I like where this is going. A few points to steer conversation:
1. Confession: I have taken a ride on a public bus in the past year. I did not have a parking spot close enough to my building, so I caught the FCX bus from the Friday Center Park & Ride into campus for close to two months (until I was given a spot on Franklin St).
2. People ride the buses in Chapel Hill. They are free and go virtually everywhere you could want to go.
Here is my view: if the barriers to using public transportation make it more attractive than owning, maintaining and using your own vehicle, then people will opt for the public transport. The major barriers that exist in Raleigh that do not exist in Chapel Hill include cost to ride and higher distance to cover.
This is just hypothetical, but could it be that people opt for trains simply because they are faster and run more frequently? I was willing to bus from the Friday Center to campus (15 minutes max with traffic, buses every 10 minutes), but I was not willing to take the TTA from Blue Ridge in Raleigh to Franklin Street(~1 hour, one bus per hour). Now, if light rail could have taken me from the same point of origin to the same destination in 30 minutes with maybe one stop (at RDU?) then that would have been much more attractive. Taking the bus from Raleigh would have cost me time and flexibility (say I wanted to work out or have dinner with an acquaintance after work. What if I miss the last bus at 8 pm?). Also, there's something appealing about being able to skip all of that road traffic that others are stuck in.
That's not even considering the perception that since light rail doesn't run on gasoline that it is more energy-friendly (I don't know the reality, just perception).
I'm not saying this isn't a worthy endeavor, just trying to explore a bit.
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4 comments:
I would agree that frequency is the number one factor in encouraging people to travel on anytime of mass transportation and of course it needs to be going close to where they need.
I feel like there is something else out there though as well thats factoring in that design might be able to change.
I can vibe with that. It's just not as cool to ride the bus.
I'm just trying to figure out through dialogue what the problem is that design can fix.
What about something that would help speed up the exchange of passengers? Wider exits, more efficient seating arrangement...or arrange the bus into smaller cars like a train. There are plenty of buses with the accordion attachments - just make each compartment smaller and have people get on and off like they were on a train.
There can still be a pay-as-you-get-on turnstile or something.
I would have to agree with both of you guys that the number one hurdle to public acceptance of mass transit is frequency and convenience. With the exception of my first year and this semester at NCSU, I rode the bus every day (multiple times at that) and it was perfect for me because thru the central hub (campus itself) I could go pretty much anywhere within a 5 mile or so radius and all bus routes arrived with the same relative frequency, which was about 10-15 minutes. This works great in a collegiate setting because the ultimate destination is uniform for all clients.
The major problem in a city setting is that there are either multiple inclusive destination areas, or none at all. One 'solution' is to offer a number of routes that cover far reaching areas and all stop at popular destinations within a city. This is what Raleigh currently offers as I see it. The other ' solution' (the one I would tend to favor) would be to offer the same rough number of routes, but tailor those routes to a more confined service area in order to shorten passenger wait time to board.
The problem with scenario 1 is taking an unnecessary tour of the city to get where you want. The problem with scenario 2 is that the client is forced to make connections; however, with scenario 2 the wait time between connections would be greatly reduced (in theory).
So the real question is how to make all of this more attractive to Joe Schmoe. My proposal would be to create a number of 'public convenience' stations city wide that would offer food, uniform shopping opportinities, and perhaps a little bit of entertainment. The idea is to create hubs for multiple 'short routes' to stop at and allow the passengers to enjoy their short wait instead of just killing time and feeling frustrated. These hubs would likely be designed like small airport terminals with archatecturelly pleasing and modern facades.
Also, in keeping with the times, the city implementing this plan would flaunt that their busses (which would have to at least begin as a new, clean fleet) are eco-friendly thus boosting the client's eco-ego. I know for a fact that DC currently implements hybrid busses constructed by GM. Why cool things like this don't get in the news is beyond me. Just think what a plan like this could do for a city's image. This would be a perfect fit for Raleigh too seeing as we have already started to green-up with our traffic light LED implementation.
In closing, I fear that this is more a city-planning issue than a vehicle design opportunity...not to say that the two can't go hand-in-hand. But I do like you're idea Schriebs. Your working with the city of Miami, or Miami-Dade county (I forgot exactly what you did...sorry) would give us a leg to stand on with Raleigh's decision-makers.
Hey fellas, interesting that y'all posted this because I just had my first experience up in NYC with the bus system.
Overall I must say I am with Schrieber in that the light rail hands down beats the bus system.
As for my first bus ride in NYC, i must say it was not pleasant. Though the bus came every 7 minutes, my ride took almost an hour. This was not even during rush hour traffic, which i can only imagine would increase the time close to an hour and a half. This same ride on the subway, maybe takes 20-30, but is a 20-30 minute walk for me to get to the station. So its a tough compromise. Another funny thing about that first bus trip was this old lady sitting behind me. She complained the entire hour ride about poop stains. Yes you heard me fecal matter on the seats, and how disgusting and dirty buses are. It seems a different kind of people takes buses, and as one of yall said above, its just not cool to ride the bus.
This is where we need to change the perspective of what it is to ride a bus. We should look to the Brits who have created the most famous bus of all, the double decker. It actually is very functional when you think about it. Provides the luxury of a convertible with the functionality of a trolley (multiple entrances on all sides)
As for the green buses, look no further than Boone. They have been running (free, which I think all public transit should be, to encourage more riders, that's what I want my tax dollars paying for) on bio diesel, for almost 2 years now. But there are hurdles with that, anything below 20 degrees will freeze the fuel and keep the buses from running.
The main hurdle for buses I think is speed to destination. The attractiveness of the light rail is you avoid all of it. Maybe if we create lanes through the city for buses only, somehow speed up the travel time/frequency.
Just a little of my two scents.
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