“Love the bus, Save your city.”
That’s the theme of a new series launched by CityLab, and delivered as part of “CityLab Daily,” their daily newsletter.
They’re not necessarily selling the idea of buses as an alternative to the expensive rail systems such the one that we’re saddled with here in Honolulu, but that’s certainly what the idea of a well-funded and planned bus system offers. But it makes sense even as a companion to rail in a broader urban transit plan.
If you care about how well your city moves, how your local economy is faring, and how the planet’s future fares, then you care about your city bus. And you care about making the bus better. You want to see your bus as a piece of social infrastructure that your whole city can take pride in—a sign of prestige, not decay.
Because it turns out that when rubber-tired fleets are treated as a mighty social good, people willingly hop on. See the Minneapolis “A Line,” where buses are essentially held to the standards of rail service: They get first-go at traffic lights, accept boardings at every door, and stop every half mile, rather than every block. Look at all of the cities following the example of Houston, which overhauled its bus route network in 2015 and saw a 15 percent Saturday ridership spike in the first year; Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and New York City are all taking their cues. And look, perhaps most of all, at San Francisco, Phoenix, and Seattle, the only major cities where bus ridership meaningfully ticked up last year. All have city-wide plans to fund and improve service. What’s been missing in most cities is this type of attention.
The intro essay includes several links, including these:
Washington Post, “Metro is mulling a major redesign of the bus system. But first, officials need to figure out why people aren’t riding.”
The Inquirer (Philadelphia), “SEPTA looks to Texas for ideas for bus route redesign.”
Government Technology, “Bus Network Redesigns Are the ‘Hottest Trend in Transit‘”
Interesting stuff.
If you’re wondering about CityLab, here’s a description excerpted from its frequently asked questions.
CityLab is dedicated to the people who are creating the cities of the future—and those who want to live there. Through sharp analysis, original reporting, and visual storytelling, our coverage focuses on the biggest ideas and most pressing issues facing the world’s metro areas and neighborhoods.
CityLab, originally called The Atlantic Cities, was launched in September 2011. CityLab rebranded in May 2014 with a new site and an expanded editorial mission. The current version of the site was launched in June 2017, highlighting a new focus on five areas of urban coverage—design, transportation, environment, equity, and life—as well as a new Solutions hub to collect the best ideas and stories for an urbanizing world.