Making Public Transportation Attractive

moving away from "welfare on wheels" and into invited experience

by: Trevor Kupfer

Transportation and design officials the nation over are devising ways to rethink public transit and force residents to rethink it, too. In most areas of the United States the citizens are tightly invested in the culture of the car, feeling almost physically dependant on them and treating them as though they were personal cocoons. Meanwhile we’ve come to think of buses as third class transportation, or welfare on wheels. So by redesigning the experience of a bus ride, experts are also hoping to redesign its users.

START WITH THE STOP

Improving public transportation is not just about the buses themselves, but also the waiting areas and stops. From comfortable street furniture and stop shelters to placement near things to do/go, making each stop as inviting as possible is a big aspect.

MAKE IT AN EXPERIENCE

All of these things add up to an overall “experience” that should be loads better than a car ride, with each day providing different activity options (reading, napping, listening to music, meeting someone and interacting, etc.). Let’s make the phrase “catch the bus” cool.

WELCOME TO THE MACHINE

The environment inside the bus is obviously paramount. It first and foremost needs to be affordable and convenient (practically the definition of public transit). Then we’re talking comfort like soft seating and personal space. And don’t forget about aesthetics from the simple feeling of cleanliness to more advanced items of pleasing music or expensive amenities like TVs.

GOING BEYOND THE STIGMA

“It’s about getting people to get on the first time; that’s what we struggle with,” Eau Claire Transit Manager Mike Branco said, speaking for public transit officials everywhere. “It’s a matter of setting their minds at ease and getting them to try it … and getting over those unreasonable fears. You really don’t encounter the bad things you think of.”

Branco added that EC Transit will have an upcoming event addressing exactly that, as they offer a free day (both educational and to boost comfortability) that encourages people to try commuting to work.