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Public Transit
Sep. 28th, 2025 04:48 pmI think public transit in the US needs some big improvements, especially outside of major cities (but even within cities, there are only a few big cities in the US with anything approaching a reasonable public transit system).
My personal thoughts are this:
Firstly, public transit should be free. Public transit benefits society as a whole, so no one should have to pay just to be able to get places. I think that if it's necessary to recoup some of the costs, additional optional services like snacks or entertainment can be sold on public transit to help offset those.
Secondly, public transit needs to be made more accessible. For one, the current accomodations on public transit, but for buses especially, are limited when it comes to wheelchair seating. I don't think I've ever been on a bus that could accommodate more than two people seated in a wheelchair at a time. I also think there needs to be more transit stops with disability accomodations. More stops should be covered to protect from rain and sun, as well as have seating and places wheelchairs can comfortably fit under them. Public transit also needs to be able to accommodate the immunocompromised. This can be done with a combination of having seating that can be closed off like a mini room, better built-in ventilation, and the option to open windows. This kind of thing already exists on some Amtrak trains but is currently both far too limited and prohibitively expensive.
Thirdly, public transit needs to run way more often. US public transit is very bad about this.
Anyone else have thoughts on improving public transit?
My personal thoughts are this:
Firstly, public transit should be free. Public transit benefits society as a whole, so no one should have to pay just to be able to get places. I think that if it's necessary to recoup some of the costs, additional optional services like snacks or entertainment can be sold on public transit to help offset those.
Secondly, public transit needs to be made more accessible. For one, the current accomodations on public transit, but for buses especially, are limited when it comes to wheelchair seating. I don't think I've ever been on a bus that could accommodate more than two people seated in a wheelchair at a time. I also think there needs to be more transit stops with disability accomodations. More stops should be covered to protect from rain and sun, as well as have seating and places wheelchairs can comfortably fit under them. Public transit also needs to be able to accommodate the immunocompromised. This can be done with a combination of having seating that can be closed off like a mini room, better built-in ventilation, and the option to open windows. This kind of thing already exists on some Amtrak trains but is currently both far too limited and prohibitively expensive.
Thirdly, public transit needs to run way more often. US public transit is very bad about this.
Anyone else have thoughts on improving public transit?