You may ride on your bicycle in a rush to get to school every morning. You may fight to get a bit of space on a bus or on the subway. You may also watch taxis crawl their way through traffic jams.

     No matter where you are, all big cities around the world have traffic jams these days. Although they all have their problems, many cities also have a type of transportation that has become a cultural icon (文化标志).

     In London, to avoid the traffic above ground, people use the “underground”, also called the “tube”. The city has the oldest and most complicated underground railway system in the world and it is the pride of many Londoners. With 12 lines and 275 stations across the city, the tube is normally the quickest and easiest way of getting around London. In London, you are never far from a tube station.

     New York is famous for its yellow cabs (出租车). They serve as a quick and easy way of getting across Manhattan, where the subway doesn’t take you everywhere. Stopping a cab is easy; just stick out your arm like you do in any city. But, with over 12,000 yellow cabs in the Big Apple, (纽约别称)they also cause traffic jams.

     Since 1873 when the first cable car started public service, the slow and noisy vehicle has been a symbol of San Francisco. Although once damaged by a serious earthquake and challenged by cars, it is never caught in traffic jams and provides better views than the subway.