4 ms·

I agree that 10min is a threshold. We have a bus line nearby that has a 15min interval. It's close to useless for short trips, and I only use it rarely. The bu

I agree that 10min is a threshold. We have a bus line nearby that has a 15min interval. It's close to useless for short trips, and I only use it rarely. The busses with 10min interval are okay. The average wait is still longer than I'd like, but it's not quite as frustrating. But a 5 minute interval should absolutely be the goal. It's probably not possible for many bus lines because of traffic, but for rail and tram lines its not a problem. With a 5 minute interval public transport becomes more appealing than driving. One reason why wait time is so important is that people often need to change lines. If you want to take two busses with a ten minute interval, you have to leave 20min early to make sure you get there on time. That makes driving a lot more attractive...

ummwhat 7y ago
The thing is in parts of New York City 5 min gaps aren't possible in the rail lines even at peak. The reason is traffic in a manner of speaking. The New York City subway uses extensive interlining which means that two or more services share track for part of their route (typically the part in Manhattan). If trains on the shared track are every 3 min, by conservation of mass, trains on the split part need to be every 6 min. NYC also is still upgrading it's signaling system so for now train are a 5 min interval even in the best parts and 10 min intervals everywhere else. There is physically no easy fix.