Mumbai ranks in list of ‘world’s best’ cities for public transport. Check here

Mumbai, Maharashtra's capital has featured in the list of top twenty cities with best public transport in the world. The city's Suburban Railways, which was the first passenger railway to be built by the British East India Company, forms the backbone of public transport for a population of 12.5 million. 

The list that has been released by Time Out, the publisher of global city guides. The publisher polled 20,000 people in 50 cities to find out how they feel about their local mass transit systems.

The list showed a not-so-surprising pre-dominance of Asian cities in the list for best public transport system. European cities also took a chunk of the accolades, with Germany's capital city Berlin topping the list. 

What qualifies as great public transit?

According to CNN, public transit is a broad term that includes subways, above-ground trains, buses, trams and even ferries.

To make it onto Time Out’s list, at least 80% of polled residents had to agree that it’s easy to get around their city via mass transportation. There are other factors to consider when traveling by train or bus – namely, aesthetics.

According to Time Out’s data, a whopping 97% of Berliners had positive things to say about their city’s mass transit infrastructure, praising the network for being reliable, comfortable and safe.

Asian cities in Time Out's list

Maharashtra's capital city Mumbai featured in the nineteenth rank on the list. The Indian megacity recently introduced Chalo Pay, a new app that makes it easier to book and pay for transit tickets without needing to carry cash.

Further, seven of the top 19 cities hailed for their mass transit systems are in Asia. Most are in east Asia, with Singapore, Shanghai, and Taipei all picking up accolades. 

It was Tokyo, in third place, that had the highest showing for the continent.

The city’s mass transit was applauded for being well-maintained, efficient and easy to navigate, even for non-Japanese speakers.

The world’s best cities for public transit

1. Berlin, Germany

2. Prague, Czech Republic

3. Tokyo, Japan

4. Copenhagen, Denmark

5. Stockholm, Sweden

6. Singapore

7. Hong Kong

8. Taipei, Taiwan

9. Shanghai, China

10. Amsterdam, Netherlands

11. London, UK

12. Madrid, Spain

13. Edinburgh, UK

14. Paris, France

15. New York City, US

16. Montreal, Canada

17. Chicago, US

18. Beijing, China

19. Mumbai, India