I have given it some thought, and here are some of the factors that make Vienna's Wiener Linien system easier and more pleasant for me to use than Boston's MBTA system:. Density of coverage: In Vienna there are transit stops everywhere. My old flat was around the corner from an UBahn station. My current flat is 1/2 block from a tram station. In Boston, I have to walk for 15 minutes from my apartment to get to a T-Stop.
. Ease of access: In Vienna, it is the passenger's responsibility to purchase tickets and to keep them on their person, but the passenger does not need to produce the ticket in order to enter a station or to hop onto a tram/bus directly. Random ticket checks with steep financial penalties function as incentives for keeping people honest. The free entry speeds everything up considerably, prevents pushing and fighting to get to the front of a queue, and makes everything feel more easy-going. I simply buy a weekly or monthly ticket, slip it into my wallet, and forget about it.
. Purchasing tickets: Even though my English is better than my German, I find Wiener Linien tickets a million times easier to purchase and use than Boston's Charlie Card.
. Atmosphere: For some reason, I find public transport in Boston more stressful and exhausting than in Vienna. Not sure what accounts for such a difference, but I definitely feel it.
The convenience of Vienna's public transport is one major reason why I seldom cycle here for transportation, and vise versa in Boston. I wonder whether cities conduct research regarding what factors make their residents more or less likely to use public transport.
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