In terms of commuter systems, SEPTA regional rail is top notch system (by American standards), and in addition to DC, I would also add that Boston, New York, and Chicago all have systems equally, if not more comprehensive than that of Philadephia. But while getting from Philadelpia suburbs to Central City is convenient using public transportation, navigating around Philadelphia neighborhoods without a car leaves much to be desired, especially compared to the aforementioned cities.

The ultimate goal of an effective public transit system is to is provide enough transit options, so that car ownership is not necessary, thus encouraging citizens to rely on public transportation instead of private car ownership. In New York, Chicago, and Boston, navigating the city without a car is easy and convenient because of the density of rapid transit lines. Philadelphia, to be sure is in much better shape than the majority of US cities, in which a car is basically a necessity. But when you compare it with the other old, large, dense, urban cores with layouts conducive to public transit (this is a small group including the aforementioned cities, plus possibly San Fransicso), Philadelphia lags behind.

A major problem with this disparity (good commuter service, bad rapid transit service) is that it tends to encourage movement to the suburbs and away from downtown and city neigborhoods. For most American cities built in the age of the automobile, implementing rapid transit systems faces an uphill battle because the low densities of neighborhoods mitigate the potential effect of rapid transit. The more potential riders are located within walking distance of each stop, the more people will use rapid transit. This is the primary reason why for example, Boston’s rapid transit system sees more than twice the ridership than Atlanta’s, even though has a more extensive system (in terms of trackage).

With Philadelphia’s large metropolitan population, existing commuter and long-distance rail links, and also high population density (again, by American standards), it would be an ideal city for an extensive rapid transportation network. Hopefully, as the slow regeneration of American cities continues, SEPTA will be able to bring in the federal funds needed to construct additional subway lines. In many ways, Philly is on the cusp on regaining its high stature on the US urban totem pole, but I think until they can make some significant infrastructural improvements to rapid transit, this will continue to be a hindrance to its urban development.

Lastly, like San Francisco we are a huge bike city (which has happened in the last 6 years I’ve been told)! We have 5-6 roads across center city N-S and E-W dedicated to bike lanes, which all ultimately connect to the path along the river which again connects the city to the burbs.
PLUS! Philly is huge on car sharing. In addition to ZipCar which is national we have our own Philly Car Share (a non profit car sharing org). They provide like 10 cars within a 1 block radius! So no one in Philly needs a car and most people I know don’t have one unless they live in the burbs….but that’s a lifestyle choice.

I do agree, immediately north, south and west of the city there is a decay of buildings and homes but those are still thriving areas because of the universities in those areas (Temple, Penn, Drexel).

Resources:
Subway/Rail map: http://www.septa.org/maps/system/
Bus (center city only): http://www.septa.org/maps/region/pdf/ccp.pdf
Philly wide transit: http://www.septa.org/maps/region/pdf/phila.pdf

Unfortunately I have not ridden on the SEPTA regional rail, which from what I have read appears to be a very comprehensive commuter rail system. I did however ride extensively on the SEPTA subway and trolley system. Although the infrastructure looked quite dated, it was both fast and clean, however in terms of safety, I’m not sure I agree. New York City is the safest major metropolitan area in the country (just check out the per capita stats on violent crime), and by virtue of the thick crowds, I’ve never felt unsafe on any NY Subway, even in far off areas of Bronx and Queens. In Philly however, there were multiple times when I was one of only a small handfull of people on the train. Generally speaking, I rarely feel threatened riding any mass transit system during the daytime, but I’d be lying if I said I felt totally comfortable being one of only two or three people on the Market-Frankfurt line riding through North Philly. But my main knock on Philly’s subway is its lack of comprehension. It goes North, it goes South, and it goes West, and it even goes East to Jersey, but in between the 4 cardinal directions, there are many neighborhoods which are not covered. Philly is about as dense as Chicago and Boston, yet the mass transit coverage is considerably sparcer. Compared to your average American city, Philly is quite pedestrian/transit friendly. But for a city of its size and density, it leaves much to be desired.

Or you could come visit us in Minnesota!