cars, the price of a car, insurance and gas (petrol) are expenses any person relocating to this country must realistically take into consideration.
Nearly 5 percent of Americans use public transportation to travel to work. However, public transport ridership is at its highest level in more than 50 years. Around 54 percent of all households have access to public transportation. About half of the nation’s public transportation commuters can be found in 10 of the nation’s 50 largest cities: Baltimore, MD; Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Houston, TX; Los Angeles, CA; New York, NY; Philadelphia, PA; San Francisco, CA; Seattle, WA; and Washington, DC. These cities account for 2.9 million of the nation’s 6.2 million users of public transportation. In these cities, public transportation is readily available. In the United States, there are considerable differences between the cost of a bus, tram or subway/metro trip, depending upon the city or region.
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