Dahon.Steve

As I said before, there are too many people that don't want to walk more than 1 city block for the bus. I'm not talking about a 20 minute walk to the bus stop. All I'm saying is that it needs to be more than 2 blocks between bus stops and more like 4 blocks instead. If bus companies did this you would decrease the time per trip. I think it should be more like 5 blocks per stop but that's just me.

One of the reasons why I like the Xootr kick scooter is exactly for the problem you stated. There are many buses that leave me 20 minutes or more from where I want to go but this adult kick scooter can take a 20 minute walk into a 5 minute adventure! It's better than having to lug a 25-30 lb folding bike.

storckm

I've had that happen here in Columbus, too. I don't ride the bus often--our bus service isn't very practical for getting most of the places I want to go, and I like to bicycle--but it's often enjoyable, and usually interesting. I'm grateful that I rode public transportation regularly when I was a high-school student in the D.C. area.

agent pombero

How much is everybody's fair?

Portland, OR: $2.50 for a transfer (good for 2 hours). $5 for day pass. $100 for monthly pass.

gerv 

$1.75 around town. $48 a month pass.

charbucks

Maybe our blocks are bigger, and that's why I disagree (ours are 100-175 m depending on the direction). 5 blocks might be a 6-10 minute walk for me or you, but could be a challenge for an 80-year-old bus patron.

Bus fares are $2.75 each way. A monthly pass is $94 for an adult or $40 for a low income adult. For senior citizens, it's $55/year or $15/year for low income seniors. Pretty obvious why seniors make up a large part of transit riders.

I-Like-To-Bike

Dunno here, never took it in Iowa.

Back in Philadelphia visiting family this summer I rode the buses and subway for free by showing my Medicare Card.

wolfchild

Public transit fare in my city is $ 3.25 one way, this includes transfers for different routes. All of our transit busses have bikeracks ( empty most times). Traffic gridlock has become a very serious problem in my suburbs. Public transit has improved a lot over the last few years.
City is now thinking of LRT routes... problem is funding. The only way to do it is raising taxes which nobody likes.

zeppinger

A subway ride to any part of Seoul in Korea cost about $0.90 (900 won). This is a huge subway network that could be ridden for hours without reaching it end. Quite a bargain. Buses were about the same price and you could transfer as many times as you wanted within the city to get where you're going. You could also take express busses with fewer stops for about $1.50.

Furthermore, they have long distance luxury buses (fully reclining seats with only three seats per row instead of 4) that went across the country. The five hour trip from Seoul to Busan cost around $30.

Here in East Lansing Michigan the price is $1.20 per ride on the bus with a %50 discount for students (me) and seniors. I have no idea what transfer cost because I have a student pass that gives me unlimited rides for $50 a semester. Waste of money because I rarely ride it but its so much more convent than trying to remember to carry cash with me all the time.

bjjoondo 

$1.75 one way, with a 2 hr. transfer time period. There's a $35 dollar 22 ride punch card or the monthly unlimited pass is $65 dollars. Most of our buses have bike racks BUT, there usually filled up fast!! There's a cheaper cost for, studens, seniors over 60, disable riders, etc. It's not a best system but if your on the more "main" routes it works pretty well, luckly we are on "the" main route.

myrridin

I have conducted numerous transit ridership surveys across the U.S. and one thing seems universal. It is so universal, that I warn all of the surveyors as part of their training session to check the seat before they sit down; inevitably they don't take me seriously and at least one of them will have an up close and personal encounter with a urine soaked seat and in one case in LA a feces soiled seat.

While I do use PT when appropriate, I don't find it a pleasant experience. Here are a few of my reasons:

- Body odour, particularly during the off peak hours, their appears to be a disproportionate number of riders who don't pay much attention to their personal hygiene.
- Loud, obnoxious drunks (much like the serenader in the OP article)
- The site seeing from such transport is no different from the view from a car window and far less convenient for most sites (except for the parking problem)
- Unwanted conversations with people who mistakenly believe they have the solution to the worlds problems or whatever else they feel the need to share(a problem shared with air flights)
- Less security, the increased human interaction required of transit ridership by definition means an increased interaction with a criminal element. Granted the absolute degree of insecurity is fairly low (in most of the U.S.), it is still a measurable increase versus private transport.

gerv 

I take public transit quite a bit. This has never happened to me.

ka0use

and you can put your bike in the baggage compartment.

Ekdog

Same here.

myrridin

One of the reasons transit agencies transitioned from more traditionally upholstered seating (which is more comfortable) to the more common plastic/formed seating so common now is because the latter is easier to clean bodily fluids from and easier to keep from developing an odour. I will admit that most (though by no means all) of the events mentioned occur on the late night surveys. If you really want an eye opening experience on transit, ride it after sunset or other low lighting situation and use a UV flashlight. Basically any florescent material you see will be some form of organic matter....

agent pombero

Yes. Public Transportation is filthy and disgusting, which is one of the main reasons I never use it except in the most extreme of cases. Here in Portland with our Public Transit system, Trimet:

"buses get a detailed disinfection just once a year"

"Preliminary results show that oxacillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus could be among the 120 bacteria colonies found on trains and buses. Commonly known as MRSA, the bug is notorious for rejecting antibiotics, eating flesh and causing pneumonia."

Riding TriMet? Plenty of bugs could be sharing your seat

NO THANKS!

gerv 

Sorry I don't have a UV flashlight...

There are all kinds of filth and pollution in the world. There was a study that examined the interior of new cars and in one case discovered over 50 volatile organic compounds in the interior.

Hope you never get in a car!

myrridin

Equating the single case of presence of volatile organics (which by definition dissipate on their own) with the ongoing and continuing presence of human waste... and other bodily fluids. Something you sit in and touch on a regular basis on public transit--even if the liquid evaporates by the time you ride... truly a stunning level of delusional reasoning. P.S. UV flashlights are very cheap... and very entertaining when travelling.

agent pombero

Today I have to take the nasty bus because my legs are very sore from the ride yesterday......

The last time I took the bus was in June and I hated every moment of it.

The clothes I'll be wearing on the bus will go immediately into the washer when I get to work and I'll change into clean ones from the pannier I'll carry.

enigmaT120

I'll take my chances with buses over those of having kids, anyway. I'm comparing germy environments here. Buses are also significantly safer per mile traveled than cars.

If not for the CARTS commuter buses I couldn't do my bicycle commute, as I'm not up to doing centuries every day. I like them.

UV lights are fun though.

cycleobsidian

Better bring that flashlight to public toilets, and public restaurants as well. Better bring it to any concert, any public bench, any public fountain, any Walmart store (you might not be the first to handle the items), any indoor swimming pool dressing room bench, any tavern seat, any school seat, any grocery cart handle, etc. etc. etc. Organic matter can be found anywhere. Life is full of germs. Deal.

wilfried

Indeed. This is a case of the perception of dirt being social rather than empirical.

gerv 

Yes... exactly. they dissipate into thin air... which the occupants then breath.

enigmaT120

If transit operators ever bought new buses they would be full of the same fumes.

I have been in people's cars which were way worse, mess and dirtwise, than any bus I've ridden. People with kids, mostly, but not always.

gerv 

I guess my Bianchi has a few volatile fumes too. So there's no winning. If ya gotta go, ya gotta go

myrridin

Only if they start using the vehicle prior to those chemicals dissipating, ie when it is very new. As someone pointed out, most new vehicles (including bicycles) will emit those nasty chemicals soon after painting and then no longer appear... Curiously, a new home is an even bigger source of exposure, perhaps we should all sleep on the ground in parks...

Yet, that human waste product is present in most public transport (except for those infrequent occasions when they disinfect). Compounded with all of the infectious material being coughed up by the sick riding the bus/train... So which is more dangerous, exposure to a potentially carcinogenic substance for a few weeks (at most) ever four-five years or being exposed to known disease vectors on a daily basis?