Monday, January 7, 2008

been there, done that

Public transportation does not faze this boy.

I've always been a fan of the New York City subway, but the mass transit system here is even better. The trains are cleaner and don't jostle you as much, and they run on time, all the time. They always stop at the same exact spot on the platform and people queue up for the doors even before the train arrives. The same etiquette (stand to the side and let passengers off first) applies here except that everybody follows it. Eating or drinking or using your mobile is verboten, and I'm told that if you are sitting near priority seating (designated for pregnant women, mothers saddled with infants, the aged and infirm) you are supposed to turn your mobile off in case your neighbor has a pacemaker. There are more than a dozen different lines in Tokyo, and we're lucky that we live close to the JR Yamanote line, which is more of a commuter train like MetroNorth and runs above ground. Kids older than 5 ride for half price, but fares vary according to destination (like in DC). I keep forgetting to swipe my Pasmo card on the way out.

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