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It’s official: this European city has the world’s best public transport

The winners were crowned by Time Out after locals shared their feelings about their city’s public transportation network

Beril Naz Hassan
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Beril Naz Hassan
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Most of us head straight to our navigation apps to check how long the commute will last before we say yes to an invite. A journey that involves a number of train and bus changes is basically modern-day hell. 

To help you escape being stuck in cities with hellish public transport, Time Out has found the top 19 cities around the world with the best public transport with a little help from the locals. The list was topped by the reliable, safe and comfortable public transport in Berlin

97 percent of Berliners raved about their city’s transport network, with their metro U-Bahn offering travellers 175 stations across nine simple-to-navigate lines. The city also offers the S-Bahn, an urban-suburban rail system that links the suburbs to the heart of the city. 

Second place was earned by the Czech capital of Prague, with 96 percent of locals saying their city was easy to get around by public transport. We have all seen the classic photos from Prague with the red and white trams, but the city also has an impressive metro system in place. 

Tokyo was crowned third, and if you’ve seen any of the viral videos showing just how many locals use public transport in the city, you’ll probably agree that Japan’s capital deserves the nod. Not only is it brilliantly maintained and easy to navigate, but it has become increasingly easy to use for non-Japanese speakers, too. 

Here are the top 19 cities with the best public transport in the world: 

  1. Berlin
  2. Prague
  3. Tokyo
  4. Copenhagen
  5. Stockholm
  6. Singapore
  7. Hong Kong
  8. Taipei
  9. Shanghai
  10. Amsterdam
  11. London
  12. Madrid
  13. Edinburgh
  14. Paris
  15. New York
  16. Montreal
  17. Chicago
  18. Beijing
  19. Mumbai

Did you hear that these three lovely European cities will soon be linked by a new train line?

Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Time Out Travel newsletter for the latest travel news and the best stuff happening across the world. 

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