How to unlock the transport tower in Cities: Skylines – FandomSpot

The Transport Tower is a unique level 2 building in Cities: Skylines. To unlock it you need to reach 1,000 public transport riders per week in one of your games.

Note: Once unlocked in any playthrough, unique buildings will remain unlocked for new games unless you select “Reset unlock unique buildings” in your game options.

We’ll walk you through the basics of setting up your public transit system and give you some optimization tips to attract more passengers.

basic requirements

In order to build the Transport Tower, you must have reached at least the Boom Town milestone, which can range from 650 to 2,600 residents depending on the map.

The Unique Buildings menu is unlocked at Worthy Village, and Tier 2 Unique Buildings are unlocked at Tiny Town.

However, you need public transport to unlock the transport tower. And buses – the earliest available mass transit option – need the “Boom Town” milestone.

The subway, which tends to attract more passengers and is therefore an easier way to get to 1,000, is unlocked in Big Town.

And since only a portion of your population will use public transit, you should expect around 10,000 residents before you get your traffic tower.

Set up bus lines

To get buses you need to build either a bus depot (₡30,000) or a biofuel bus depot (₡40,000).

They are functionally the same, except biofuel buses are quieter.

Once you’ve built a depot, create routes by placing bus stops throughout your city.

In order to work, each route must return to its first stop. Don’t forget to end the loop by clicking “Complete Line” after placing bus stops along the different streets.

Setting up a subway system

The subway is a much easier way to transport a lot of passengers because they don’t add to your road traffic like buses do. They also cover distances much faster, so your citizens are much more likely to choose them.

To set up your subway system, you first need to build subway stations at different locations in your city and then connect them with tracks.

Next, connect the stations to subway tracks.

You can choose to have your subway system be above ground, underground, elevated, or a mix of the three.

General, Subways are much easier to handle since you don’t have to worry about the rails having to find space around roads or buildings.

Now that you’ve created your subway stations and tracks, use the subway lines tool to assign your subway lines.

Tips for more passengers in public transport

Once you have your public transport set up, all you have to do is wait until you have up to 1,000 passengers.

If you’ve mastered the basics of setting up public transit services but are struggling to get your residents to use them, here are some optimization tips.

Tip #1: Make public transportation free

You can encourage more people to use your buses and subways by making them free through a policy.

Tip #2: Place bus stops and/or metro stations at popular destinations

Offer public transport stops near popular locations such as educational institutions, parks and attractions, or unique buildings.

Tip #3: Offer transportation to industrial areas

A large portion of your commuting numbers will be people going to and from work.

Provision of bus or subway lines connecting residential areas with industrial and commercial areas.

Tip #4: Create a Subway Ring Line

A good option for designing your subway is to build the tracks as a loop covering different parts of the city and then allocate one line that runs clockwise and another one counter-clockwise.

That way, your citizens are more likely to find a quick subway ride to their destination.

Tip #5: Make transfers between buses and subways easier

An efficient way to use public transport is to have your buses pick people up from local streets and then have a bus stop close to a tube station.

You can then hop off the bus and transfer to the subway to reach places further in the city.

Tip #6: Create pedestrian walkways that lead to bus and train stations

Make the use of public transport even more convenient and attractive for your citizens by shortening the distances to their stops and train stations.

Note that even in a city with efficient public transport, only about 10-20% of the population will use public transport.

So reaching 1,000 passengers will really just be a matter of population growth like you normally would while making sure your buses and subways are working as intended.