Growing Pains and Bullet Trains: The Art and Science of Moving People

In 2016, the much-anticipated Second Avenue Subway line opened in Manhattan, New York. It took nearly a century to finish, and it was the most expensive per-mile subway project… ever — a rare new addition to one of the largest and the oldest subway systems in the world.By contrast, half a world away, Tokyo has a sprawling web of commuter trains—boasting the 50 busiest train stations in the world. Yet today, even the busiest lines in Tokyo only experience a yearly average delay of 20 seconds — and minimal incidents.How did Tokyo manage to avoid the friction common in the transit systems of other megacities? In this episode, we examine how officials in post WWII-Japan created one of the most efficient examples of scaled infrastructure in the modern world — and what cities around the world can learn from them.Special thanks to Alon Levy, Sarah Kaufman, Alex Forrest, and Junichi Sugiyama.For a transcript of this episode, visit press.stripe.com/public-transit-transcriptFor more on Beneath the Surface, visit press.stripe.com/beneath-the-surfaceFollow Stripe Press on Twitter @stripepress