All Things Travel: The Demise Of New York And Rise Of Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Forget New York City, I'll take Boston any time.
I have been working and traveling between both cities for more than 50 years and spent three days last week in the Big Apple, a phrase you don't hear very much any more. The state slogan: "I love New York" lives on TV.
Two things are going to lead to the demise of New York: the number of people walking in midtown and the sheer number of vehicles on the streets.
Tourists are everywhere, and the locals are all on their cell phones. There are so many people trying to cross the street that they continue to walk against the traffic lights, and the cars and trucks cannot move. That leads to gridlock all day.
Then there are trucks making deliveries during the day. They clog the cross streets with taillights blinking and unloading taking place at all hours.
There was one good experience. Hailing a taxi, which was one of the new cabs manufactured by Nissan. It had plenty of room, like a London cab, with comfortable seats and a sunroof.
New York is expensive in the fall. The continental breakfast that costs $12.50 in a good Boston hotel will be $15.75 there. The print edition of The New York Times costs $2.50, a dollar more than the Globe.
The New York Mets clinched a trip to the World Series on my final night in town. The sports bar that I visited was jammed, and despite my plea to the server of "no onions" on my turkey burger or salad, you know the what happened. The price was $15 for the burger.
Walking the last couple of blocks to catch the Amtrak Acela home, I passed a Modell's Sporting Goods store. World Series t-shirts were already flying off the shelves at $29.95.
There were more than 40 people in line at Penn station waiting for a taxi.
The Acela train has made Boston better and faster for business and leisure travel. The fact that Boston has so many colleges and universities nearby attract a younger crowd of professionals. Harvard and MIT are known around the world.
Tourists, who used to fly into JFK and perhaps get to Boston for a couple of days, now fly non-stop to Logan Airport for a vacation or business meeting.
Boston is walkable and the Freedom Trail is one of the city's greatest attractions. People visiting Boston want history.
The Greenway and cleanup of Boston Harbor have helped to showcase Boston. Now, if we can only get the MBTA to offer a three-day pass for visitors, more people will use the T.
Your train arrives on time and you're ready for a short taxi ride home. Of course, there are no cabs to meet the train; you opt for Uber.
It's great to be home and you know the Red Sox will be better next year and the Patriots are still undefeated as you write this.
Bob Weiss reports on business travel on Mondays at 5:55 a.m. on WBZ NewsRadio 1030.
