Let's Rename the Buses

Randy Simes, July 19, 2009

There are political issues in the U.S. that make BRT undesirable. Many places that have installed things like BRT who HOV lanes along interstates have later gone in and repainted the lines to allow regular traffic to once again use that road space. There is no real fixed space for BRT and is often used as a political ploy by transit opponents as something they would be for, which they later intend to be against, or remove. I agree that our bus systems need to be improved and GPS real-time arrival, traffic light timing/priority and more bonafide stations would help tremendously. Unfortunately we can't seem to muster the political support to fund even our current systems, much less anything like this. And it's not as if it's an either or thing, as the cities that have light rail, streetcars and trams often have excellent bus service as well. Seattle is a great example of this as they have articulated buses, dedicated stations and nicely designed buses to go along with their modern streetcars, light rail and even monorail.

Link: http://www.UrbanCincy.com/

Steven, July 20, 2009

It's not that they've eliminated the "negative stereotype" of taking the bus. If you read the article, you'll find the reason TransMillenio is successful is because: "Bogotá removed one-third of its street parking to make room for TransMilenio and imposed alternate-day driving restrictions determined by license plate numbers, forcing car owners onto the system." So, on alternate days, people don't have much of a choice other than to take TransMilenio. I'd love to see the reaction to THAT if it was tried in any American city.