Bus Riders
Civil Rights Complaint for Providence's Kennedy Plaza Redesign
The state's plan to dismantle and reorganize its busiest bus plaza faces allegations of civil rights violations.
Opinion: L.A. Metro Bus Plan Must Put Riders First
A bold proposal to overhaul the region’s bus system will require leaders and government officials who will commit to putting the needs of riders front and center.
The Joy of Public Transit
Public transit, with service to joy, freedom, and virtue.
Many Lives, One Space on an L.A. Bus
A reporter rides the bus in Los Angeles and discovers the interesting, complicated, and sometimes heartbreaking stories that riders bring on board.
Research: Bus Riders Safer Than Car Drivers
Taking the bus might not feel as comfortable as going by car, but according to this research from Montreal, it's safer.
Friday Funny: Souvenir Photos of Your New York City Bus Ride
A satirical post by ClickHole imagines a world where bus trips are treated like a trip to Disneyland.
Two Examinations of the Transit-User Experience
A pair of recent articles examine what it’s like to use public transit every day, year after year. One examines the mechanics of on-time delivery and service—the other, the unwritten rules of ridership.
Should Cities Work to 'Gentrify' Their Bus Systems?
A recent article by Amanda Hess examines whether cities like Los Angeles should be "funneling serious resources" towards attracting discretionary commuters. The article has spurred significant debate.
Winning an Uphill Battle for Transit
Marie Cusick reports on a community driven effort to bring bus service to a challenged neighborhood in Albany, New York.
Transportation at a Standstill in Cuba
Many Cubans encounter difficulties in traveling throughout Havana as well as the entire country.
How To Raise Fares
A couple of weeks ago, I was on a bus in Chicago and noticed something that I had not noticed before- that how you paid to get on the bus affected how long you took to get on the bus. People who flashed monthly passes boarded in a few seconds. People who put in dollar bills got on a lot more slowly, as they fumbled for the right number of bills. People who had to pay change took longer still. So to speed buses’ on-time performance (pun intended) transit agencies should encourage the former and discourage the latter.
What a bus rider wants
As I began to type this, I was on a Greyhound bus somewhere in southern Ontario, on the first leg of my return from Toronto (where I have spent the past year getting an extra degree) to the United States. As I type, it occurs to me to ask myself: what are the interests of the long-distance bus rider? Are they the same as users of other forms of public transit, or closer to those of drivers and truckers? My short answer to these questions is: a little of both.
Faring Well
Wealthier transit riders demand more expensive rail services and commute at peak hours; the poor commute using all modes, at all hours. Eric A. Morris argues that the MTA's new policy of off-peak pricing would help even out the inequity.
Legibility vs. efficiency
One reason why buses are less popular than trains is buses' lack of "legibility": the ability of an occasional passenger to figure out how to get somewhere by bus. While subway or light rail passengers can look at a system map (which is usually present on a station wall) and figure out that a train to destination X shall arrive at their station reasonably soon, bus passengers typically have to invest time in getting schedules, and then pray that the schedule has not changed.
Hundreds of S.F. Transit Stops To Be Eliminated
Municipal Railway officials in San Francisco recently unveiled a proposal to remove a certain amount of bus and street car stops.
Rapid Buses To Serve Suburbs?
A local leader in the suburban Maryland/Washington DC area proposes aggressive use of "rapid buses" in dedicated lanes to accommodate growth, like other jurisdictions in the U.S.
Salt Lake Transit Authority Accused of Misusing Funds
In Salt Lake City, advocates for bus riders have asked the state attorney general to investigate whether the Utah Transit Authority has skewed its ridership figures to gain public support for major investments, which they say is a misuse of funding.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Caltrans
Smith Gee Studio
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
