Boston ranked 'the best place to live without a car' in America
BOSTON - Do you need a car to live in Boston? A new report says no.
The "Best U.S. Cities to Live Without A Car" analysis by Coworking Cafe says Boston is "the absolute best place in the nation to live without a car," with the city finishing first on their nationwide ranking ahead of Newark, New York, Washington and San Francisco.
The ranking looked at the availability of transit stations and bike lanes, the cost of taking a train or bus and the percentage of a population that uses public transportation or some other way to commute.
"Boston ranked consistently high across several metrics, thereby making it easy for residents to move around via public transportation, as well as by foot," Coworking Cafe said.
About 28% of Boston's population uses public transit, which the report said was the third-highest percentage in the country. It also said most residents live near a bus or train stop.
Additionally, Coworking Cafe said "the low number of breakdowns and mechanical failures among public transit vehicles makes the system here a highly reliable one."
That assertion may come as a bit of a surprise to T riders here. Even the new MBTA general manager Phil Eng has admitted "MBTA service is not at the level it that it needs to be." There was also an unprecedented month-long shutdown of the Orange Line for repairs last year, and speed restrictions in some cases made walking faster than taking the T.
