Chicago is in the usa...and while yes its only one inner loop...its still a loop...and the only example of world class transit in the country besides the new york express lines.
MTS was huge . Use to be San Diego Trolley, South Bay Transit, El Cajon Transit, National City Transit, Chula Vista Transit and the of course Coaster and North County Transit. Between 2005 and now National City, El Cajon, Chula Vista South Bay transit was all brought into one name which Violia and transdav which run services for MTS. MtS owns all the properties and rolling stock
Living in Texas, Chicago transit seems like a marvel. Transit success in one part of the country is good for other parts of the country. We all need CTA, Metra, Pace, etc. to do well. The difficulty with getting BRT on Ashland and other corridors can't be overlooked. This should have been implemented long ago despite NIMBYs who can't see past their own inconvenience. Are CTA or other major transit agencies looking into driverless trains? This could help lessen the labor shortages.
As a child of Chicago I get disappointed every time I visit and take the L. Like every city in the USA, Chicago had a great system of streetcars, the L, commuter rail and interurbans. But even back then the L did not reach many areas including the far south side. I grew up during the A/B skip stop express system which worked well and sped up the commute. The few times I took the bus I found it no more reliable than a bus in LA maybe worse. Chicago has the worse traffic in America and it’s high time to make public transit both reliable and affordable. I disagree with this video of a western Avenue line. As long as the street is it doesn’t enter downtown and riders would have to transfer. What about a Clark street line from north to south through the loop.
I like cars and I like my car. You know what I would like more? Not needing a car. I might still keep mine because I like to play around with it and work on it/do some modifications but I would rather be able to get to work and the grocery store without it. Not sure if I could pass up the savings on taxes and insurance by ditching it though. I can't imagine owning a car in a major city -- driving in big cities is so stressful. I'll walk and take the train, thanks.
Buses can be both terrible and amazing. Is not the mode that's the problem, it's how you implement, run and maintain the system that determines the outcome.
Shits a scam Our city is broke. They couldn't plow last winter. All it does is make congestion a lot worse. All speed limits now reduced, lanes are bus only. Bus stops on both sides of a lane. So yes 4 busses can all stop at the same time completely stopping all traffic. And now added tons of new stop lights.
As a chicagoan I agree with a lot here, but the buses while deeply flawed, are easily the best in the country besides new york. SO MANY people use the bus. There is a difference between what happens when a cta train is full, and when a bus is full. When the cta train is full, people often wait for the next train coming literally right behind. When the bus is full, people walk, call a friend, or get an uber/taxi. Why? Simple, busses arent veiwed as consistent enough. The L and subway certainly needs better frequency, but regardless its still good enough that people wait for the next train. We need BRT in Chicago BAD. I can't ever imagine light rail here, but BRT is already somewhat present and very feasible. The 24 hour system is what I love most about the cta, but whats cool are some of the bus connections/extensions to the L. Such as at howard, where the red line ends and purple continues off, there is a night bus line extension thats essentially brt and replaces the purple line all the way to Willamette. Chicago is still the best city in the country in transit/urbanism besides nyc, and they still remain the only two real big cities in the country, but the situation with the cta is really not great compared to before, but thankfully its improving now, since a few weeks ago, and ridership numbers are back well over a million in overall.
Our money shouldn’t be funding death machines and war and people shouldn’t have no more than 10 million in their bank accounts imagine what we could accomplish if our money went to our cities
If only more Midwestern cities could make these types of improvements. Phoenix is going to get slammed by climate change heat wise and already has water issues limiting how much it can reasonably densify.
Honestly just giving it signal priority across the network would be a huge help, its ahocking they havent done that already. Would also be minimally controversial with the public (most people wouldnt even notice) and really cheap.
I agree with some of your points but you'd have to be in straight up denial to call buses "comfortable". Buses have the worst ride of any vehicle short of sitting in the back of a box truck. And that's a reason why they're hated.
It really just depends on the kinds of seats your agency chooses to have in them, this is not a universal thing. High floor buses are known to have much better suspension, however they get extremely delayed when someone with a wheelchair needs the lift which is why all new buses are low floor and only have a ramp which saves time but in return the ride can be a little bumpier on rough roads. You can take this up with your city or town to improve the road quality.
@@realquadmoo VTA, San Jose, high floor and low floor Muni, San Francisco, high floor and low floor MTS, San Diego, high floor and low floor Metro, Los Angeles, low floor CapMetro, Austin, low floor AC Transit, Oakland, low floor Embark, Oklahoma City, low floor Tulsa Transit, Tulsa, low floor ABQ Ride, Albuquerque, low floor
I'm in Ontario Canada, only people who like the bus system here are the bus fanatics. Buses are usually dirty esp York regions viva lines, under supplied TTC depot's, noisy, uncomfortable, and have some of the rudest a-holes you'll ever meet not in a high end German made vehicle. Oh and service cut backs that destroy the logic of using them yrt did it about 10+ years and the CEO moved on to destroy the ttc, now that his job is complete he's leaving there too. I thankfully can take the train to most places, far more clean (they should stream clean though, just yesterday a whole cars seating area looked like it was peed on), quite but still full of a-holes. So why take either? Money, cheaper to ride than park in the major city or even own a car, or drive it. And don't get me started on the subways 😅 2-3 min is a lie for rush hour and last i checked no cars there, plus they can smell like drugs unwashed people 💩 and/or urine, all of the latter could be solved by gov assistance programs we simply don't have... So yea, the system is hated here because of the system and the government, not the cars or being poor, we had a decent system 10+ years ago, and will take at least 15 to get it back.
Thank you for your greenie input, I'm sure the local buses in the US do door to door drops now, and none get cancelled..... you'll be yelling free palastine next.
No, most agencies can’t afford to have a good enough service level to stray from main roads. Even if they could, it’s only getting harder and harder for them to get close to people as car-centric sprawling suburbs are constructed more and more. If we do not choose to improve our transit agencies they are not going to get better.
I rode on a city bus one time. I got on an empty bus, the next stop a man got on ,he sat next to me, ( did I mention there were no other people on the bus? Literally, every seat on the bus was empty). The man put his hand on my leg. I told him that was a good way to lose his hand. Last bus ride of my life.
I live in Finland. The public transportation is very good itself but I never use it. I just prefer the privacy of the car and being able to not plan ahead and commit to my plans
Taking the bus in our city is quite similar to NY dubways and if you ever rode a train in NYC, you'd understand why these buses remain as a last choice for mode of transportation. Plenty of buses in this city but I'll choose to walk even if it's 3-4 miles away cause a lot of the people who use public transportation are rude, gross and annoying. I'm actually going for my CDL B & I'd rather deal with hellish school children than people using public transportation.
Here in England we have an excellent bus network, bus companies operate new, or almost new. So why don't I use them? Simple. I get motion sickness as soon as we set off. I can't even manage one stop.
I'm sorry but buses in the UK are far from excellent. They are good in London and a few cities, but they are awful in many places, especially outside town centres.
@@TheHobohobbit , fun fact 2: I actuality live in the UK and I can confirm you are 50% right. In UK's Highway Code there's such thing as giving a way to a bus when pulling out, but it's a guidence/recommendation rather then obligatory necessity. It's not an offence, at least not the one you can get a ticket for. In Poland it's mandatory and you can get a fine up to 3000 PLN (£580) which is almost a monthly National Minimum Wage (after tax). This makes public transport in Poland much smoother and reliable vs UK.
Same in Ontario Canada, but most still don't, and no cop enforces it when witnessed, at least illegal rights in front of a bus have stopped... But that's caused by the gov being cheap hindering traffic flow by using right turn lanes instead of dedicated sections
There’s nothing wrong with taking the bus as your daily commuter. People drive because they don’t want to be on someone else schedule. They don’t want to get up 2 hours earlier and spend 2 hours riding the bus when they can drive 40 mins. There’s also a lot of tradesman who can’t ride the bus because they transport their tools to and from the job site or because the job site quite literally has no bus stops remotely close to it
Strongly disagree. Last few times I used a bus I've either been acused of being a dealer by some coked up hag. It's been so late I nearly missed my flight even though I gave myself hours to account for it being late. Also when I was younger and used it to go to school the driver just flipped off everyone at the stop instead of picking us up. There is no ac so normally stink of sweat and bo. And they are just terrible, I'm at a point now where I'd rather spend £100 on parking for a week instead of subjecting myself to the bus
Sounds like you need to take it up with your local transit agency and urge them to make positive changes instead of sitting here whining in a comments section.
@@ethantaylor5514 its still a public agency in your area that is vital for many people and even if you choose to drive you should see the value in having public transportation over not having it and strive to get it improved
@realquadmoo yeah I moved away from where that happend. I live in a place with a really good tram network now. So it really just isn't my problem. I myself did complain back when I used the bus and I know lots of people did, but like most things nothing changed. Money comes in from the government for bus passes so the company in charge just doesn't care so long as they have there contract, they aren't changing a thing if it will effect there profit margins. Not saying its right it's just the world
@@ethantaylor5514 no thats not just the world, its just places that are car centric. I am glad to know you live in a place with a good tram network now
I'm guessing you're asking about the SL3 and 7 bus in the clip? They are called articulated buses they typically extend the 40 ft version to 60, some places have what's called bi-articulated, which basically doubles the original size of the bus. Very useful on busy routes as they usually only cost 30% more while offering upwards of 50% more seating and upwards 60% more standing because the middle is usually standing only. That said some morons have thought it was a good idea to throw the engine in the back to save design costs, which is fine for everywhere that doesn't get snowstorms... You know the last place you want to be waiting for a bus that got stuck due to a poor design choice lol...
I love taking the bus in Norway. Bergen has fantastic bus access to all over town, busses go 4 - 6 times an hour, so every 10 to 15 minutes, sometimes every 5 minutes, and you can get anywhere, like across the entire extended city! Norway does bus transportation well near the big cities! (Nothing like the US!)
It's so much better than driving a car!!! People who don't drive cars, just assume that drivers get to rest while driving, but that's simply not true! You have to stay hyper focused at all times, and it is not relaxing at all, only tiring. But on busses, I can basically just read a book, look at my phone, rest, whatever. I take the bus, over driving my own car at any chance I get.
