Buses
Democracy Dies in… Bus Lanes?
Advocates successfully got Montgomery County to consider adding bus lanes to its BRT plan. Anti-transit NIMBYs see a conspiracy.
February 26, 2018
Boston Tests Faster Bus Service Simply By Laying Out Orange Cones
Bus riders got a dramatically faster ride thanks to a one-day pilot.
December 12, 2017
America’s Bus Stops Are Too Close Together
Bus service is faster for everyone if stops are about a quarter mile apart instead of crammed close together.
October 30, 2017
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