Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Usage is driven by the business day. The buses run late at night from a public service standpoint when there really aren't many riders. If you are asking what the usage is on peak, it's probably in the 90% range. Certainly the bus is packed and SRO in the morning and evening where I live.
Usage is driven by the business day. The buses run late at night from a public service standpoint when there really aren't many riders. If you are asking what the usage is on peak, it's probably in the 90% range. Certainly the bus is packed and SRO in the morning and evening where I live.
Every seat filled on every route for every mile. If capacity is 2,000,000 I don't think 400,000 is all that great.
I am in favor of public transit when they operate efficiently. 10 people at night is not efficient. The 90% you estimate is great for those times. Public service should not enter into it. Demand should be the only factor. I don't know the breakeven point so I can't give a minimum percentage to keep a route, but disagree with the public service part.
Every seat filled on every route for every mile. If capacity is 2,000,000 I don't think 400,000 is all that great.
I am in favor of public transit when they operate efficiently. 10 people at night is not efficient. The 90% you estimate is great for those times. Public service should not enter into it. Demand should be the only factor. I don't know the breakeven point so I can't give a minimum percentage to keep a route, but disagree with the public service part.
That's the danger of naive thinking. The bus serves several purposes. The size of the system is determined by peak demand. On that measure, the system is realistically very closee to capacity. In some areas over 100% of seating. In my area two major streets a couple blocks apart carry about 30 thousand riders a day.
The system also run to provide transportation for people during off peak periods. Occupancy during those period will always be relatively low. Just as we don't justify road construction based upon midnights useage, we don't measure bus usage based on that time period either thouh we may still run buses for those who have a need for transportation.
Just as we don't justify road construction based upon midnights useage, we don't measure bus usage based on that time period either thouh we may still run buses for those who have a need for transportation.
Apples and oranges if you are comparing it to a bunch of empty buses running around. An empty road isn't costing anything long term becsue it's the overall use that determines the cost to build and how long it will last. A heavily used road might last 10 years, the same road with light traffic might last 20 years. A bus is racking up miles, burning fuel and other costs like paying the driver with or without passengers.
The problem with averages is that you rarely find them other than when used to support an argument. The 1.x kids, the 1.x cars and so on. Find one.
A person letting dishes sit for most of a week because they think some super fancy dishwasher is going to save some water probably doesn't care if those dishes are clean.
Hand washing dishes makes reusing the gray water very simple, no real plumbing involved. In that case, no automatic dishwasher can some close to the water savings unless you plumb it for graywater use and then the detergents aren't all that effective, especially in the household where the dishes sit for a few days while the people wait for a full cleaning load.
Some people can't see the entire picture and focus only on one end of the equation. Water sent down into the return system requires treatment and lots of it and very little of the treatments are very friendly to the environment.
Buses depend on the layout and population of the city. My city of Lafayette, Louisiana is small and so our bus routes and riders are small. I don't ride the bus for two reasons. First, I live at least 2 miles from the nearest bus stop. Second, I work rotating shifts at the hospital and the buses don't run by my work in the evening. I use to live close enough to ride my bicycle to work depending on the weather. Now live 8 miles from work but the roads are not designed for bicycles. Some are so narrow as to be dangerous. Some pass in dangerous areas at night (one route in high crime area and another route passed a popular bar/nightclub). Some larger cities have adapted to the suburban commuter by offering a "park & ride" locations. Drive to these lots which are located on the outskirts of the metropolitan area and from there you can catch a train or bus. I knew a guy who drove a pickup truck with a scooter in the bed. He rode the streets for his job with his personal vehicle so he parked his truck and rode the scooter. Couldn't safely ride the scooter on the interstate in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
Buses depend on the layout and population of the city. My city of Lafayette, Louisiana is small and so our bus routes and riders are small. I don't ride the bus for two reasons. First, I live at least 2 miles from the nearest bus stop.
That's one of the big factors determining the success or failure of any public transit system... what sometimes gets called "the last mile" problem. Transit has to be routed so that it is convenient to potential riders at both ends of of the trip
Quote:
Second, I work rotating shifts at the hospital and the buses don't run by my work in the evening.
That's another. To work well for people, public transit has to run when those people need to use it.
Quote:
I use to live close enough to ride my bicycle to work depending on the weather. Now live 8 miles from work but the roads are not designed for bicycles. Some are so narrow as to be dangerous. Some pass in dangerous areas at night (one route in high crime area and another route passed a popular bar/nightclub).
Cities that provide bike carriers on buses and trains get higher ridership rates. Cities that provide practical bicycle commuter routes decrease motor vehicles on the road.
Quote:
Some larger cities have adapted to the suburban commuter by offering a "park & ride" locations. Drive to these lots which are located on the outskirts of the metropolitan area and from there you can catch a train or bus. I knew a guy who drove a pickup truck with a scooter in the bed. He rode the streets for his job with his personal vehicle so he parked his truck and rode the scooter. Couldn't safely ride the scooter on the interstate in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
Anything that reduces rider friction or frustration increases ridership. And interestingly enough, members of the Millennial generation are far more disposed to use public than their parents or grandparents are. They like using the trip time for using social media, browsing the internet, etc.
But obviously some cities are better laid out for efficient public transit than others, but good, innovative planning can help achieve a balance between cost and effectiveness. There will always be a certain percentage of any city's population that simply are not able to move around freely without a good public transit system, so it behooves local government to seek out the best solutions for the greatest good.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
