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

Post by adrianN » Mon, Sep 09, 2019, 8:30 AM UTC

msla wrote: post #88

adrianN wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In most countries you don't need to be armed to kick people off a bus. Do you suggest people throw out drunks at gunpoint? That seems really dangerous.

If one person is armed and the other isn't, the fight's over before it begins unless the other person is disabled by drugs or mental illness. If neither is armed, a surprising number of people will think they have a chance against the trained fighter, and some even might. Therefore, arming conductors helps even when nobody walks around with a firearm.

Post by phoobahr » Mon, Sep 09, 2019, 11:49 AM UTC

perl4ever wrote: post #16

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…

"The thing I hate about buses in many cities is that they take longer than driving to get somewhere." In my experience they take within a few minutes of walking somewhere, and perhaps three times as long as bicycling, never mind driving. Perhaps someone will say that this indicates my local bus system is terrible, but I don't see what could be improved about it. If they want to serve the people who actually ride the…

Post by iamnotacrook » Mon, Sep 09, 2019, 1:04 PM UTC

Mordisquitos wrote: post #84

nradov wrote: post #46

The HN demographic skews young and male, so I think many of us fail to appreciate that older people and women often feel unsafe — or at least uncomfortable — on public transit. Increased law enforcement presence and enforcement of decent behavior would do a lot to make people love the bus.

>I think many of us fail to appreciate that older people and women often feel unsafe — or at least uncomfortable — on public transit. Increased law enforcement presence and enforcement of decent behavior would do a lot to make people love the bus. That may be true for the US, but interestingly in Spain (and I daresay in most of Europe) the opposite is true: the prototypical users of public buses are older people, and…

Post by mattkrause » Mon, Sep 09, 2019, 3:59 PM UTC

toasterlovin wrote: post #92

mattkrause wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s manifestly untrue for New York, DC, Boston, and Chicago, etc.

Or is it that personal transportation is so expensive in those cities that even middle class people (who could afford personal transportation in most cities) are forced to use public transportation. I know that's the case for at least New York. Unsure about the other three.

Post by rayiner » Mon, Sep 09, 2019, 4:15 PM UTC

momokoko wrote: post #98

rayiner wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Contrary to what some people believe, the “general population” follows rules and decorum and doesn’t like people blaring music on the bus, or aggressive pan handlers, or people talking to themselves any more than OP does. If they had a bit more money they’d be driving instead to get away from the troublemakers just like OP. And they are the ones who suffer most when elitists insist that public transit (and public sch…

Those people are a sample of the general population. Most of the people on that bus are not blaring music or aggressively panhandling. A small percentage, just like in the general population, are. I imagine, from the above poster's comments, that they have chosen to live in a community which isolates itself from a large portion of the population. When utilizing a service like the bus, or maybe the DMV(Department of M…