Grescoe explores the ascendance of the straphangersthe growing number of people who rely on public transportation to go about the business of their daily lives. On a journey that takes him around the worldfrom New York to Moscow, Paris, Copenhagen, Tokyo, Bogotá, Phoenix, Portland, Vancouver, and PhiladelphiaGrescoe profiles public transportation here and abroad, highlighting the people and ideas that may help undo the damage that car-centric planning has done to our cities and create convenient, affordable, and sustainable urban transportationand better city livingfor all.