In article ,
Cub Driver wrote:


But I think the big deterrent to crime is the fact that the Metro is a
middle-class transportation system. At eleven o'clock it is full of
people in jackets and ties, going home from the theater. Because it is
comfortable, it is used, and because it is used, it is safe (or seems
to be, which is pretty much the same thing).


Sounds like the rapid transit systems in a lot of European cities
(Munich or Zurich, for example; all of Holland; most German cities; and
so on), and with the same result: The systems get used, and once you
get used to how convenient and comfortable it can be for you (and for
your family of all ages) to use them -- to be able to ride point to
point, reading or relaxing as you go, no traffic fights, no parking
fights at the destination, OK for your kids to use by themselves also --
you wish many U.S. cities could get over the chicken and egg problem of
getting to similar situations.