Location Transport

If you wanted to design a public transport network for a city without one, where would you start?

There must be software out there that automatically plans a route system given the location of vital destinations, bus headquarters, heavy and light routes, etc. Does anyone know the name of any programs that would do this? I don't want to have to code this from scratch. I come from a city with a very healthy bus network. It's a star network. I've moved to a city in Arkansas which has nothing comparable. It's third world. So I was thinking to myself, how hard could it be to design something like that in 2011?? Wish people would read my whole question before giving an answer that has nothing to do with it.

Public Comments

1. You have to start with the politics. Planning the routes is easy, you have to get the money, and that involves a lot of politics and voters and loans, etc. It can (and will) take decades. .
2. I live in Jacksonville, Florida. I suppose star network may be the correct name. We have about 20 routes that converge at one central bus station, so most of the riders go double or more the distance and wait up to an hour to change buses at the bus station = not very satisfactory. Worse the suburbs typically have service only 10 or 12 times per week. My guess is longer routes would be better so more riders could get somewhere without changing buses, and several bus stations, instead of one = the big station is intimidating for newbies. In Turkey, they have a system called dolemoosh. The vehicle holds 5 to 10 passengers, and each tells the driver their destination when they get in. The driver re-plans the sequence of stops for minimum traveling distance (favoring riders who have destinations less than a mile away) and typically delivers you right to your door. It is kind of fun if you don't mind being packed in with a bunch of strangers. You flag them down like a taxi, but it is less costly, as typically there are more than one paying passenger. It is especially good for short distances and you may get to ride for an hour if your destination is ten miles from your starting point. It helps the passengers learn and see the city. The drivers are mostly accommodating if there is a language barrier, and often an other passenger who is bi-lingual helps with the communication. Neil
3. Undergound railway system with star and circular routes.
4. If you do the real math involved, it is much cheaper to provide cheap cars and fuel to poor people than it is to build a public transportation system.