Our Vision: Begin with better buses
Our Vision
A renewed focus should be placed on upgrading the existing bus fleets and extending service into the new suburbs hardest hit by rising gas prices.
Buses are very flexible and provide broader geographic coverage than rail lines. So, while trains get all the glory, buses do the lion's share of the work.
But, many buses in the transit agencies' fleets are beyond their design life. Replacing them with newer, more efficient buses will improve on-time performance and lower operating costs.
In addition to replacing older buses, the fleets should be expanded so that new routes into recently built suburbs can be implemented.
Attention should be given to making buses work even better. New limited stop "express" bus routes (X55 Garfield Express, X9 Ashland Express, etc.) in Chicago are one great example of low cost improvements that build ridership.
It goes further than just new buses, though. Signal prioritization and queue jumping are other strategies to make buses more attractive. In a number of cases, dedicated bus lanes, or bus rapid transit, should be explored.
Next: Bring back the streetcars