US cities pay too much for buses

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.

That already exists in MetroTransit in Minnesota. The only company that was seriously interested for several years was Planned Parenthood.

https://www.startribune.com/the-drive-birth-control-bus-ad-s...

This did not improve public sympathies for bus service broadly speaking.

It's a pet peeve of mine that buses in my city have wrap-around ads for a car dealer an hour's drive away. (Turns out all the car dealers in this area are owned by the same people) Then there was that bus which had a supergraphic that made the whole bus look like an MRI machine advertising the medical center.

Personally, I'm not opposed to bus service; quite the opposite. Especially if I could bring an eBike.

However, buses can and should feel safe for everyone, whether you're 5 years old or 95 years old, a US citizen or a visitor from Japan, whether it's 2 PM or 2 AM. In the United States, they absolutely don't. This can be fixed, but nobody has the political will to be perceived as a little mean.

In my town all the buses have a bus rack in the front that fits up to two bikes or e-bikes.

I perceive buses in my town be very safe. I definitely see emotionally disturbed people downtown and near the homeless colony behind Wal-Mart, but I don't see them on the bus.

In Minnesota, we built light rail... with an honor system for boarding.

It got so bad, especially on the middle cars (the "party cars") after COVID, that the middle car was retired and they are now in Year 3 of a security improvement plan.

https://www.metrotransit.org/public-safety

They are also retro-fitting screens into the buses, showing the buses' own live camera feeds, to further reinforce the perception of being watched.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SBd3wno61k

It's still not working in some areas.

https://www.startribune.com/minneapolis-46th-st-light-rail-c...

https://www.instagram.com/karenthecamera/?hl=en

Honor system with regular fare inspection is a good best practice. However it only works when the fines for not having a fare are high enough that everyone knows it isn't worth the risk. If you are checked once a month the fine should be the costs of 3 months pass, though you can work the math in many different ways, just make sure paying for a ticket (preferably a monthly pass!) is cheapest and everyone believe that.

The problem with fining the homeless is that they don't pay, followed by being onboard the next day. This can't be solved without being a little mean.

In 2023, Democratic lawmakers changed it from being a misdemeanor to being an administrative citation, with... get this... $35 for first offense, scaling up to $100 + 120 day ban by 4th offense. More merciful than going through a court system inconsistently, at least in theory. Huge surprise it's not working out.

Homeless should be on a different program that gives them a free pass anyway. The pass should be paid for by the service that deals with the homeless not the transit agency (note that I just forced a lot of budget changes!). The service wants to hand out those passes because it is a chance for them to see what else they can do for those people (who often don't want help and so they need to be careful what they offer vs force)

There should be passes for disabled vets, children, and other poor people as well.

Believe me, visit Reddit for Minneapolis, the most transit-optimist place you can find, and see what they think about their light rail. Full grown adult women won't ride it. Children? That's almost child endangerment by itself.

I have no problem with homeless people getting free transit if they need it. However, the subset of homeless that are consistently riding for free and making nuisances, they may need to be forcibly kept off the train. It doesn't even need to be police action - install physical barriers, requiring cash or pass, and hand out passes to the homeless like candy with revocation for repeated misbehavior.