Originally Posted by
CrankyOne
Which brings up another element where we should be looking to Europe to solve our problems. Buses spend something like 13 times as long at stops in the U.S. as buses in Europe. This is largely due to European being pre-pay so loading is much faster. My NL Chipkaart (chip card) works on every bus, train, tram, and metro throughout The Netherlands. Similar for my Oyster card in London.
A simpler solution is to just make public transport completely free. Its typically subsided from general taxation anyway, making it free is one little step further which encourages people to use it and leave their cars at home. Loads of other social benefits too.