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In Seattle, a typical local bus trip costs the transit company around $10, while the ticket costs around $3. Running twice as many buses would result in cost o
by xyzzyz 5y ago
In Seattle, a typical local bus trip costs the transit company around $10, while the ticket costs around $3. Running twice as many buses would result in cost of something like $18-20 per ride, which would make it require even more subsidies than it already receives.
- ryukafalz 5y agoDoes that assume that no more people will use the frequent (convenient) bus service than were using the infrequent (much less convenient) service?
- sagarm 5y agoThe "farebox recovery ratio" for cars is also low: taxes and user fees only pay for only ~50% of the cost of roads, at most. The rest comes out the general fund.
- kolinko 5y agoThat assumes the buses would be similarly packed. With a denser and reliable schedule you get more people using the bus and it can actually require fewer subsidies. (In other words: instead of a half-empty bus every 20 minutes you end up with packed buses every 5 min)
- anigbrowl 5y agoI really think the answer to this is to run much smaller and cheaper buses instead of the extremely expensive big ones that only have a few occupants. Shuttle buses cost around $60-70k vs >$600k for a new full size bus. Of course, driver labor is also a significant cost, but I think it's easier to find shuttle bus drivers as it only requires a class B license.
- mellavora 5y agoLuxembourg made all public transit free. Including commuter rail. And it all runs pretty regularly (bus, tram, train)