Making buses better

ConserveNC and the environmental community supports mass transit (buses and rail) because it can reduce the amount of travel by car, reducing fuel consumption and production of pollutants and CO2. 


Transit usually comes in two forms: rail and bus. Rail usually comes in the form of light rail, now used in Charlotte, NC on the South side of the city, and commuter rail, which is closer to the currently used passenger rail and is part of the transit plan for Wake County.

Buses have several advantages over rail. It cost much less than rail, it can cover the entire county including areas far from rail corridors, and it is flexible. Still, for various reasons people do not want to ride the bus.

A recent Salon article by Will Doig discusses improvements that would buses more acceptable. http://www.salon.com/2012/03/03/its_time_to_love_the_bus/

Doig was also interviewed on NPR’s “Talk of the Nation”. It can be heard at: http://www.npr.org/2012/03/29/149625725/op-ed-hate-the-bus-its-time-to-reconsider

Several improvements were suggested, such as nicer looking buses, bus stations rather than simple bus stops, and bus rapid transit (BRT) that allows buses to use special lane or roadways to avoid congestion.

The primary point of the article is improving the bus system compared to the rail system. However, the same suggestions applies to areas where there is no rail; the struggle is to get people to switch from cars to buses.