Whatever solution to increase competition and bring down prices - great. The solution should also either increase bus capacity and/or bus routes to more desirable locations so people would _want_ and _need_ to take the bus.
Are 40 foot buses the right option when ridership is so low in the states? Europe has small van-like busses but more of them. Sure less people fit on one sitting, but routes are tighter, more frequent, and transferring between bus lines doesn't require going waaay out of the way to a hub to transfer. 40 ft busses are great once riders are dependant on it... Seems like a classic case of over optimization.