Best Mid-sized Cities in the NE for Public Transportation
For many folks looking to relocate, good public transportation in a city isn’t just a desire, it is a necessity. Public transportation is a given in most large metropolitan areas. You’ll have 7 days a week bus service, light rail, and even a nearby major airport. But as you move away from the larger cities, public transportation services can become less robust and in many areas, be non-existent. That said, some mid-sized cities have put a lot of resources into their public transportation.
Trying to discover which cities have good public transportation can be challenging even the experienced internet explorers, so we’ve done the legwork for you. We are going to confine our results to mid-sized cities (between 10,000 and 75,000 population) in the Northeast US.
There are three metrics we look at when evaluating a city’s transportation infrastructure. First, we look at what kind of services they offer. Is there a daily bus service within the city? Is there a bus service to other cities? Is there train service? Second, if these services do exist, how many days a week do they run, and how often per day? And lastly, in the case of a tie, we look at how far away is the nearest airport. While airports are not public transportation, their proximity is an important factor for many. With all that in mind, here are 3 great options for those who don’t want to live in a major metro, but still be able to get around without a car.
Meriden, CT – Population 60,517. Meriden, Connecticut is located equidistant from Hartford and New Haven, the two largest cities in Connecticut, but it is a suburb of neither. Not only does Meriden have 6 bus lines within the city it also has bus service to Wallingford, New Haven, and Hartford. In addition, there is a light rail stop within the city limits that will take you as far north as Springfield and as far south as New York City.
Burlington, VT – Population 42,899. Located on Lake Chapman near the Canadian border, Burlington is the most remote of the cities in today’s post. Burlington makes the list because, on top of having 7 days a week bus service, they also have an international airport just outside of town. Not only can you easily get around town without a car, but you can literally travel anywhere around the world without one too.
York, PA – Population 43,718. York Pennsylvania is located about 100 miles east of Philadelphia. York stands out because of the number of bus routes it offers. There are 16 routes running 7 days a week with service starting at 5:30 in the morning and running until 10 pm.
Maybe you are thinking that none of these towns sound just right. Or maybe the places you can work are just as important as to how you get to work. That’s why we created the NextDiggs quiz so that you can decide what features are “the best” for you. We profiled every city in America with 5000 or more residents with 61 criteria. You can choose to answer all the questions, or only the ones pertaining to criteria that are important to you. So go ahead and take the quiz and find your own “top 3”.
Read about the best mid-sized towns in the Midwest for Foodies.
