Why Tokyo's Metro Is Profitable and New York City’s Isn’t | WSJ U.S. vs. Japan - YouTube

Japan's train system, ranked by Statista, is the most efficient in the world. The US, though, is far behind. It's tied for 11th best. Roughly 15 million people ride the subway each day in Japan's capital city. Around 11 million more daily riders than New York Subway. We compared the Tokyo and New York Subways to find out how Japan's rail system got so far ahead of the United States. Take a look at this map of New York City's subway system. Now compare that to Tokyo's map.

日本的列车系统在Statista的排行榜上被评为全球最高效的。然而，美国则远远落后，排名仅为第11位。每天大约有1,500万人乘坐日本首都的地铁，比纽约地铁的日均乘客数量多出1100万人。我们对比了东京和纽约的地铁系统，以了解为什么日本的铁路系统能走在美国前面。看看纽约市地铁系统的地图，再对比一下东京的地铁地图。

A key distinction, where the public transit connections intersect. In New York, public transit commuters into Manhattan likely only have these options to disembark. Japan's map has more points of connection. What's really distinctive about Tokyo and actually Japanese cities more generally is they all interconnect. The commuter rails connect directly with city subway tracks, which reduces congestion and unnecessary transfers. You just ride the train all the way out to your final destination. You don't have to be paying attention to your transfer station. You just fall asleep and you know when you're going to wake up near your station.

一个重要的区别，在公共交通连接的交叉点。在纽约，进入曼哈顿的公共交通通勤者可能只有这些选项可以下车。日本的地图上有更多的连接点。而东京和其他日本城市真正独特之处在于它们互相连接。通勤铁路直接与市区地铁轨道相连，这减少了拥堵和不必要的换乘。你只需一路乘火车直到最终目的地，不需要注意换乘站。你可以放心睡觉，因为你知道什么时候会在你的车站附近醒来。

These easy commutes are key for the 2.4 million people traveling into Tokyo daily from outside the city. On top of that, Tokyo Wides only need one of two cards to pay for most public transportation systems, not just in the city, but also in many parts of Japan. And in New York, you have to often have a different card to get on any of the ridership system. It's not like an integrated pay system or governing system. So you have to use all these different tickets to ride the public rail systems. In some cases, these separate rail systems are the result of different jurisdictions that oversee transit.

这对于每天从市外来到东京的240万人来说，便利的通勤方式至关重要。此外，东京地方除了在市内，还可以使用两种卡片之一支付大部分公共交通系统的费用，而且还包括日本的许多地方。而在纽约，你经常需要不同的卡才能进入任何乘车系统。这并不像是一个集成的支付系统或管理系统。因此，你必须使用所有这些不同的车票来乘坐公共铁路系统。在某些情况下，这些分离的铁路系统是监管区域不同而导致的结果。

The subway, for example, is owned by the city and leased to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, better known as the MTA. Which in turn is controlled by the New York State Government. And New Jersey Transit, which connects to New York City, is run by the New Jersey Department of Transportation. While New York doesn't have fully integrated public transit connections, some aspects are improving. First, is payment. We now have the ability to pay with a credit card when you go into a subway so you don't have to have a special metro card, which will be made obsolete eventually. I think the goal is to eventually have one fee and one resistance and that will pay you through all of it.

举例来说，地铁由城市所有并租给了大家所熟知的“都会运输当局”，缩写为MTA。而MTA又受纽约州政府控制。与纽约市连接的新泽西州交通系统则由新泽西州交通部负责管理。虽然纽约的公共交通网络并没有完全整合，但有些方面正在改善。首先是付款方式。现在我们可以用信用卡支付地铁费用，不再需要使用专门的地铁卡，而这些地铁卡最终将会被废弃。我认为目标是最终实现一张卡全程通行，通过一次付费就可以使用所有公共交通工具。

Then there's the profitability. Other than in 2020 and 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Tokyo Metro, the largest subway company in the city, has been profitable. Compare that to the MTA, which historically operates at a loss. Its outstanding debt is forecast to hit $47 billion by 2026. A key reason for this difference? Central government funding. Japan heavily invests in public transportation. The national government owns about 53% of Tokyo Metro. And the metropolitan government of Tokyo owns about 47%. After the Second World War, there was a continuous investment in the public transit system, which is primarily the subways, the JR system and the private commuter rail systems that all interconnect. There's never been a let up in continued investment and adding lines and making them work better. The MTA on the other hand is not owned by other private companies. Its funding comes from multiple places, including taxes, the city and state governments, and some federal funding. The MTA also makes money by selling bonds. It's one of the top issuers of municipal bonds in the entire US.

然后还有盈利能力。除了2020年和2021年的COVID-19大流行期间，东京最大的地铁公司东京地铁一直是盈利的。与此相比，纽约市交通局（MTA）历史上一直亏损。预计到2026年，其未偿还债务将达到470亿美元。导致这种差异的一个关键原因是中央政府的资金支持。日本在公共交通方面投资很大。国家政府拥有东京地铁约53%的股份。而东京都政府则拥有约47%的股份。二战结束后，对公共交通系统（主要是地铁、JR系统和私营通勤铁路系统）进行了持续投资，使其更加完善，并不断增加线路。与此相反，纽约市交通局并不是被其他私营公司所拥有。它的资金来自多个渠道，包括税收、市和州政府以及一些联邦资助。纽约市交通局还通过发行债券赚钱。它是整个美国市政债券发行者中的佼佼者之一。

One of the largest buckets of funding for both the New York and Tokyo subways comes directly from riders. In Japan's capital, companies have flexibility to charge more. It's all fair by distance, so you get your fare at the end. So depending on which system you take, the cost for riders can be anywhere from 170 to 430 yen, which converts to about $1.27 to $3.22. The main New York subways fares are flat, though the LIRR and Metro North prices vary by zone. Right now, about 40% of the MTA's funding comes from the fare box, from what the riders pay to ride. The number has gone down a lot, which is why we're redoing the funding model. Because many white-collar workers have worked from home since 2020, there have been less riders and thus less revenue. This has worsened the MTA's financial situation.

纽约地铁和东京地铁最主要的资金来源之一直接来自乘客。在东京，公司有灵活性来收取更高的费用。按照距离计算是公平的，所以你要在目的地处支付相应票价。因此，乘坐不同的系统，乘客的费用可能在170日元至430日元之间，相当于1.27美元至3.22美元。纽约地铁的主要票价是统一的，但长岛铁路和Metro North的票价根据地区不同而变化。目前，大约40%的纽约大都会运输局（MTA）的资金来自票款盒，即乘客支付的乘车费用。这个数字已经大幅下降，这就是为什么我们要重新制定资金模型的原因。因为自2020年以来，许多白领工人都在家工作，乘客数量减少，因此收入也减少。这加剧了MTA的财务困境。

To help fill the funding gap and account for inflation, prices will increase slightly from $2.75 to around $2.86 later this year.

为了帮助弥补资金缺口并考虑通货膨胀，价格将从今年晚些时候的2.75美元稍微上涨至约2.86美元。

In Japan, public transportation has a reputation for being staunchly on time. In 2017, one commuter rail connecting Tokyo to Sakubo famously apologized for having a train leave 20 seconds early. But the Tokyo subways can face some hiccups. Tokyo Metro posts delays from the past 35 days. In April of this year, several train lines were running about 10 minutes late.

在日本，公共交通因准时而声名远扬。2017年，一条连接东京和佐久细道的通勤铁路因列车提前20秒离站而引起了轰动。但是东京地铁偶尔也会遇到一些小问题。东京地铁会公布过去35天的延误情况。今年四月，有几条列车线路晚点大约10分钟。

In New York City, delays are common. In 2022, New York City passengers waited an average of an additional 64 minutes on platforms cumulatively each month, as well as an extra 18 minutes on the train. But the MTA says that's an improvement. We have right now the best on-time performance of our subway system in over 10 years. It may not be up to Asia standards, but for New York, it's really a great step in the right direction.

在纽约市，延误很常见。根据2022年的数据，纽约市乘客每个月在车站累计平均多等待64分钟，车上额外多等待18分钟。不过，纽约交通局表示这是有所改善的。目前，我们的地铁系统准点率是十多年来最好的。虽然可能不及亚洲标准，但对于纽约来说，这确实是朝着正确方向迈出的重要一步。

We have an old system. So there are things that go wrong mechanically. You have a huge system of switches and interlockings, which require a ton of maintenance.

我们有一个老旧的系统。因此，机械部件会出现问题。你们有一个庞大的开关和联锁系统，需要大量维护工作。

Japan's history of investment in public transportation gives Tokyo the upper hand for its rail system. It would take years, if not decades, a very significant investment in the New York subway system for it to match the levels of efficiency as the Tokyo subway system, because they've been working hard on that for the last 60 years.

日本在公共交通投资方面的历史使得东京的铁路系统具备优势。要使纽约地铁系统与东京地铁系统的效率水平相匹敌，需要进行非常大量的投资，耗时数年甚至几十年，因为东京已经在这方面努力了60年。