4 ms·

A large portion of routes are low demand and have few passengers. Does an empty bus reduce congestion? I'm not sure what percentage of routes are like this, bu

• dint 7y ago
  By this logic: A large portion of roads are low-demand and have few drivers. Why do my taxes subsidize the upkeep of those roads, and not just the major highways? Low-demand, niche routes are necessary for a public transit system to work for its users. Sure, 80% of my trips might be on 2 or 3 routes. But without access to the handful of routes I ride the other 20% of the time, the system wouldn’t work for me, and I’d need a car to get around. For example: when I take the bus later than ~9pm, I’m often one of just a few people riding it. But knowing I have the option to take the bus late at night is critical to the system feeling reliable. This allows me to live without a car. Hopefully, this effect reduces congestion in my city, as more people are enabled to live low-car or car-free.
• asdff 7y ago
  Feeder lines are important. If they didn't have low demand lines to far flung areas, those people who take advantage of these lines would have to use cars and contribute to traffic by the time they get to the city core with everyone else. Demand predictions are pretty robust these days. Civil engineering is an entire science.