The 10 Most Useless Urban Rail Systems In the US: Poor Frequency, Weird Networks, Bad Land Use

Many US cities are facing a serious housing crunch. Urban rail, whether it's heavy rail (like a subway or an elevated) or light rail (including the modern streetcar), should be a great tool for solving this problem. However! Many US cities struggle to build ridership on their rail systems, and the poor land use around their stations is certainly no help.

This video counts down the ten cities with the worst ridership per track-mile of urban rail service, and looks at some reasons for each city's underperformance.

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Other CityNerd Videos referenced:
- Top 10 regional rail systems in North America: Regional Rail Systems in North Americ...
- Top 10 big cities with poor transit: The 10 Worst Transit Cities: US Metro...
- Top 10 ferry cities: Transit On the Water: Top 10 Ferry an...
- Top 10 small cities with big transit: Smaller Cities With Great Transit: 10...
- Top 10 cities for pandemic transit: Pandemic Transit, Fare-Free Systems, ...

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Resources:
- https://www.rtd-denver.com/services/r...
- https://www.rideuta.com/-/media/Files...
- https://s3.amazonaws.com/mta-website-...
- https://s3.amazonaws.com/mta-website-...
- https://www.dart.org/maps/printrailma...
- https://www.metrostlouis.org/wp-conte...
- https://mapa-metro.com/en/united-stat...
- http://www.sacrt.com/systemmap/2021/L...
- https://www.vta.org/sites/default/fil...
- http://www.riderta.com/routes
- https://gohrt.com/routes/light-rail/
- https://www.transit.dot.gov/ntd
- https://www.rtd-denver.com/app/route/...
- https://www.rideuta.com/Rider-Tools/S...
- https://s3.amazonaws.com/mta-website-...
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropo...
- https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1...
- Mapping Inequality website (University of Richmond)
https://dsl.richmond.edu/panorama/red...

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Image Credits:
- PATH train By EveryPicture - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
- Staten Island Railway By Thomas Plunkett - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
- Hudson-Bergen LRT By King of Hearts - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
- Sacramento By josephtateart, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
- Portland St Johns Bridge By Taken by User:Cacophony. - Taken by User:Cacophony., CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
- Sacramento LRT By Photo by Sean Lamb (Slambo) - Transferred from English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
- Portland LRT By Steve Morgan, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
- Portland Streetcar Video by Estefanía Aísa Aisa: https://www.pexels.com/video/a-bookst...
- KC Streetcar leaving union station By Jason Doss from Kansas City, MO - KC Streetcar, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
- KC Streetcar on Main Street By Jason Doss from Kansas City, MO - Southbound on Main, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
- KC Streetcar at River Market By David Wilson - https://www.flickr.com/photos/davidwi..., CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
- Thumbnail: Parker Road Station By Danazar - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...

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Music:
CityNerd background: Caipirinha in Hawaii by Carmen María and Edu Espinal (YouTube music library)

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Inquiries: [email protected]

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