Buses
Basics
The Bus Network Redesign in Indianapolis Will Be Like Launching a Brand New Transit System
What Indianapolis is doing deserves attention, especially from other spread-out American cities looking to spend their transit dollars as efficiently as possible. The big change is a complete reshaping of bus service, which will be like setting up a brand new transit network.
July 11, 2017
Portland Has a Plan to Do for Buses What It Did for Cycling
Portland officials are developing a plan for a network of "Enhanced Transit Corridors," carving out space in the street for buses so vehicles with 30 passengers aren't stuck in a quagmire of vehicles carrying just one.
June 23, 2017
In Sprawling Areas, Can the Bus Become Anything Other Than a Lifeline for the Poor?
Transit shouldn't just be for marginalized groups. Though it may be a long time before it's seen as an essential public service for everyone in Burlington, some are making exactly that argument.
June 12, 2017
Uber’s Latest Feature Reinvents the Wheels on the Bus
Uber is rolling out a new feature that will encourage people who use its shared-ride service in New York to walk to the nearest intersection, instead of getting picked up at their door. The company hopes that by avoiding looping through congested Manhattan to pick up and drop off multiple people, it will make trips faster and easier -- but Uber is trying to solve a problem that buses solved generations ago.
May 24, 2017
It’s No Red Line, But These New Transit Lanes Will Speed Up Trips for Baltimore Bus Riders
Bright red bus lanes are being painted in downtown Baltimore as the city prepares to launch a revamped bus network in just over a month.
May 16, 2017
Detroit’s Big Transit Success Story Isn’t Its New Streetcar — It’s the Buses
Today is the grand opening for the QLine, Detroit's 3.3-mile, mixed-traffic streetcar on Woodward Avenue. It's getting tons of local press attention, but TransitCenter reports that the Motor City's true transit renaissance is not due to the streetcar, but the city's successful, under-the-radar turnaround of its bus system.
May 12, 2017
Can Memphis Turn Around Its Struggling Bus System?
The current level of transit service in Memphis is bleak. So a week ago, 11 Shelby County public defenders took part in Bus Rider's Day, which Commercial Appeal columnist David Waters called "an exercise in empathy and, as it turned out, endurance" to understand the transportation challenges facing their clients.
May 5, 2017
Columbus Just Launched a Completely Redesigned Bus Network
This week, Columbus, Ohio, became the latest city to flip the switch on a redesigned bus network, changing a decades-old route map in a bid to jump-start flagging ridership. The updated routes bring huge numbers of people and jobs within closer reach of frequent transit service.
May 2, 2017
As Nashville’s Mayor Pushes Light Rail to Win Referendum, What Will Happen to Buses?
sustained Koch Brothers-funded attack. Since then, the city has elected a new mayor and decided on a new vision for transit. Yesterday, Mayor Megan Barry said a light rail line would be the first project funded under her plan, which is likely to go before voters next year. While that moves forward, there is a lot Nashville can do in the meantime to improve its lackluster bus network.
April 27, 2017
Trump Budget Threats and the Local Anti-Transit Brigade Spike Lansing BRT
Eight years in the making, the project was undone by suburban opposition. Now, transit advocates in Michigan's capital are figuring out what can be done to improve transit while their opponents take a victory lap.
April 21, 2017