America's stigma of riding buses. (Atlanta, Duluth: middle-class, rental, home)

[StAubin]

Isn't there plans for BRT on Piedmont?

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by StAubin

Isn't there plans for BRT on Piedmont?

Yes, as well as along Moreland Ave south and us 278 west to Douglasville. The #5 bus on Piedmont/Roswell Rd is always packed.

[BobKovacs]

Originally Posted by cqholt

This article Race, Class, and the Stigma of Riding the Bus in America - Commute - The Atlantic Cities perfect portraits why more buses instead of LRT or HRT will not work in attracting middle to high income earners. Some white people feel too good to ride a bus and this is why transportation planners build streetcars and LRT instead of more buses, that and buses get caught in traffic congestion unless it has its own lane, then its a BRT. Middle to high income earners will ride rail-based transit.

Middle to high income earners will ride buses too, provided there's a benefit to doing so.

As I've stated in other threads, there are buses that run from Cherokee County to downtown, and they're pretty full. For them to be beneficial, though, they've got to be convenient to your start and end points, and they have to work with your schedule. Ideally, they'd have dedicated lanes so they don't get stuck in the same traffic as the cars, since that somewhat lessens the benefit of taking the bus.

There are tons of buses that ferry people into NYC every day from areas that aren't convenient for rail transit. They work better there because:

a) They're usually direct routes from Park-and-Ride lots- no changing buses, no stopping every 5 blocks to pick up more people, so you don't spend 2 hours on a bus trip that would only take an hour in your car.

b) They have dedicated lanes through the tunnels into the city, so you're saving time vs sitting in line at the tunnels in your car.

c) Once you get to the city, there's a subway system that can get you just about anywhere you need to go. If a bus doesn't take you to within a reasonable distance of your final destination, it's not going to be used.

I don't think its as much of a "buses are only for the poor" or "I don't ride the bus because I'm white" thing as it's being made out to be.

[cittic10]

Choke off the roadways and attitudes will change.
That's my proposal. No more road capacity. Put in BRT.
People will start to think twice about living far out or they have to come to terms with either taking the bus and getting to work in 25 minutes or take their car and get to work in 2 hours.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

Middle to high income earners will ride buses too, provided there's a benefit to doing so.

No doubt about it.

[FlyiMetro]

I'm one of those guys that loves the trains & hates the bus. It just seems bus riders are always the worst group of people.

[cqholt]

I'm one of those guys that loves the trains & hates the bus. It just seems bus riders are always the worst group of people.

Well that's being harsh & judgmental. Working class people ride the bus to jobs not located next to train stations. As I Stated before the #5 bus is standing room only during rush hour.

[mattee01]

Originally Posted by cittic10

Choke off the roadways and attitudes will change.
That's my proposal. No more road capacity. Put in BRT.
People will start to think twice about living far out or they have to come to terms with either taking the bus and getting to work in 25 minutes or take their car and get to work in 2 hours.

Absolutely! If I was managing the GDOT I would never fund a roadway before making sure buses had every possible prority over a car in every circumstance. Cars are a luxury and driving is a priviliage...we simply can not keep adding lanes and roads and from a fiscal point of view, it makes a lot more sense to plan to make transit good for as many as possible instead of attaching every part of the state to a driveway.

[cqholt]

They have dedicated lanes through the tunnels into the city, so you're saving time vs sitting in line at the tunnels in your car.

People here would complain that your taking away a lane their taxes paid for.

Cars are a luxury and driving is a priviliage

Amen.

Absolutely! If I was managing the GDOT I would never fund a roadway before making sure buses had every possible prority over a car in every circumstance.

To ease congestion on 75 and 575, add a BRT Lane with stations that have Park-and-Ride lots.

[arjay57]

I'll have to admit my enthusiasm for the bus is limited to about 20-30 or minutes. If you have to sit there much longer than that and thing starts rambling through neighborhoods and making a zillion stops, it's just easier to drive.