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Trains, Buses, People: An Opinionated Atlas of US Transit
What are the best transit cities in the US? The best Bus Rapid Transit lines? The most useless rail transit lines? The missed opportunities?
In the US, the 25 largest metropolitan areas and many smaller cities have fixed guideway transit—rail or bus rapid transit. Nearly all of them are talking about expanding. Yet discussions about transit are still remarkably unsophisticated. To build good transit, the discussion needs to focus on what matters—quality of service (not the technology that delivers it), all kinds of transit riders, the role of buildings, streets and sidewalks, and, above all, getting transit in the right places.
Christof Spieler has spent over a decade advocating for transit as a writer, community leader, urban planner, transit board member, and enthusiast. He strongly believes that just about anyone—regardless of training or experience—can identify what makes good transit with the right information. In the fun and accessible Trains, Buses, An Opinionated Atlas of US Transit , Spieler shows how cities can build successful transit. He profiles the 47 metropolitan areas in the US that have rail transit or BRT, using data, photos, and maps for easy comparison. The best and worst systems are ranked and Spieler offers analysis of how geography, politics, and history complicate transit planning. He shows how the unique circumstances of every city have resulted in very different transit systems.
Using appealing visuals, Trains, Buses, People is intended for non-experts—it will help any citizen, professional, or policymaker with a vested interest evaluate a transit proposal and understand what makes transit effective. While the book is built on data, it has a strong point of view. Spieler takes an honest look at what makes good and bad transit and is not afraid to look at what went wrong. He explains broad concepts, but recognizes all of the technical, geographical, and political difficulties of building transit in the real world. In the end ,Trains, Buses, People shows that it is possible with the right tools to build good transit.
In the US, the 25 largest metropolitan areas and many smaller cities have fixed guideway transit—rail or bus rapid transit. Nearly all of them are talking about expanding. Yet discussions about transit are still remarkably unsophisticated. To build good transit, the discussion needs to focus on what matters—quality of service (not the technology that delivers it), all kinds of transit riders, the role of buildings, streets and sidewalks, and, above all, getting transit in the right places.
Christof Spieler has spent over a decade advocating for transit as a writer, community leader, urban planner, transit board member, and enthusiast. He strongly believes that just about anyone—regardless of training or experience—can identify what makes good transit with the right information. In the fun and accessible Trains, Buses, An Opinionated Atlas of US Transit , Spieler shows how cities can build successful transit. He profiles the 47 metropolitan areas in the US that have rail transit or BRT, using data, photos, and maps for easy comparison. The best and worst systems are ranked and Spieler offers analysis of how geography, politics, and history complicate transit planning. He shows how the unique circumstances of every city have resulted in very different transit systems.
Using appealing visuals, Trains, Buses, People is intended for non-experts—it will help any citizen, professional, or policymaker with a vested interest evaluate a transit proposal and understand what makes transit effective. While the book is built on data, it has a strong point of view. Spieler takes an honest look at what makes good and bad transit and is not afraid to look at what went wrong. He explains broad concepts, but recognizes all of the technical, geographical, and political difficulties of building transit in the real world. In the end ,Trains, Buses, People shows that it is possible with the right tools to build good transit.
264 pages, Hardcover
Published October 23, 2018
31 people are currently reading
636 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
December 6, 2024
Read this for urbanism book club! This is an incredible book if you are new or still learning about urbanism and transit. Spieler’s graphics make complex information accessible. He also does not shy away from presenting various viewpoints or explanations for a phenomenon in transit (for example, sometimes fares in transit can be about maintenance, other times it’s about classism and keeping people out of “nicer” trains). I appreciated his historical analysis of how transit has changed in the U.S., and what purposes transit has served through changing cities through the decades. And of course, the dive in to individual cities is invaluable information and highlights the intensive research behind Spieler’s arguments and thoughts mentioned in Part 1-3. This is a great, accessible read.
January 22, 2019
A thorough, up-to-date, and consistent evaluation of US transit systems -- I can only hope for a later edition with more updates and most of the typos corrected.
August 31, 2019
The nitpicker in me had to be restrained from docking a point due to the typos, but that was worth it since the author really does lay out an excellent rubric for evaluating current and planned transit systems across the country. No matter how big or how small, he finds the success stories, shortcomings, and downright stupidity (generally political, sometimes bureaucratic) in 47 different systems across the US. Along the way, he continues to emphasize what makes for a strong, well-functioning system regardless of settings: walkability (every transit user is a pedestrian too); frequency; destinations; span-of-service; legibility; and cost (including the effects of hidden subsidies to our outsized car systems).
September 22, 2025
Really enjoyable read that starts with the fundamentals about transit and what it should aim for.
The subsequent analysis of individual cities, brief history of transit, their pros and cons, and details about how some of them succeeded or failed was very interesting. Of course lack of frequency for the less densely packed cities was a common issue but I fear one that could be solved with investment in, as is discussed, the interconnection of modes but alas.
The subsequent analysis of individual cities, brief history of transit, their pros and cons, and details about how some of them succeeded or failed was very interesting. Of course lack of frequency for the less densely packed cities was a common issue but I fear one that could be solved with investment in, as is discussed, the interconnection of modes but alas.
October 20, 2019
First section is a brief history of transit in the US, section 2 is a great introduction to the basics of successful transit, section 3 is devoted to analysis of the 47 largest metro area transit systems. I noticed enough errors in the Minneapolis / St. Paul page (and other regions I'm familiar with) that I'm not sure if we can trust what was said about other systems I'm not familiar with.
November 3, 2019
This book is a guide to 47 of the largest US transit systems, ranging from NYC to Fort Collins, Colorado. To me, the most interesting segments are on cities with not-so-strong transit- partially because failure is inherently more interesting to me than success, and partially because the sections on those cities are shorter (and thus a bit easier to read).
At the beginning of the book is a discussion of American transit generally. To me the most interesting and surprising insight was that only 1/4 of daily transit trips are work trips; thus, a "rush hour only" transit system disserves most of its users. Also, frequency gets more riders than speed; at one intersection in Chicago, a bus runs more often than a commuter train, and has ten times as many daily riders.
The discussion of individual transit systems is best when it discusses many of the newer systems; often, these systems do not have high ridership because they go on disused freight lines where right-of-way is cheap, rather than where population is dense enough to support high ridership. For example, Dallas has 64 light rail stops, but its per-capita transit ridership is lower than that of other major Texas cities. Why? Because it has only one frequent (every 15 minutes or less) bus route, its trains don't stop any more frequently, and too few of the stops are in areas with high density. By contrast, Houston has fewer light rail stops but its buses run far more frequently.
At the beginning of the book is a discussion of American transit generally. To me the most interesting and surprising insight was that only 1/4 of daily transit trips are work trips; thus, a "rush hour only" transit system disserves most of its users. Also, frequency gets more riders than speed; at one intersection in Chicago, a bus runs more often than a commuter train, and has ten times as many daily riders.
The discussion of individual transit systems is best when it discusses many of the newer systems; often, these systems do not have high ridership because they go on disused freight lines where right-of-way is cheap, rather than where population is dense enough to support high ridership. For example, Dallas has 64 light rail stops, but its per-capita transit ridership is lower than that of other major Texas cities. Why? Because it has only one frequent (every 15 minutes or less) bus route, its trains don't stop any more frequently, and too few of the stops are in areas with high density. By contrast, Houston has fewer light rail stops but its buses run far more frequently.
May 8, 2019
This is a good book, full of a lot of interesting information and history about American transit systems, especially some of the less-well-known ones.
What keeps it from being a great book, though, are its low production values. A number of typos jumped out at me on my first reading, along with errors in the maps (it claims the southern branch of the DC Green Line is in a subway; it's actually elevated) and poor formatting on the maps. A number of maps, figures, and photos are poorly captioned or not captioned at all.
What keeps it from being a great book, though, are its low production values. A number of typos jumped out at me on my first reading, along with errors in the maps (it claims the southern branch of the DC Green Line is in a subway; it's actually elevated) and poor formatting on the maps. A number of maps, figures, and photos are poorly captioned or not captioned at all.
July 30, 2023
Trains, Buses, People: An Opinionated Atlas Of US Transit, by Christof Spieler
It is not hard to figure out what sort of opinions the author has even before reading this book, and I must admit that while I was disappointed by the author, I was not particularly surprised by his perspective. When someone talks about US transit (and by this they mean rapid bus, people movers, streetcars, light rail, or heavy-rail) and claims to be opinionated about the subject, there is very little doubt about what sort of opinions they are going to have. Few people feel it necessary to be dogmatic or annoying about their appreciation for car culture; they simply get in their car and drive, and try not to complain too much about high gasoline prices. On the other hand, people who support mass transit are frequently irritating and feel the need to blare their misinformed opinions to everyone who will hear and a great many people who will not hear them out. If I do not consider the opinions of this book to be particularly praiseworthy, it is worth at least knowing the perspective of people of such ilk that would write this book or enjoy it and to recognize where their perspectives fall short in matters of justice and equity. In reading this book, one finds out very quickly that the people the author is concerned are a very small group of people that does not even include all of those who ride mass transit--the author has few good things to say about rural or suburban or tourists and their interests, after all.
In terms of its contents, this book is a bit less than 250 pages and is divided into three parts. After an acknowledgement and an introduction that seeks to encourage transit being put where the people are--and remember, these are residents of cities who live in at least mid to high density areas, not tourists or suburbanites or rural people--the first part of the book is a discussion of the role of transit in the United States. The author spends about ten pages or so in this section talking about what transit does well, a brief history of transit, modes of transit, hopes and fears regarding mass transit, and issues of funding and governance. The second part of the book, which takes up about 20 pages or so, then looks at the basics of successful transit in the eyes of the author, which includes a focus on population density (to increase ridership), activity, walkability, connectivity, frequency, travel time, reliability, capacity, legibility of signs, and good ideas from abroad (especially but not only Europe and Japan). The third part of the book, which takes up the vast majority of the book, then briefly discusses the best and the worst and then provides a more or less detailed breakdown of mass transit in the top 47 transit areas of the United States: New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington DC, San Francisco, Boston, Dallas, Philadelphia, Miami, Houston, Atlanta, Detroit, Seattle, Phoenix, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Cleveland, Denver, San Diego, Portland OR, Orlando, Tampa, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Charlotte, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Austin, Nashville, Norfolk, Hartford, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Memphis, Richmond, Buffalo, Albuquerque, Tuscon, El Paso, Honolulu, Little Rock, Eugene, and Fort Collins. The author explores the map of transit in these cities and discusses in his view what are their positives and negatives. As might be imagined, mostly negatives proliferate, and the author includes some rather savage and accusatory statements against the good people of areas like rural Pennsylvania, among many others. The book then concludes with a transit agenda for the future of cities as well as an index.
While a great many of the author's opinions are idiotic and the author's lack of interest in building consensus for the massive infrastructure improvements to America's cities that he has in mind is troubling, it should be noted in the author's favor that not everything the author proposes is moronic. To his credit, the author has at least one good idea that bus maps and a standardized bus sign that includes useful information about route frequency and what destinations a bus route would allow one to see would be useful in providing information to transit travelers as well as providing convenient ways for multimodal transportation efforts to work together to serve those who wish or need to live without cars. Beyond that, though, there is little to commend this book for. The author seems to be under the assumption that only left-leaning voters in cities matter and that the job of suburbanites and rural inhabitants is simply to provide money for propping up and developing the cities to the tastes of the author and others of his ilk. The author seems to know or care nothing about how rural or suburban areas themselves are to be developed and maintained properly, and thus his advocacy of cities falls well short of what would be needed to be genuinely interested in the well-being of America's people as a whole.
It is not hard to figure out what sort of opinions the author has even before reading this book, and I must admit that while I was disappointed by the author, I was not particularly surprised by his perspective. When someone talks about US transit (and by this they mean rapid bus, people movers, streetcars, light rail, or heavy-rail) and claims to be opinionated about the subject, there is very little doubt about what sort of opinions they are going to have. Few people feel it necessary to be dogmatic or annoying about their appreciation for car culture; they simply get in their car and drive, and try not to complain too much about high gasoline prices. On the other hand, people who support mass transit are frequently irritating and feel the need to blare their misinformed opinions to everyone who will hear and a great many people who will not hear them out. If I do not consider the opinions of this book to be particularly praiseworthy, it is worth at least knowing the perspective of people of such ilk that would write this book or enjoy it and to recognize where their perspectives fall short in matters of justice and equity. In reading this book, one finds out very quickly that the people the author is concerned are a very small group of people that does not even include all of those who ride mass transit--the author has few good things to say about rural or suburban or tourists and their interests, after all.
In terms of its contents, this book is a bit less than 250 pages and is divided into three parts. After an acknowledgement and an introduction that seeks to encourage transit being put where the people are--and remember, these are residents of cities who live in at least mid to high density areas, not tourists or suburbanites or rural people--the first part of the book is a discussion of the role of transit in the United States. The author spends about ten pages or so in this section talking about what transit does well, a brief history of transit, modes of transit, hopes and fears regarding mass transit, and issues of funding and governance. The second part of the book, which takes up about 20 pages or so, then looks at the basics of successful transit in the eyes of the author, which includes a focus on population density (to increase ridership), activity, walkability, connectivity, frequency, travel time, reliability, capacity, legibility of signs, and good ideas from abroad (especially but not only Europe and Japan). The third part of the book, which takes up the vast majority of the book, then briefly discusses the best and the worst and then provides a more or less detailed breakdown of mass transit in the top 47 transit areas of the United States: New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington DC, San Francisco, Boston, Dallas, Philadelphia, Miami, Houston, Atlanta, Detroit, Seattle, Phoenix, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Cleveland, Denver, San Diego, Portland OR, Orlando, Tampa, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Charlotte, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Austin, Nashville, Norfolk, Hartford, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Memphis, Richmond, Buffalo, Albuquerque, Tuscon, El Paso, Honolulu, Little Rock, Eugene, and Fort Collins. The author explores the map of transit in these cities and discusses in his view what are their positives and negatives. As might be imagined, mostly negatives proliferate, and the author includes some rather savage and accusatory statements against the good people of areas like rural Pennsylvania, among many others. The book then concludes with a transit agenda for the future of cities as well as an index.
While a great many of the author's opinions are idiotic and the author's lack of interest in building consensus for the massive infrastructure improvements to America's cities that he has in mind is troubling, it should be noted in the author's favor that not everything the author proposes is moronic. To his credit, the author has at least one good idea that bus maps and a standardized bus sign that includes useful information about route frequency and what destinations a bus route would allow one to see would be useful in providing information to transit travelers as well as providing convenient ways for multimodal transportation efforts to work together to serve those who wish or need to live without cars. Beyond that, though, there is little to commend this book for. The author seems to be under the assumption that only left-leaning voters in cities matter and that the job of suburbanites and rural inhabitants is simply to provide money for propping up and developing the cities to the tastes of the author and others of his ilk. The author seems to know or care nothing about how rural or suburban areas themselves are to be developed and maintained properly, and thus his advocacy of cities falls well short of what would be needed to be genuinely interested in the well-being of America's people as a whole.
July 20, 2023
This is a great coffee table book for the transit nerd in your life, but I wouldn't recommend reading it cover-to-cover like I did.
It is quite fun to flip through. (Find your city!) But it's also a weird compromise between a reference resource and a manifesto.
The metro-area pages (the majority of the book) don't offer sources or citations—an odd choice, considering the attention to detail. To read chronologically, these sections are extremely dry and pedantic.
He does a great job of emphasizing the political, special interest, NIMBY, (racist, segregationist) influences on transit. And how rarely technology is the limitation.
Some very well-taken observations:
- Rule-of-thumb: Stops should be 1/4-1/2 mile apart and come every 15 minutes max (so you never have to consult a schedule)
- 80 people on transit takes up the same space as 3 people in single-occupancy cars!
- Becoming a car-oriented society was a choice post WWII. It wasn't inevitable.
- People didn't even consider transit as a way to help low-income people have opportunities until the 2010s!
- Bad public transportation causes gentrification because it concentrates value in one area.
- If you want people to give up cars completely, you need to provide them transit for everything. Not just work.
- Many factors go into good transportation other than the mode—like fare consistency, legible maps, etc.
- Stops/minute > Miles/minute (i.e. Speed doesn't really matter)
- We culturally made buses into a lower-class option than trains. It doesn't have to be that way.
A few things he didn't include, that I would have liked:
- A section on Amtrak! I'm not sure why this was left out.
- How eminent domain and displacement of people factors into this.
- More comparison to non-US transit systems. (Although he does some).
Also, the description of Austin transit was painfully accurate.
It is quite fun to flip through. (Find your city!) But it's also a weird compromise between a reference resource and a manifesto.
The metro-area pages (the majority of the book) don't offer sources or citations—an odd choice, considering the attention to detail. To read chronologically, these sections are extremely dry and pedantic.
He does a great job of emphasizing the political, special interest, NIMBY, (racist, segregationist) influences on transit. And how rarely technology is the limitation.
Some very well-taken observations:
- Rule-of-thumb: Stops should be 1/4-1/2 mile apart and come every 15 minutes max (so you never have to consult a schedule)
- 80 people on transit takes up the same space as 3 people in single-occupancy cars!
- Becoming a car-oriented society was a choice post WWII. It wasn't inevitable.
- People didn't even consider transit as a way to help low-income people have opportunities until the 2010s!
- Bad public transportation causes gentrification because it concentrates value in one area.
- If you want people to give up cars completely, you need to provide them transit for everything. Not just work.
- Many factors go into good transportation other than the mode—like fare consistency, legible maps, etc.
- Stops/minute > Miles/minute (i.e. Speed doesn't really matter)
- We culturally made buses into a lower-class option than trains. It doesn't have to be that way.
A few things he didn't include, that I would have liked:
- A section on Amtrak! I'm not sure why this was left out.
- How eminent domain and displacement of people factors into this.
- More comparison to non-US transit systems. (Although he does some).
Also, the description of Austin transit was painfully accurate.
April 13, 2020
This a really cool book, with good info, well organized and presented with excellent visual aids.
I've been a bus user and have had a passive interest in learning more about transit, finally took the plunge and started off with this title. I can't imagine a better introduction.
Spieler spends the first 1/3 or so with a very thorough introduction to all of the major forms of transit, and the major issues, opportunities, and challenges in developing valuable transit projects.
The rest of the book is composed of case studies where Speiler applies this information in assessing and analyzing the transit systems of many major US cities. This gives you a great chance to see the ideas you've been introduced to applied, and to find in that application the real world impact of the decisions being made in the planning process.
Spieler doesn't shy aware from how messy and challenging that process can be, and isn't out to paint some rosey pro-transit propaganda. He delivers pros and cons each step of the way, and is realistic about the costs and benefits. The aim is a clear analysis of what works where and why, and that was what I really wanted. I think this book absolutely delivers that, in addition it is well written and has great graphics. It also (as of writing) pretty up-to-date which is a big plus.
I've been a bus user and have had a passive interest in learning more about transit, finally took the plunge and started off with this title. I can't imagine a better introduction.
Spieler spends the first 1/3 or so with a very thorough introduction to all of the major forms of transit, and the major issues, opportunities, and challenges in developing valuable transit projects.
The rest of the book is composed of case studies where Speiler applies this information in assessing and analyzing the transit systems of many major US cities. This gives you a great chance to see the ideas you've been introduced to applied, and to find in that application the real world impact of the decisions being made in the planning process.
Spieler doesn't shy aware from how messy and challenging that process can be, and isn't out to paint some rosey pro-transit propaganda. He delivers pros and cons each step of the way, and is realistic about the costs and benefits. The aim is a clear analysis of what works where and why, and that was what I really wanted. I think this book absolutely delivers that, in addition it is well written and has great graphics. It also (as of writing) pretty up-to-date which is a big plus.
April 21, 2020
A lively, accessible, succinct, and well organized primer explaining what makes good public transit and how American cities could improve their transit. It's made up of a long introduction followed by an "atlas" of brief overviews of the transit systems of 30 or so of America's biggest cities.
The introduction quickly explains the logic behind good transit planning and is valuable to anyone interested in how or why transit does or doesn't work.
The atlas is useful for points of comparison and contrast against your city, and provides plenty of examples that support the lessons in the introduction.
It's a must-read for any transit rider or local politician. I'm pretty sure it's on NUMTOT's book list, if you're into that.
Wondering why your bus is late? Why the next bus isn't coming for another hour? Why you have to walk so far to get from the bus to wherever you're going? Why that light rail station's in the middle of nowhere? How about what your city can do to fix or avoid those problems? This book answers those questions and many more.
The introduction quickly explains the logic behind good transit planning and is valuable to anyone interested in how or why transit does or doesn't work.
The atlas is useful for points of comparison and contrast against your city, and provides plenty of examples that support the lessons in the introduction.
It's a must-read for any transit rider or local politician. I'm pretty sure it's on NUMTOT's book list, if you're into that.
Wondering why your bus is late? Why the next bus isn't coming for another hour? Why you have to walk so far to get from the bus to wherever you're going? Why that light rail station's in the middle of nowhere? How about what your city can do to fix or avoid those problems? This book answers those questions and many more.
February 7, 2020
A very comprehensive overview of public transit in 47 metropolitan areas across the United States, complete with beautiful pictures, charts, and maps. Like Jarrett Walker's book "Human Transit", a good portion of the beginning serves as primer for those who are unfamiliar with general principles of public transit, so if you're an transit activist or enthusiast, those parts might not be particularly interesting. But the descriptions of each city are very interesting, and Spieler definitely has some strong opinions that you don't hear many other places, such as that Buffalo's light rail line is a great asset to the city, and that rather than being a hopeless autopia, Los Angeles has the bones of a great transit city if not the meat of one. As other's have pointed out, there are some howling typos in the book, but Spieler seems aware of this so hopefully they'll be fixed in later editions.
All in all, a great book for the coffee table of any transit geek.
All in all, a great book for the coffee table of any transit geek.
January 5, 2020
I loved the maps and opinionated descriptions of what's working and not working in each metropolitan region with regard to public transportation. I learned lot from reading it from front to back, but I will also keep it handy and refer to it when visiting or reading about a particular region. The essays at the beginning on concepts like frequency or the history of transit in the U.S. were pithy (about 2 facing pages each) and quotably-written. I also found it helpful to find the companion web site and the tool that allows you to display maps from two metropolitan regions side-by-side.
I wish Baltimore got treatment as its own region rather than part of greater Washington.
I would have liked more graphics, call outs or some other form of author commentary to walk me through what the maps are telling us.
I wish Baltimore got treatment as its own region rather than part of greater Washington.
I would have liked more graphics, call outs or some other form of author commentary to walk me through what the maps are telling us.
June 20, 2023
Not the best-edited book, having a surprising number of grammatical and formatting errors, this tome nonetheless is my all-time favorite publication on modern North American transit. It works equally well as a textbook and enthusiast field guide, thoroughly but succinctly describing first general aspects of successful transit systems, then reviewing all transit systems in the US and Canada one-by-one from highest ridership per mile to lowest. Each city is given positive or negative marks personalized to their system's aptitudes and failures, data is used thoroughly to demonstrate the system's nuances, and insightful nuggets of transit design are smattered throughout. This should be mandatory reading, Scarlet Letter be damned.
February 26, 2024
This book is visually gorgeous - a perfect coffee table book for any self-respecting public transit enthusiast. However, the narrative elements are a little scattershot and don't really lead the reader on a logical journey. There is plenty to learn about what makes high-quality transit experiences here, though - so still worthwhile to explore for those gold nuggets of knowledge that the author has collected through (ostensibly) a lifetime of personal travel. Can't wait for the next version to include even more international cities!
January 24, 2025
The content and maps are great. It's indeed an opiniated atlas but the comments of the author are pertinent and welcome.
However, it feels like the second edition was rushed: some cities haven't been updated (talking about a 2020 extension when the book was published in 2021), word breaks are in the middle of the line and other small details (eligibility issue of text, while transit accessibility is important to the author). Whit small improvements, this could easily become a more enjoyable book.
However, it feels like the second edition was rushed: some cities haven't been updated (talking about a 2020 extension when the book was published in 2021), word breaks are in the middle of the line and other small details (eligibility issue of text, while transit accessibility is important to the author). Whit small improvements, this could easily become a more enjoyable book.
April 1, 2025
lots of cool maps, but some of them are quite difficult to read due to very small icons and thin/overlapping lines.
there were many typos and mistakes in the second edition (around 1 mistake every 2-3 pages), and it seems like the text was not always updated to match some of the new statistics or page layouts. some maps had label arrows pointing to the wrong places, and east and west were flipped a few times.
I'm glad I read the library copy before buying it, I think if I had paid for it I would have been pretty disappointed
there were many typos and mistakes in the second edition (around 1 mistake every 2-3 pages), and it seems like the text was not always updated to match some of the new statistics or page layouts. some maps had label arrows pointing to the wrong places, and east and west were flipped a few times.
I'm glad I read the library copy before buying it, I think if I had paid for it I would have been pretty disappointed
February 2, 2019
This book is an excellent review of every transit system in the United States. Each system is individually evaluated based on its usefulness to riders, not based on technological preference.
Every politician and transit staffer should read it and learn from the mistakes of other cities. We know how to build good transit, we just have to be willing to do so.
This book covers transit systems within the United States only.
Every politician and transit staffer should read it and learn from the mistakes of other cities. We know how to build good transit, we just have to be willing to do so.
This book covers transit systems within the United States only.
December 7, 2020
As an avid metro rider and transit fan, I enjoyed this book, but docked a star for poor typesetting/grammar :( (mostly the typsetting). Often, I didn't know which image was being referred to in the text. I also saw a few errors when the author discussed the transit systems that I'm most familiar with. Overall, though, the book was really well done! The author takes a great intersectional approach when discussing how transit has been/is being implemented.
January 29, 2024
Great book that really opened my eyes on transit in both the US and Canada! Filled with insightful commentary, super interesting stats, and great maps. This book also serves as a great way to compare transit systems in different cities.
However this being a second edition, the amount of small mistakes, typos, poor graphics, and omissions is very disappointing. A third edition with all the mistakes corrected would be awesome!
However this being a second edition, the amount of small mistakes, typos, poor graphics, and omissions is very disappointing. A third edition with all the mistakes corrected would be awesome!
April 1, 2024
Spieler goes into great detail about the transit systems of the US: what makes them successful, how it works, and system specific information. There was a lot of interesting information that I believe would be helpful to any future transit planner/engineer/designer. I honestly didn’t read all of the details on every city - that part was fairly dry so I just skipped to the cities I was most interested in. Overall, very good book for your local public transit enjoyer!
March 12, 2019
wonderfully idiosyncratic take on the transit systems of us cities. tries to evaluate systems both on relative merit (eg good for what it is) and objective metrics (eg total ridership). neat maps. good pictures. fun coffee table book.
August 18, 2019
Opinionated, sure, but the book clearly lays out that frequent service going to places where people want to go is the best way forward for transit networks. As Spieler points out, if your proposed transit line has no local opposition, it's probably not going anywhere useful.
May 16, 2021
A great overview of transit modes, considerations, implementation factors, and case studies. Good for the casual audience, but even better as an authority for transportation courses and prompting Socratic discussion.
December 1, 2024
Great book on transit, how it's built, what makes it great, what makes it bad, and where North America is today. There is so much potential in the U.S. in particular on how we move people, and this book is a great starting point on where we can improve.
April 3, 2020
Fun and informative book, though it does have a fair number of typos.
February 28, 2021
Quite comprehensive. A second edition that clears up the small typos and updates the content to 2021 (or beyond) is warranted.
March 4, 2021
Not a page turner, but still with very interesting discussions on what makes transit work (or often not work) and what we should be focusing on. Plus some interesting transit history of 47 US cities.
April 30, 2021
The best introductory book for someone starting to get interested in transit. Great maps and charts. Covers all the basics.
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