When judging where it’s easiest to get around, the best has to be New York. There are other good ones, but they can’t compare with the scope and extensive services pr0vided by the buses, subways, trains and ferries available to New Yorkers and visitors.

1. New York: With the largest subway system in the world, cheap public transportation in New York City and its five surrounding boroughs covers just about any trip. Residents and visitors can get quickly to and from work, shopping, entertainment, dining and just about anything else on the subways, trains, buses and elevated trains.

New York is the only city in the U.S. where more than half the eight-million-plus residents use public transportation and don’t own cars. The subways and most other forms of city transportation run 24 hours a day. However, those facts also mean that many passengers during morning and afternoon rush hours must endure crushing crowds, standing-room-only and ear-splitting noise.

2. London UK: The subway (called Underground or Tube) system covers about half the geographic scope as in New York, but it tends to be a bit more well-maintained. The city still has its inefficient, but charming red double-decker buses. Residents going to and from work or shopping aren’t thrilled with trying to get on and off, but tourists love them.

There’s also a good light rail system in and out of the city that serves the suburbs. However, London’s shuts down at midnight, forcing late night revelers to use the creaky old and expensive taxis.

3. Paris, France: Who cares if it isn’t the best in the world, especially if you’re a pair of lovers in springtime. Actually, the subway (called the Metro) is quite extensive, although difficult for city tourists who don’t speak French. There’s also the RER, a commuter train system that takes riders back and forth from the outlying suburbs.

4. San Francisco CA: The City by the Bay’s Municipal Railway system has been running for more than 100 years. It was built just a few years after the infamous 1906 earthquake, and is an efficient way to get around the city and surrounding communities. The elevated train system, called BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit), takes more than half a million regular daily riders to their destinations at speeds up to 80 miles an hour.

San Francisco’s Municipal Railway, which dates from 1912, operates using a range of transportation options, from light rail to the city’s famed cable cars. The larger metro area is served by BART, which connects San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, and other surrounding areas, at speeds up to 80 MPH.

There are also extensive bus routes and a downtown streetcar system that runs underground in some areas. Of course, visitors are most interested in experiencing the quaint century-old cable cars that Tony Bennett sang about going halfway to the stars up and down those steep San Francisco hills.

Of course, there are other cities throughout the world with efficient and easy-riding transportation systems. However, these popular ones add certain elements of charm that make them unique to discerning senior visitors.