on May 09, 2026 02:25 am
Oliver Milman , Environmental Reporter – The Guardian (U.K.)
Stephan: If you have ever been to Europe, Japan, Taiwan, or China, you will recall how easy and comfortable mass transit was. The average train speeds in Japan are 149-198mph, in Europe 155-186mph, and in China 155-217mph. In the U.S. it is 40-55mph. Then there are the easily available buses and subways. As with so many things, Americans are told by politicians and Right-wing media that the United States is the leading country in the world, when the truth is that the U.S. is second or third tier in almost everything
The only train station in Houston, the US’s fourth-largest city and one of the fastest-growing conurbations in the country, is a diminished, morose sight. Intercity trains arrive at this squat, shed-like Amtrak building, which cringes in the shadows of roaring highways, just three times a week.
That such a meager train station could ostensibly serve a metropolitan area of about 7 million people is a stark symbol of how the sprawling, car-dominated US has fallen behind cities around the world where people can rely on extensive, high-quality public transport to get around.
The gap is now so large that for major American cities to bring their public transit up to “world-class” status, it would cost an enormous $4.6tn, involving 7,500 miles of new dedicated infrastructure for trains and buses, over the next 20 years, a recent report found.
American cities languish badly compared with global leaders such as Sydney, Hong Kong and Barcelona, based on the number of transit vehicles per 100,000 residents, according to the Transportation for America study.
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