3 ms·

If (in theory) buses are shit, slow, dangerous, stuck in traffic, not punctual, don't expect people to use them regardless of density.

by byyll 3y ago

digging 3y ago
And if we had less cars, buses would be less of all of those things.
btilly 3y ago
This is a problem that can be addressed by dedicated bus lanes. But if you're going to have dedicated lanes, then it may make sense to go all of the way to light rail. Also dedicated lanes get push-back from unhappy car commuters. Who tend to have an outsized influence. Many cities worldwide have had luck combining dedicated bus lanes, with "park and ride" lots, and congestion parking in downtown. Now you're providing both carrots and sticks to push people towards a hybrid trip that starts with a car, and then switches to bus in the high density areas. But it is a combination that tends to be politically unpopular in the USA.
- decafninja 3y ago
  My commute route has semi-dedicated bus lanes. They're not exclusive for bus use, but because there are many buses, most car drivers avoid that lane unless they are masochistic enough to plod along behind a slow bus. Which raises my other point - even with a semi-dedicated bus lane like this, the buses are still at least half as slow as driving a personal car on the same route. I blame this on 1.) the bus itself being slow that it barely accelerates up to 20mph before it has to stop again, and 2.) there are too many stops. Having done the route, I would say even bicycling it would be faster than the bus. I'm sure even just reducing the number of stops would improve speeds significantly, but then I'm sure there will be tons of people complaining that the bus doesn't stop within X feet of their building. Now that electric scooters have become so common, I've met more than a few people who now choose to do this commute route via electric scooter rather than take public transportation, claiming it's much faster and less stressful. I believe them. Bicycling is probably not as feasible of an option due to 1.) fitness levels, and 2.) theft risk.

If (in theory) buses are shit, slow, dangerous, stuck in traffic, not punctual, don't expect people to use them regardless of density.

by byyll 3y ago

If (in theory) buses are shit, slow, dangerous, stuck in traffic, not punctual, don't expect people to use them regardless of density.

digging 3y ago

And if we had less cars, buses would be less of all of those things.

btilly 3y ago

This is a problem that can be addressed by dedicated bus lanes. But if you're going to have dedicated lanes, then it may make sense to go all of the way to light rail. Also dedicated lanes get push-back from unhappy car commuters. Who tend to have an outsized influence. Many cities worldwide have had luck combining dedicated bus lanes, with "park and ride" lots, and congestion parking in downtown. Now you're providing both carrots and sticks to push people towards a hybrid trip that starts with a car, and then switches to bus in the high density areas. But it is a combination that tends to be politically unpopular in the USA.

decafninja 3y ago
My commute route has semi-dedicated bus lanes. They're not exclusive for bus use, but because there are many buses, most car drivers avoid that lane unless they are masochistic enough to plod along behind a slow bus. Which raises my other point - even with a semi-dedicated bus lane like this, the buses are still at least half as slow as driving a personal car on the same route. I blame this on 1.) the bus itself being slow that it barely accelerates up to 20mph before it has to stop again, and 2.) there are too many stops. Having done the route, I would say even bicycling it would be faster than the bus. I'm sure even just reducing the number of stops would improve speeds significantly, but then I'm sure there will be tons of people complaining that the bus doesn't stop within X feet of their building. Now that electric scooters have become so common, I've met more than a few people who now choose to do this commute route via electric scooter rather than take public transportation, claiming it's much faster and less stressful. I believe them. Bicycling is probably not as feasible of an option due to 1.) fitness levels, and 2.) theft risk.