A Role Model for Transportation

It’s 8:00 in the morning when my alarm (or one of my 4 roommates’ alarm) goes off. I brush my teeth, get dressed, eat breakfast, boom; it’s 8:30. I walk to Meiji University and it’s 8:40 which gives me enough time to buy a bottle of water from the vending machine before going into class.
Class takes place at Meiji University in Jimbocho and the university itself is only a 10 minute walk away; it is similar to traveling to class from the dorms at NEU. There are however, site visits or places that require a more complicated commute. Tokyo is covered by a dense network of train lines similar to that of NYC. I admittedly had no idea what was going on as I stared at deeply intertwined web that is Tokyo’s metro map. Tokyo’s “Charliecard” or main method of paying for transport are “Suica cards” which have a cute decorative penguin on it. Instead of paying a flat rate to travel anywhere using the metro system, the suica is tapped when you enter and exit, calculating how far you have traveled and thus charging you as such. The farther you travel, the more you get charged.
Coming from NYC where subways are fickle and can come every 15-30 minutes, trains in Tokyo come every 3 minutes. Although the trains can be slightly crowded, the promptness and efficiency of the trains make up for it. Shinkansen or the “Bullet train” is often used to travel greater distances such as from Tokyo to Kyoto. Prices are noticeably higher than normal city metro but for good reason. Shinkansens can travel upwards to 200 miles per hour and thus provide a fast method of transport from place to place. It makes me wonder why the U.S has yet to adopt such an efficient and speedy system of transportation.