Spitball fights with first-graders, drug-addled road trips, and the local crazies on the way nowhere: these are the unfortunate images that come to mind when I think of the bus. Although I’m a New Yorker who hasn’t driven a car in seven years, I still think it’s icky to ride the bus and so does most of America. Gas prices continue to rise, yet surveys show that most people would rather carpool, cut back on driving, and crawl naked across broken glass before considering a ride on the “loser limo.”
Why do so many Americans, including myself, view the bus as a last resort? Part of low ridership stems from limited routes and long transit times, but most of all, the bus makes people think of poverty, old people, and other unsexy things. If we hope to see a day when our towns are denser and cars aren’t a requirement, the bus system needs to sell us a better image.
With all the grumpy drivers out there, the conditions for a renaissance in bus ridership are favorable. The Federal Highway Administration found that nearly 70% of Americans want to expand public transportation and less than 40% want to build more roads. Subways are cool, but they cost lots of money. Buses are cheaper and if enough people are attracted to existing lines, the system can expand to become Curitiba wonderlands and then some. Urban planners, city officials, and transportation organizations simply need to put on their marketing caps. If the President of Buses asked me what to do, I’d say these four things:
1. MAKE ME THINK OF THE FUTURE
Remember the old advertising saw: you sell an idea, not a product. Buses are old technology, but a superficial makeover can make me feel like I’m riding something progressive, clean, and future-forward. Paint your buses a bold color. Create a classy logo. Design your signage, website, and ads so you look like a witty modern transportation system instead of a lame community access television program.
2. REMIND ME THAT I’M RIGHTEOUS
Bring on the spin. I don’t want to ride the bus because I’m poor. I want to ride the bus because I’m promoting cleaner air, less congestion, denser communities, and sustainable living. The Truth campaign made not smoking a righteous action against big tobacco companies (and 22% of the decline in youth smoking is credited to their work). Feast on the bus’ environmental benefits and make riding a socially-conscious affair. A clean air campaign emphasizes that bus users are not people who can’t have cars, but people who don’t want cars.
3. KEEP ME IN MY COMFORT ZONE
I don’t have to learn how to use the airport and I shouldn’t have to learn how to use the bus. A good system should be discernible within seconds and expose no difference between the habitual user and the first-time tourist. Create consistent and logical signage, coherent timetables, and accessible maps. Make it clear how I pay before I step onto the bus. Clarify the relationship between bus lines and other local forms of transportation so I can integrate it into my happy transportation world.
4. CELEBRATE THE ROMANCE
Milk the social benefits people score from public transportation. Craigslist.org features a popular “Missed Connections” section containing messages from people who felt a little spark during their commute and hope to find their commuter crush across the interweb. What does this mean? Public transportation is chock full of cute girls and cute boys! Cars are not! Facilitate these fantasies on your site and you’ll make drivers seem like the losers who stayed home on Saturday night.
