6 ms·
you can't just tell people to "love the bus", the bus has to actually be loveable. No one is avoiding the bus because 'climate change is cool man, fuck the bus
by johnmarcus 7y ago
you can't just tell people to "love the bus", the bus has to actually be loveable. No one is avoiding the bus because 'climate change is cool man, fuck the bus'. People don't ride the bus because it's jam packed shoulder to shoulder, can smell like puke and piss, subsidezed homeless travel while the rest of us need to pay a dumb fare, requires exact change in world ruled by tap-to-pay devices.
And then yeah, traffic and time, but that's not really the core detraction. Oh, yeah, and Uber pool and Lyft rides are nearly as cost effective, when you consider time-to-income it's often more cost effective.
Make the bus an experience that at least doesn't make want people want to vomit and then people may start to take the bus again. As another commenter said, there are countries where busses don't suck, and ergo busses are used.
- rayiner 7y agoWe have a commuter bus from Annapolis to DC. Super nice, air conditioned, wifi, etc. No homeless people. Socially enforced library silence atmosphere. It’s pretty sick.
- askafriend 7y agoNailed it. I'd love to use the bus but it's just not a realistic option given the state of bus systems in most US cities.
- the_gastropod 7y ago> People don't ride the bus because it's jam packed... Yogi Berra? Is that you?
- momokoko 7y agoIf you are not aware, this type of comment is fairly common on HN when discussing public transit. > Make the bus an experience that at least doesn't make want people want to vomit and then people may start to take the bus again. Please do not take personal offense to this, but this type of comment leads me to believe that you have very derogatory views of people that have chosen or have ended up in different life paths. Have you ever considered that it is possible that you live a very isolated and segregated life and that something like the bus is unsettling to you because it forces you to associate with the general population as opposed to your typical, highly controlled, environment?
- toasterlovin 7y ago> Please do not take personal offense to this, but this type of comment leads me to believe that you have very derogatory views of people that have chosen or have ended up in different life paths. Or they just have reasonable views about what kind of behavior is acceptable in public spaces.
- ThrowawayR2 7y agoHaving grown up in relative poverty, if you think any of us in the "general population" wanted to be around the addicts, high, and/or mentally ill riding the bus, you are out of your ever-loving mind. We merely didn't have much choice in the matter.
- linuxftw 7y agoIn the US, government transportation is similar to government housing: you only use it if you can't afford the alternatives.
- mattkrause 7y agoThat’s manifestly untrue for New York, DC, Boston, and Chicago, etc.
- toasterlovin 7y agoOr is it that personal transportation is so expensive in those cities that even middle class people (who could afford personal transportation in most cities) are forced to use public transportation. I know that's the case for at least New York. Unsure about the other three.
- mattkrause 7y agoIf I worked in midtown Manhattan, I would jump through flaming hoops to avoid driving, even if I wasn't paying for parking. That traffic crawls, and it's not exactly a relaxing drive.
- peterwwillis 7y ago> it's jam packed shoulder to shoulder, can smell like puke and piss, subsidezed homeless travel while the rest of us need to pay a dumb fare, requires exact change in world ruled by tap-to-pay devices This sounds like every subway I've ridden in the states. (Although most subways have since upgraded to digital payments, the card-filling stations never seem to work, and the attendants aren't always there, so you can't even use exact change. At the same time, most metropolitan buses now use tap-to-pay)