Portland, Oregon

Finding an alternative to driving, commuters on bicycles pump toward downtown Portland, Ore., as a bus trundles alongside. In a town whose solar-powered parking meters bespeak a green mind-set, another incentive to ditch the car is a convenient streetcar line that links downtown and several inviting neighborhoods. Useful for residents and tourists alike, it the streetcar system costs a mere $1.70 to ride all day — or nothing if you stick to downtown’s “fareless square” — and complements a regional commuter train called MAX.