New York and London - two cities which would die without their subways (tubes!). Here are some differences I noticed:
Frequency: Hands down London wins. A train every 90 seconds in rush hour. Wow!
Crowd: London is more crowded.
Cleanliness: London tubes are unbelievably clean! The tracks seem to be made yesterday. New York subways are notoriously dirty. Even the mice in New York subway are bigger than in London. I guess they are just Americanized!
Hours: London is a massive disappointment. The subways stop around 12:30 AM or so. That effectively puts an end to night life. Sigh! NY subways of course never sleep.
Fare: The tube is really expensive. At $2 per ride, NY is a bargain!
Express Trains: They are a boon in New York. There's no such thing in London, which means you have to visit every station along the route.
Ease of use: The tube has a slight advantage here. The touchless entry makes a lot of sense. I've seen many a frustrated card-swiper at NY unable to figure out what the exact speed of swiping should be. Also, your oyster card for the Tube can be recharged online. Nice.
The bottomline being, although the Tube is a better experience, you have to shell out more but even worse, the fact that it doesn't run round the clock dampens the fun.
