Location Transport

What are issues surrounding public transport today?

I am researching issues in public transport. All im trying to find out is a simple question: Personally, what is the most important issues surrounding public transport, like buses and trains, which you find? Issues can include traffic issues, prices and anything you think can be improved? Please feel free to comment on possible solutions for your problems. Cheers Ollie Hyde

Public Comments

1. 1. Synchronized stop lights (allows major streets to run faster, while possibly slowing down minor streets, so that the bulk of the traffic flows faster). Buses on major streets can run faster with synchronized stop lights. 2. Freeway lanes don't merge abruptly (more accidents happen with abrupt mergers when drivers are forced to rapidly change lanes). Large vehicles have a harder time merging. 3. Urban sprawl of some cities is giving way to high rise apartments (even in Los Angeles where quake issues are mitigated with better construction standards). This creates higher population density, making public transportation more feasible (it is hardly worth running a bus in sparsely populated regions). 4. Alternative fuels and power are keeping air cleaner (propane buses), cutting expenses (solar power charging batteries), and making us less dependent on foreign fuels. Dependence on foreign fuels hurts the US economy and pressures US diplomacy in the Middle East. 5. Bus routes should cross regional borders to link with major transportation facilities. Example: Orange County, Calif buses don't connect with the nearby Long Beach airport. Another example: Buses should link to train stations (so passengers could transfer from one to the other. . . perhaps with a transfer pass). 6. Some buses should not stop frequently, but should be used for longer trips without many stops. This would get people across vast distances near their work, then they could get transfers to their work. 7. There could be discounts for frequent trips along the same route, discounts for students, the handicapped, the elderly. 8. There should be provisions for wheelchairs and bus stops with ramps for wheel chairs to access cross walks. 9. Buses should be equipped to carry bikes (racks on the front and back for the drivers to load bikes). This would allow bike riders get to places where buses don't stop (they could ride their bikes part of the way). This is good for people who want to go to parks or the beach to ride their bikes for exercise). 10. Bus routes should be allowed to change seasonally. For example, in the summer, the beach might be more popular. 11. Seat belts should be required for bus passengers. 12. Transfer passes should be given out (perhaps for an additional fee) to change to another bus (perhaps there should be a time limit for using the transfer). 13. Scan cards might be used to pay fees (so exact change isn't required). 14. Major employers should have bus stops and buses should be scheduled to get to large businesses without many stops along the way. 15. Bus routes should be on the internet and available in print to passengers (and posted at bus stops).