Originally Posted by
ghettopalmetto
I agree with Professorscott.
Now, I know it's not feasible to put light rail everywhere in Detroit. It's not an all-or-nothing situation, though. Buses will still be necessary, but there are very simple, very cost-effective things that can be done to improve the performance of the system. Many of these items are incorporated as "features" of so-called BRT, but really can be implemented on any bus route anywhere:
1. Proper bus stop signage with route numbers and destination names. I understand DDOT has begun to address this since I've last been in Detroit. [[A "No Standing" sign is a bullshit excuse for a bus stop.)
2. Adequate shelters for waiting, including space for newspaper boxes [[reading is important when you're waiting for a bus or train!).
3. Route maps and schedules posted at ALL stops. System maps posted at major points on the system, showing routes and connections throughout the system.
4. Ticketing machines at ALL stops to speed boarding. I've also been to places [[like Warsaw) where you buy tickets for buses and trams from newsstands vis-a-vis a machine on the street. Once you board the bus [[through any door!), you validate your ticket in a machine. Smartcards are also useful.
5. GPS-enabled buses, with automated stop announcements, and the name of the stop displayed within the vehicle.
6. Dedicated travel lanes.
7. At transfer centers, maps of the transfer center complex, showing which buses board and alight at which locations, and enumerating the destinations served by each bus. Complete transit-network maps and real-person attendants at such transfer centers are indispensable.
8. One of the neat things I saw in Poland that I haven't seen in the States--the bus stop shelters had the name of the "station" [[usually the cross street) posted above the shelter, so that people on the bus knew where they were when the bus stopped. Again, something simple, stupid, cheap, and completely effective.
These should be MINIMUM standards for any bus service along the major routes in Detroit, and ideally, would be implemented system-wide.