US cities pay too much for buses

(www.bloomberg.com)

355 points pavel_lishin | 5 comments | 26 Sep 25 13:57 UTC | HN request time: 0.001s | source

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SoftTalker ◴[26 Sep 25 14:23 UTC] No.45386831[source]▶

Not sure why transit agencies are still paying for custom paint schemes or colors when they just turn around and wrap the whole bus with advertising. Just buy a plain white bus.

The article didn't mention corruption but I would not rule it out. Follow the money. Whose pockets are being filled when one transit agency is paying 2x what another one does for the same bus.

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crazygringo ◴[26 Sep 25 14:49 UTC] No.45387158[source]▶

>>45386831 #

> still paying for custom paint schemes or colors

Because you need to be able to recognize from a distance, hey that's a city bus. Not a charter bus. Not a school bus. Not a long distance bus.

And buses aren't usually wrapped with advertising. It's usually just a banner on the sides below the windows.

Some ad campaigns pay much more money to extend it over the windows with that mesh material. But that's generally a small minority. But even then the colors on front and top and often borders still clearly identify it. E.g. these are still very clearly public transit if you live there, which is what's important:

https://contravisionoutlook.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads...

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1. SoftTalker ◴[26 Sep 25 16:40 UTC] No.45388447[source]▶

>>45387158 #

School buses are a distinctive bright yellow, there's no mistaking them for anything else. Charter and long distance buses don't stop at the city bus stops. City buses will still have a sign/screen displaying the route number/name.

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2. Jcowell ◴[26 Sep 25 16:44 UTC] No.45388493[source]▶

>>45388447 (TP) #

There’s a difference between spotting a bus at the stop and distance away and the actions you will take accordingly.

You want the bus to be identifiable as possible.

3. crazygringo ◴[26 Sep 25 17:25 UTC] No.45388885[source]▶

>>45388447 (TP) #

Yeah but the point is you want to look down the street and see if there's a city bus a few blocks away or not. If so, hurry up and walk the block to the bus stop. If not, quickly grab a coffee or decide to grab a Citibike or whatever else that depends on that information.

Spotting buses a few blocks away is a crucial skill in cities.

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4. tallanvor ◴[26 Sep 25 17:47 UTC] No.45389139[source]▶

>>45388885 #

It really isn't when many cities have apps that give you real-time information as to when to expect the next bus.

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5. crazygringo ◴[26 Sep 25 18:21 UTC] No.45389491{3}[source]▶

>>45389139 #

So you're telling me I shouldn't bother to take a split-second to glance down the street, but instead...

...grab my phone, unlock it, navigate to the app, wait for it to load, wait for it to figure out my location, wait for it to make an API call, try to figure out which of the two "34th and 7th" stops is the one going in the direction I want (since it's a two-way street with bus stops on both side of the intersection), click on one randomly, confirm from the first bus destination listed that I did click on the correct direction, otherwise go back and click on the other one, and then look at its ETA?

Sometimes it really is just better to use your eyes, to figure out that the bus is going to reach the bus stop in about 30 seconds, and that it'll take you 30 seconds of brisk walking to reach it in time, so you'd better start making a beeline now.

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