I started this discussion on mastodon, but want to here too. If you could create the perfect bus stop, what would it have? Here are some of my ideas:
β Safety:
- Shelters: no advertisements blocking views. Enclosed shelters must have 2+ exit points.
- Solar lights
βΏ Accessibility:
- A space in shelters for wheelchairs.
- Marked wide paved section for wheelchairs & those with mobility difficulties to board a ramp onto the bus.
- Braille on bus stop signs & tactile pavement.
π²Other:
- Bike racks
- Vending Machines
- Public water fountain
- Tiny library
Do you have more ideas?
Edit: realized the photo i added is ai, but i can't seem to get rid of it so π€·ββοΈ
A bus every 5 minutes makes sense in cities, less so in more rural areas where the bus would be empty most of the times. I would consider a bus every 20 minutes to be enough as a minimum service.
Unfortunately that frequent traffic is only feasible in rather dense urban, or possibly suburban areas.
Our local operator runs huge deficits outside the major hubs, and even that is just for a bus every 30 minutes, most of which are completely devoid of passengers.
Ever used a bus every 30 minutes? They force you to slave your life to the schedule. there are no quick trips as you are waiting 28 minutes for your next trip after buying your coffee. You can get to work but that is about it. no wonder most people don't ride.
give people in that area better service and they will ride. (but probably not in numbers to pay for thth but - only the largest bendein the midele buses can pay for them selves on a reasonable fare.
Yes, for several years, and only because I had no other options. Once I got a drivers license I bought a car & first switched from bus-train-bus to car-train-bus (saving roughly a half an hour daily), but after they put high parking fees on the commuter parking I ditched public transit altogether (slightly more expensive even after accounting for the fee but cut my commute by another hour daily).
With that said, it's simply not feasible in many areas to up the service. Personally, I think the way to go in these cases is focusing on the denser areas at first, ensuring that the service is great and enable interoperability with personal transportation such as cars and bikes so that people can enjoy the best of both worlds.