City's transport is simply the best

Phoebe Poon

Hong Kong has recently been crowned the best public transport city in the world by travel and culture magazine Time Out, ranking first among 19 cities.

The British magazine surveyed over 18,500 city dwellers across 50 regions to rate the public transport systems, with Asian cities like Shanghai, Taipei, South Korea, and Singapore claiming nine spots on the global list.

According to the report, Hongkongers awarded the public transport system a near-perfect 98 percent rating, particularly praising the MTR, which features a 10-line network connecting Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, the New Territories, as well as the mainland border.

In addition to the air-conditioned buses and minibuses, the city's iconic double-decker trams were described by Time Out as "arguably the coolest way to get around any city."

Trailing closely behind Hong Kong are Shanghai and Beijing, with approval ratings of 94 percent for Shanghai's 20 speedy metro lines and 91 percent for Beijing's extensive public transport network and cycling lanes.

The remainder of the top 10 includes Abu Dhabi (88 percent), Taipei (88 percent), London (86 percent), Vienna (84 percent), Seoul (84 percent), Mumbai (83 percent) and Doha (83 percent).

New York's sprawling subway and Istanbul's cross-continental ferries failed to make it to the list this year.