A new report has found that bringing public transit in major US cities up to 'world-class' standards would cost an enormous $4.6 trillion over the next 20 years, requiring 7,500 miles of new dedicated infrastructure for trains and buses. The study by Transportation for America highlights how American cities have fallen far behind global peers such as Sydney, Hong Kong, and Barcelona in terms of transit vehicles per 100,000 residents.
Houston, the fourth-largest US city, has just 16 transit vehicles per 100,000 people via its bus and light rail system, compared with 118 in Paris, a city with a similar population. Other cities fare even worse: Detroit has eight, Indianapolis has seven, and Oklahoma City has just six. Frisco and McKinney, a combined urban area of 500,000 people near Dallas, have no transit vehicles at all. By contrast, Vienna has 120 buses and trains per 100,000 residents, while Montreal has 107.
Only New York City approaches world-class standards, but it still has fewer transit vehicles proportionally than Tehran. Ridership per capita in New York lags behind that of Bengaluru, Santiago, and Warsaw, according to a separate 2023 study. Globally, transportation accounts for about a third of all planet-heating emissions, with the sector's emissions doubling since 1990. With global demand for passenger transport expected to nearly triple by 2050, expanding efficient, affordable public transit is critical for addressing the climate crisis and toxic air pollution.
Car dependence permeates rural regions in Europe, but most major cities are served by public transport networks that stretch deep into the suburbs. In recent years, capitals such as London and Paris have taken steps to catch up with frontrunners like Copenhagen, Amsterdam, and Vienna, where cars account for fewer than one in four journeys. In contrast, people in the US often have little choice but to rely on cars, with those unable to drive due to age, disability, or rising costs facing a 'laborious gauntlet of patchy public transport options,' according to transit expert Kari Watkins of the University of California, Davis.
'Essentially, you are forced to live like a second-class citizen without a car,' Watkins said. 'It will take you twice as long to get anywhere, and it probably won't be a nice experience.' The soaring cost of gasoline has further underscored the need for better public transit, as car drivers around the world feel the pinch.
