Dahon.Steve

This was a very good segment on NPR the other day about problems with the bus. One of the major issues is that bus schedules are horrible! Unlike a train map that's simple with limited stops, a bus map does not illustrate the bus stops and where they are located. You can waste alot of time looking for bus stops based on the worthless map the first time you do this exercise! Should you ever find yourself in a strange town, you can't take the bus because not knowing the route can get you lost real fast.

Bus companies need to use GPS and track all their bus routes, upload them to Google maps and put this on their website.https://www.npr.org/2012/03/29/149625...-to-reconsider

rockmom

I've never found bus maps/schedules hard to read or find. Stops are marked by signs and generally occur every block or two. But I've seen enough people stand on the wrong side of the street to catch a bus going to their destination. Buses have to follow the same traffic laws as cars, so I don't know why they stand on the opposite side of the street. If you want to go to downtown, stand on the side of the street with the vehicles pointing toward downtown. I'm a little scared that these folks usually drive themselves.

SkippyX

I've ridden Houston Metro a bunch of times. Finding a bus stop is never a problem.

Smelly winos and lunatics who want to convert you to the preachings of the prophet of the day are a much bigger problem than finding a bus stop.

kalliergo 

The desire to avoid interacting with people thought to be "undesirables" is one of the major barriers to widespread use of public transit in America. In reality, of course, people behind the wheels of automobiles are the ones who pose an actual danger.

It's not "smelly winos" or evangelists of various stripes who produce a 9/11-sized pile of bodies every month.

gerv 

I disagree with this. The local bus company here does a pretty good job of communicating the schedules. Yes, it's a trifle more complex than the train perhaps, but 15 minutes of investigation will solve the whole puzzle.

On my bus route, there's something moving every 15 minutes during the week days. Not great service in the evening, but then most of my travel is during the busy time.

I think there are two inherent issues with buses for people who travel by car:

1. Meeting up with follow citizens in a crowded vehicle is a bit of a culture shock.
2. Most people find waiting for transportation, even if 5 minutes for a bus, annoying. But this is a learned behavior from driving cars. After a short introduction to buses, you learn to cool your jets, take a book with you and relax.

Dahon.Steve

I noticed that too that people will stand on the wrong side of the street to catch the bus. If you're lost, how do you know what direction is downtown? Many times, people will just board the bus only to ask the driver directions where to get to a certain location. They just lost an hour waiting for the bus and now have to walk to catch another.

Dahon.Steve

Try to do this exercise. I went to the Chicago Transit Authority's web site and by random selection, choose to look at bus #121 Union Wacker Express! LOL, What a name! As someone who's never been to Chicago, I can't tell you where the bus line ends or starts or ends on the map! Since there are no addresses, I have to Google the streets and waste valuable time trying to trace where the bus actually goes.

It appears the start point is "Clinton 540, Union Station" but there is nothing on the map that states this. When I try to google "Clinton 540" in Chicago, I can't find the street?? When I finally Google Union Station, I see there is a South Clinton street but what does 540? mean in the map??? I could go on forever.

Now suppose I was on a street that wasn't stated on the map? How do I determine my position from where "Lower Wacker" or "Post" are on the map. I could spend an hour looking for these streets on my cell phone! It's easy if you live in your town your whole life but try another transit agency and the map becomes useless.

I suggest limited stops and have them posted on Google like train stations are. I can find all the stops on Metro North (New York MTA) on their website or Google. The bus is a whole different story.


https://www.transitchicago.com/assets...edules/121.pdf

Ridefreemc

Good job pointing that out. I often find abbreviations in the routes, but no key as to what they stand for. And as far as jumping on one of our 1 hour headway buses from mid route you have no idea where it goes because the bus stop sign simply has a route number and phone number. So how would you know where the heck route 78 goes for example.

I have also seen the route description with one name on it, but you cannot find that stop on the route map - doesn't exist.

SkippyX

That's all well & good until some lunatic chews your ear off for a half an hour raving about what some prophet on the west side had to say about the mayan calendar and space aliens, or when some guy that hasn't had a bath since soap was invented climbs on the bus and turns the air into a noxious gas.

They've got every right in the world to be crazy and stinky. I just don't want to sit next to someone of that sort on da bus.

I also wouldn't want to sit next to a mass murderer.

We can extoll the virtues of the bus all we want, but face it, the bus is a PITA.

I'd rather ride my bike.

Rx Rider

the transit system in Denver is RTD. Reason To Drive. or in my case bike, always got to any part of Denver quicker on my bike than a bus could. Now in Fort Dicks, I have walked the length and width of the city looking over my shoulder for a bus, never have seen one yet.

dcrowell

Louisville's TARC is lousy. It's hard to get anywhere but downtown without a transfer. The keep raising fares AND cutting services. On the plus side, every bus has a bike rack.

AdamDZ

Bus service in NYC is lousy in the outer boroughs: waiting times are insanely excessive, then 3 buses show up and they all packed like sardines. It's common to wait 45 minutes or more for a bus. Although I understand it's not entirely MTA's fault: it's the traffic conditions, but that doesn't change my attitude towards buses. We don't have bike racks here either and fares are getting too high for what you get.

rockmom

Well, having a map is handy. But generally, addresses increase away from the city center and decrease as you head toward it. Mostly, I think people just never learned how to read maps.

doc0c

Buses suck. Some people who ride the bus suck too. Not the majority, but they make life crappy for the rest. Like others have said, I bike faster than the bus.

hank0604

I actually wrote up a blog post about the bus service in my town recently:

https://hanklegan.blogspot.com/2012/0...faultvmlo.html

I'm like most of the others on this forum: the bus sucks compared to riding a bike. I'd almost rather walk than ride a bus. But I still say it's better than driving.

I was riding in a car with someone a few months ago, and she complained when we got stuck behind a bus. I asked if she'd rather be stuck behind one bus or 25 cars, and she relaxed her attitude a little lol.

I've also found that riding a bus is much more confusing to a novice than a train system. When I first moved to Chicago, it definitely took me longer to figure out the bus routes than the train routes, and I'm someone with a really good sense of direction and maps. I had friends who'd lived in the city their whole lives and could only confidently ride 3 or 4 different bus routes.

rockmom

540W is the coordinate for Clinton, it tells you how far west Clinton is from city center. The map tells you that the route starts at the intersection of Jackson and Canal, or the coordinates of 500W and 300S. You will find that rural areas often only use the coordinates for road names.

rockmom

Also coordinates are on street signs, so if you can figure out which direction to go by looking at the street signs. Knowing this is very handy whether you bus, walk, drive, or bike.

Doohickie

I've looked into bus service a few times. What it comes down to is that the bus service simply doesn't go where I want it to go in a reasonable amount of time. For instance, I rode the commuter train from DFW Airport to downtown Fort Worth. Including a shuttle bus hop from the airport to the train station, it took about an hour to get the 30 miles to downtown Fort Worth. There is a bus route that runs from downtown to a short walk from my home, but to go the 10 miles would have taken 1:45 including waiting for the next (infrequent) bus.

wahoonc

First you have to HAVE a bus service....

Aaron

Dahon.Steve

Thank you rockmom! I would have never figured that one out! It's amazing how no legend was provided.

Dahon.Steve

Speaking of New York City, I happen to like their bus map. This is really what I'm looking for but it's still missing the stops. However, I consider that map to be the standard all should follow. This feature should also be standard for all bus lines.


https://www.mta.info/nyct/maps/busbx.pdf

One feature I like about my transit agency is the "MY BUS" free text service that will tell you when the next bus arrives. Now if only we had a decent map where I can see where all the bus lines go!
https://www.njtransit.com/sf/sf_servl...viceNearByFrom

gerv 

I managed to locate myself near the best bus route in our city. I admit certain areas -- especially the suburbs -- are difficult to maneuver by bus. But in the metro area, there's pretty reasonable coverage.

As well.... even if it took me an hour to get to work by bus, it would seem pretty reasonable if I had a twisted ankle. Reason is that I don't have a car. You could probably enjoy the hour if you had a good book with you.

rockmom

It likely wasn't in the legend because that is just what is printed on the street sign, like in this photo:
https://www.pegster.com/PF11.htm

Mobile 155

I have never been a big fan of the bus. Too slow and too many stops to get you from point A to point B. And at least in my area they tend start the run when people already need to be at work and slow down the runs when people are getting off work. My feeling is they do it for the drivers so they can work a 8-5 workday just like most people. Just my observation. The light rail on the other hand starts early, runs late and provides a table and WiFi. However that being said the last time I took Metrolink into LA there was a woman walking through the car selling Tamales. But I live in the land of the multipal car household and the Bus has to drive on the same street as all of those cars and Light rail doesn't so the bus has a handicap.

Now add to that all the cuts to bus service and it isn't a good option for a lot of people.

Ciufalon

I commuted by bike + metro train + bus for a long time and I ride public transportation in addition to my bikes to get where I am going now. The things that people here in Los Angeles don't like are justified. For instance, people spitting on the bus! People who haven't bathed in weeks making the entire bus wreak! Punks who think they're gangsters disturbing everybody and trying to intimidate them. The fact that the drivers and MTA do nothing about any of this. I was also been threatened with violence on the bus I commuted on every day by another commuter who was mentally unstable. Neither the MTA or Sheriff's did anything about it.

Just like any other business, public services should have policies too. A restaurant might say "no shirt, no shoes, no service", and public services should set some standards too. You never know what you will get on the buses in Los Angeles, other than no response from the driver, mta, or law enforcement, unless you are first seriously wounded or killed.