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America’s Buses Need Our Love More Than Ever (2018)

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Re: America’s Buses Need Our Love More Than Ever (2018)

#31

Post by bigger_cheese »

Thorentis wrote: post #2

The thing I hate about buses in many cities is that they take longer than driving to get somewhere. I think if this can be changed, more people will use them. Cities like Sydney get it right, by having dedicated express lanes on many highways for buses (and taxis). When it becomes faster to catch the bus in peak hour because they can drive in lanes that bypass the gridlock, there is an incentive to leave your car at…

Do buses run to Sydney airport? I usually take the train to the airport and I hate it. For whatever reason the airport line is privatized and they absolutely gouge you on ticket price.

It costs me $22 to get train to the airport (it's around $17 from central station to airport). I can get a flight to Melbourne for ~$70 it shouldn't cost 1/3 of my plane ticket. If there are two people traveling in a group taxi is cheaper and depending on time of day faster.

Re: America’s Buses Need Our Love More Than Ever (2018)

#32

Post by xivzgrev »

Thorentis wrote: post #2

The thing I hate about buses in many cities is that they take longer than driving to get somewhere. I think if this can be changed, more people will use them. Cities like Sydney get it right, by having dedicated express lanes on many highways for buses (and taxis). When it becomes faster to catch the bus in peak hour because they can drive in lanes that bypass the gridlock, there is an incentive to leave your car at…

I agree. The other problem is density which turns into chicken or egg problem. People will ride when it's faster than car. To be faster than car to most people, you need a dense network of bus routes that map to a lot of A->B routes (instead of hub and spoke model where almost every ride goes downtown, you transfer, and go back out to where you need to go). More buses = more money. To justify money you need ridership. And around we go.

Re: America’s Buses Need Our Love More Than Ever (2018)

#33

Post by the_gastropod »

johnmarcus wrote: post #17

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…

> People don't ride the bus because it's jam packed...

Yogi Berra? Is that you?

Re: America’s Buses Need Our Love More Than Ever (2018)

#34

Post by momokoko »

johnmarcus wrote: post #17

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…

If 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?

Re: America’s Buses Need Our Love More Than Ever (2018)

#35

Post by nine_k »

mung wrote: post #26

Busses have to be one of the worst modern mass-transit options. Auckland NZ has bus lanes, so that is fine. But they are diesel. So they are noisy and polluting. Get two or three busses in a row and you cannot see past them. They block entire roads, and really, the have a low head count for the amount of space they take up. I'm not even speaking as a driver, I'm speaking as a pedestrian. Busses really suck.

A large bus on a road takes space of 3-4 cars. With a typical car carrying 1-2 people, the hugest bus uses space more efficiently if it carries more than 8 people; a smaller bus, 1-3 people. Where I live (admittedly a large and reasonably dense city), bus occupancy is an order of magnitude higher at peak, hours.

This is instant efficiency; this does not take into account the fact a bus is not point-to-point, and carries more passengers than its average occupancy, because passengers get on and off along the way.

Re: America’s Buses Need Our Love More Than Ever (2018)

#36

Post by baroffoos »

oakesm9 wrote: post #19
privateSFacct wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This - enforce carpool lanes and give buses priority access. Immediate positive. Secondly and more importantly for me (and I know unpopular) - kick off the drunk / other rule-breakers and anyone who threatens people even if its just a result of mental illness. No one wants to start their day next to someone yelling - "I'll f * you up... etc" on a crowded bus. At least where I am the bus drivers don't do anything from…

Some of this is down to the driver being the only staff member on the bus. They should be fully focused on driving as a bus hitting anything is bad news. Stopping to kick people off just delays everyone on the bus getting where they need to go. If there was a conductor on the bus then they could deal with inappropriate behaviour, but no bus company wants to pay two members of staff when they can get away with one.

Would be interesting to see if we can create self driving buses and have the driver change roles to become payment management and enforcing a safe area in the bus.

Re: America’s Buses Need Our Love More Than Ever (2018)

#37

Post by btashton »

Thorentis wrote: post #2

The thing I hate about buses in many cities is that they take longer than driving to get somewhere. I think if this can be changed, more people will use them. Cities like Sydney get it right, by having dedicated express lanes on many highways for buses (and taxis). When it becomes faster to catch the bus in peak hour because they can drive in lanes that bypass the gridlock, there is an incentive to leave your car at…

I'm a firm believer that we need to get the private busses out of the express lanes. In Seattle it is really bad, all of the Microsoft and Amazon busses crossing east west have destroyed demand for quality public transportation across that corridor. Every day going to work I drive the same route as a Microsoft bus, the current alternative is three busses for 90min best case. This is also the only HOV Lane in the state that is 3+, further limiting carpooling incentives, which I have a hard time not believing stems from lobbying from the companies that run these busses.

Re: America’s Buses Need Our Love More Than Ever (2018)

#38

Post by baroffoos »

denkmoon wrote: post #11

I will use the bus the moment I can have the same level of peace and quiet I get in my car. My commute is not long, but it gives me time to think about things. My experience with public transport is pure unrelenting noise.

Have you tried noise canceling headphones. I have a pair of bose QC headphones that can turn a packed hearing damage level pub down to a fairly relaxing sound level. On a bus with some music playing I can't hear any sound at all from outside.

Re: America’s Buses Need Our Love More Than Ever (2018)

#39

Post by nine_k »

algaeontoast wrote: post #4

In Boston because of traffic, even with dedicated bus lanes, bikes and/or electric scooters were always faster than public transit. Only downside was in the winter when bike lanes and sidewalks were covered in snow / ice.

Another downside of a bike is that you arrive covered by sweat if you try to ride faster than public transit in the summer.

An electric bike solves this, of course.

Re: America’s Buses Need Our Love More Than Ever (2018)

#40

Post by toasterlovin »

momokoko wrote: post #34
johnmarcus wrote: post #17

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…

If 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 pat…

> 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.

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