American public transport faces a post-pandemic reckoning

For most of the past decade, Doug Anderson, a bartender, has commuted the 40 minutes from his home in Logan Square in north-western Chicago to his workplace in Streeterville, in the centre, on the city’s L train. When his shift ends at 4am he shuts up and heads home. But increasingly, he says, getting back is “a nightmare”. At those hours, trains run infrequently; these days they often fail to show up at all, meaning lengthy waits. Mr Anderson’s journey often takes twice as long. He does not always feel safe on empty platforms in the early hours, so he sometimes carries a knife.