There is a saying that the United States is “a nation lives on the car,” meaning that America ranks top in both total and per capita ownership in cars. There are two ways to look at this. First, because the auto industry is highly developed, the U.S. highway network throughout the country is also extending in all directions in order to be compatible with that industry. Second, because America is a “nation that lives in cars,” inter-city railroad transportation has become a shortcoming in the public transportation system.
When I first arrived in the U.S., it was okay traveling in big cities like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. But not so convenient in other small cities and urban areas, where there was no subway to rely on. For a foreign student who studies in an area where public transportation is not so developed, buying a used car is almost an indispensible part of life if you plan on staying for the long run. For most U.S. cities, even big ones, driving seems to be the only way to travel. Public transportation is restricted within city limits. At the very least, traveling across cities by public transportation is extremely difficult.
For example, the distance between Boston and New York is only a little longer that the distance between Beijing and Tianjin (both are big cities in China). It only takes 29 minutes using high-speed railroad to travel from Beijing to Tianjin. Even a few years back when there was no high-speed train, two hours was enough. In comparison, there is almost nobody who will choose railroad to travel from New York to Boston. The fare is ridiculously expensive, the train frequency is pathetic and it also requires changing trains in between travel. Therefore, other than traveling by car, the only alternative is traveling by bus. In terms of public transportation, bus dominates the route between Boston and New York. Some of the most popular long distance bus operators are Greyhound, Bolt, Peter Pan, and Fenghua. From Boston’s South Station to Manhattan New York, it requires average of four to five hours of traveling time.
American bus companies, like Greyhound and Bolt, require more expensive bus fare. One-way travel usually costs $30- 40. On the other hand, for companies like Fenghua, which is run by the Chinese, bus fare is much cheaper, around $15 for one way. Once while traveling, I overheard the American bus operator complaining that $15 per person was not even enough for the gas, “I have no idea how the Chinese can even profit from that ride?”
It is very interesting to see that, in the east coast area where cross-city public transportation is extremely difficult, transportation companies and bus lines operated by Chinese and Indians take over almost all of the transportation business. The lines are not limited to the four big cities in the northeast, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, but it also covers all the secondary cities in that area. Among the big cities, buses are operated daily. In small cities, there are buses that are ready to be called in. This business model usually has very little profit. In addition, long distance transportation is a hard job to begin with. The success of this type of business model all depends on hard work and accumulative profit. Most America companies choose to ignore this market because of its nature, and the Chinese are more than willing to take over, filling the gap of cross-city travel. Of course, it also brings a lot of convenience to the local people. Even for Americans, when traveling across big cities in the northeast region, the bus routes operated by the Chinese are usually a preferred choice.
Across the nation, the U.S. has built up a fast and convenient air-auto transportation network. The size and flight route coverage of U.S. airports are far ahead of countries across Asia. The way that most Americans are used to travel is to get out of the airport, go straight to the rental car services nearby, rent a car then off they go. After a few days, they will return the car to the same rental company, and then take off in plane. The subject of car rental is another interesting topic among international students. We will cover it in the next article. It can be said that in the U.S., going by planes and cars cover all traveling distances, so much so that the use of railroads and subways can be overlooked. In the minds of Americans, there is no concept of “looking for subway [to travel] as soon as we get out of the door,” unlike the people in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul. Let alone that fact that almost all of the big cities in China are undergoing constructions for high-speed railroads and inner-city subways.
In the author’s opinion, the differences between the U.S. and China’s transportation model also correlates to the countries’ different ways of development. As a matter of fact, not only in China, even countries like Japan and Korea are focusing on the developing model of urbanization, to build the so called “mega city.” In Tokyo, Japan, where almost all of the younger generation lives and breathes, the daily passenger rate in public transportation is among the highest in the world. Railroads, electronic cars, private subways intertwine in the whole city, hence the special name “railroad Tokyo.” In Korea, people who live in Seoul constitute a quarter to one third of the entire population in the country. Of course a big city requires a smooth public transportation system. It is hard to imagine what a city like Seoul would look like if everyone travels by car.
America has a different view of urbanization compared to countries in Asia. It is working towards building a “small city” instead of the “mega city” that most Asian countries are so warmhearted about. In the Unites States, only seven cities have subways: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Washington, Philadelphia, and San Diego. Most railroads were built in the beginning of the 20th century, or even in the 19th century. For a country like China whose big cities are rushing to build new subways, old railroads indeed seem unimaginable.
Let us do a following comparison to illustrate my point:
Route One: from John F. Kennedy Airport, the largest international airport in New York, to Boston;
Route Two: From Beijing Capital International Airport to Tianjin.
There is not that much difference in the distance between route one and route two. However, if you want to choose the most economic and time-saving method to travel, the result is the following.
Route one: take the airport sky train from JFK to Howard Beach station, then take subway A to Canal Street, take taxi (10 minutes) to Bowery Street (walking takes about 26 minutes), and finally, take the New York Chinatown bus to Boston. Total traveling time is about 6.5 hours.
Route two: Take the airport bus from Beijing Capital International Airport to Tianjin. Another option is take the subway from the airport to Beijing South Railroad Station (transfer is needed), then take the high-speed train to Tianjin. Total traveling time is less than 3 hours.
Through this comparison, it can only be said that Americans are overly reliant on traveling by personal automobile. That is probably the main factor for the American railroad system lagging behind other countries. No wonder after taking office, President Obama tried to convince Congress on several occasions that America should imitate China and Japan’s model and build up a high-speed railroad network in the country in order to stimulate the weak economy.
There is a saying that the United States is “a nation lives on the car,” meaning that America ranks top in both total and per capita ownership in cars. There are two ways to look at this. First, because the auto industry is highly developed, the U.S. highway network throughout the country is also extending in all directions in order to be compatible with that industry. Second, because America is a “nation that lives in cars,” inter-city railroad transportation has become a shortcoming in the public transportation system.