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US cities pay too much for buses

(www.bloomberg.com)
355 points pavel_lishin | 2 comments | 26 Sep 25 13:57 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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dayvid ◴[26 Sep 25 17:32 UTC] No.45388961[source]▶
Worth watching Modern MBA on the inefficiencies of transit in USA. Detailed analysis and comparison against Asian, European and Latin American systems along with private and government run operations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQ3LSNXwZ2Y
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stocksinsmocks ◴[26 Sep 25 18:50 UTC] No.45389779[source]▶
I would also love to know the real reason why US manufacturing seems to be so much more costly than it is anywhere else, even after adjusting for wage differences.
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klooney ◴[26 Sep 25 19:19 UTC] No.45390037[source]▶
The purchasers for buses, trainsets, etc., are bad- lots of unnecessary customization, last minute changes, low volume, etc. This drives down efficiency across the system.
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1. stocksinsmocks ◴[27 Sep 25 00:37 UTC] No.45392431[source]▶
Isn’t that true in other countries though?
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2. rsynnott ◴[27 Sep 25 08:40 UTC] No.45394138[source]▶
RE volume, a couple of years back, Ireland, a country of a little over 5 million people, recently made an order for 800 electric buses over five years via the national transport authority. Meanwhile, the transport authorities in the article, in a country with 340 million people, made orders for 10 and 17 buses respectively.

Now, I think Ireland's extreme centralisation on this is unusual, but the US's approach of having loads of absolutely tiny transport authorities is, too.