We can also make the bus smaller. And to give the passengers more agency, we can let them drive it. Instead of paying bus fare every time they board, they can pay a larger up-front cost for this bus, and of course, ongoing gas & maintenance. To make sure they don't pose a danger to others, they can also purchase insurance, and of course have some sort of license to operate it.
replyWe can't forget to add more lanes to support all of these new buses on the road, we need to keep our drive time low!
replyNot to mention we need places to park these buses. We should require every commercial location to have multi-level parking decks so that there is ample parking.
replyThat's ludicrous. Think of the property values that would be decreased by thusly besmirching the precious skyline! Instead, we should mandate that people build out, wider & longer, rather than taller. Commercial locations should have parking lots for these microbuses (should really come up with a better name for them, too.)
replyWe should also quadruple the road space, so that these buses don't just sit in gridlock all day.
replyWhere I live, the bus line that serves me only has maybe one marked stop. There's a bus depot at the ferry; every where else, you can just stand on the side of the road and wave your hand when the bus comes by and it'll stop for you; when you want to get off on your way home from the ferry, you push the button and let the driver know where to stop.
replyBut that only works because density is low and there's only one plausible destination.
Most optimization is a curve. Arguing for moving closer to the top of the curve is not the same as arguing for moving all the way to the minima on the other side. But why do I have to say that?
replySome bus systems actually essentially do this for a fraction of buses.
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