https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674278622
https://carolinecriadoperez.com/book/invisible-women/
If we want public transit ridership to improve, we need to stop making excuses for not improving the experiences of the people who are statistically most likely to use transit.
Any time the topic of safety comes up with public transit, there is always someone, usually a bunch of them, talking about death statistics of transit vs cars. There are multiple forms of safety, different things to be afraid of.
Racism ruined public transit in Nashville. It used to have a beautiful streetcar network and was a rail hub of the USA. But black people, and other non-whites were so tired of being harassed and othered on transit that the community found it's own solutions to the problem. This was often their own transit services, and their own cars if they could afford it. You can even see it in a lot of conversation today. Mention having rail from Memphis to Nashville and dammit do the pearls for clutching come out.
Sexual assault is a very real issue, one that everybody ignores, excepting those it affects. No one wants to be felt up on the bus, or be mastirbated it. Yet it happens, and to say otherwise is to diminish the experiences of people who have been through this. These are things you should be safe from, and things that many people do not feel safe from. And if it's reported, who does anything about it? The rape kit backlog at police stations across the USA are not confidence inspiring. Why would you think the police will do anything about groping you if they won't even process rape kits?
If we want transit ridership to improve, this has to be addressed. We're talking about more than half the population not feeling safe on transit, or on the way to transit, around the stations, etc. It's fun to talk about new lines and new services, but that doesn't account for a hill of beans unless people are safe from the real threats that exist beyond death and bodily injury from car crashes. Safety at transit stations often come up as a reason why people don't use transit. Stop dismissing them and telling them they are wrong. Ask them what can be done to help them feel safer.
Over the last couple of years, I've been thinking about a BRT option to Summit County. I-70 driving is a nightmare for all of the known reasons, and we are spending what will be a billion dollars by project end on six miles of road. A billion dollars to not reduce congestion in any meaningful way, which could fund a BRT service on a half hour, or even 15 minute schedule for years with money left over. All while reducing maintenance costs for a decaying, very expensive freeway by taking cars off the road. Bustang, across it's system, took 200,000+ cars off the road. All of which are risk vectors for crashes and forest fires, meaning the fewer cars on the road the safer the state will be.
With the drunking and smoking culture of snowsports, it seems like we should want fewer cars on the road, too. Which would likely put more money into the bars around the resorts. For many, it would also allow teenagers who cannot drive to be able to partake in mountain sports by allowing them the freedom of public transit.
If the BRT ran the same as the Bustang, would the Park and Rides be adequate for you to use it? What public transit improvements would make it easier for you to use something like this?
The traffic here is obviously not ideal, and the transit isn't terrible. What's the easiest change that could be made to make it easier for you to ride the bus or even use the train?
The WeGo bus network has pretty solid coverage, and isn't that expensive to ride. With fuel and parking costs going up, a 4$ day pass for local trips is negligible. Personally I wish there were better flight station (they won't let me call a spade and spade here) connections and a Parks and Neighborhood ring route that took you to the business areas of each neighborhood, and major parks. This plus better last mile connections with BCycle seems like it would boost ridership and economic vitality while reducing traffic congestion, DUIs, and car crashes.
However this feels like it ignores concerns of things like safety, trip chaining, headtimes, and the like. So what are the easiest changes that you see would need to happen to get you out of paying for fuel and parking, and into paying for a bus pass?
While not everyone lives where there are hills, this seems like a thing that would improve safety and speed limit adherance. I lose several hundred feet of elevation going from one end of town to the other, and being able to set cruise control, and trust it, would make a lot of things easier. Yet I have to either manually put the automotic transmission into engine braking or ride the brakes, which then removes cruise control settings for the flat parts that do exist.
I just wanted to put this out there in case it helps anyone. With most MTB trails being a short ride away from a bus stop, this seems like it will help a lot of people. Especially since you can shuttle a lot of the XC rides in Snowmass with RFTA.
It'll also help roadies who want/need to avoid major climbing, or just want a change of scenery.