As the population rises, public transportation worldwide bears a heavier burden. A look at global commuters and the ways they get to work
Tokyo
Getty Images—2011 Jason AndrewTOKYO - MARCH 17: People crowd into a train headed to Narita Airport following the Sendai Earthquake and Tsunami on March 17, 2011 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Jason Andrew/Getty Images)
Moscow
Commuters travel to work on 's metro system, which carries millions of people each day.Melanie Stetson Freeman / The Christian Science Monitor / Getty Images
Johannesburg
Minibus taxis wait for passengers at a taxi stand. Taxis are still the main form of transportation for residents of Soweto, a group of low-income townships with a combined population of over 5 million.Themba Hadebe / AP
Rio de Janeiro
Cable cars transport commuters living in Complexo do Alemão, a group of slums in the hills of . Introduced in Brazil in early 2011, the cable-car line has become a popular form of transportation for busy urban centers in South America. This particular system can carry 30,000 commuters a day and reduces an hour-and-a-half trip to the nearest commuter-rail station to a 16-minute ride out of the slums.Alexandro Auler / LatinContent / Getty Images
Mexico City
Commuters walk through the Chapultepec subway station during rush hour in .Ronaldo Schemidt / AFP / Getty Images
Jakarta
Commuters pack a train — and ride on top of it — during rush hour.Prakash Singh / AFP / Getty Images
Beijing
Bicyclists commute on Changan Avenue during rush hour in .Keren Su / The Image Bank / Getty Images
Mumbai
Commuters ride in the women-only compartment of a passenger train during rush hour.Kainaz Amaria / Bloomberg / Getty Images
Los Angeles
Friday-afternoon commuters clog the freeways in a city known for congestion and pollution from the large amount of car traffic.Jamie Rector / Bloomberg News / Getty Images
New York City
Pedestrians walk on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. Though the city is known for its subway system, walking to work is a popular choice for commuters.Daniel Acker / Bloomberg / Getty Images
Shanghai
A high-speed train goes on a trial run in earlier this year. The rail line links and Beijing, and the trains are among the fastest in the world, reaching speeds of up to 185 m.p.h. (300 km/h).AFP / Getty Images
Pyongyang
Passengers fill a metro station in . The city's metro system opened in 1973.Hiroji Kubota / Magnum
Bangkok
Traffic in , one of the world's most congested cities.Paul Nevin / Photolibrary / Getty Images
