CNBC Marathon examines the growing list of problems that U.S. public transit is facing and potential solutions to fix them.

Public transit in the U.S. is notorious for being infrequent and unreliable. Americans had to wait 17 minutes on average to get on public transit in 2022, while 45% of Americans have no access to public transportation at all. And while the U.S. spends billions in funding every year, transits across the nation like the MTA, RTA and SEPTA are finding themselves in a fiscal crisis. Ultimately it’s the riders who are paying for the deficit.

Hybrid work has meant fewer riders on New York City's subway and a drop in fare revenue for the system's operator the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The number of paid weekly subway riders on the New York City subway averaged 3.6 million in June, according to the MTA, compared with daily ridership of almost 5.5 million in 2019. Inflation and transit crime have also impacted subway ridership.

One potential solution is Autonomous Rapid Transit: a cross between light rail and a city bus. Created by the CRRC in China, it’s a cost-effective alternative to Mass Rapid Transit.

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:39 Why The U.S. Gave Up On Public Transit (Published July 2023)
13:10 Why The NYC Subway Is Such A Mess (Published September 2023)
27:34 How An Autonomous Train-Bus Hybrid Could Transform City Transit (Published February 2023)

Produced by: Juhohn Lee, Shawn Baldwin, Liam Mays
Additional Camera: Ryan Baker
Editorial Support: Dain Evans, Katie Brigham
Graphics by: Jason Reginato, Christina Locopo, Josh Kalven, Alex Wood, Mallory Brangan
Supervising Producer: Lindsey Jacobson, Jeniece Pettitt
Additional Editing by: Jack Hillyer
Additional Footage: Getty Images, Newspapers.com, CRRC, Peter Newman, BQX
Additional Sources: TransitCenter, NBC News, SEPTA, RTA, LA Metro

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How To Fix Public Transit In The U.S. | CNBC Marathon