"Attractive young females" may be the bellwether of success on new public transit systems, according to a transit consultant who was in the Twin Cities to advise about a planned bus rapid transit line.
"It may not be politically correct to say so out loud, said Alan Hoffman, a San Diego-based consultant, 'but it's what I call the 'AYF Factor.' Attractive young females are the canary in the coal mine of public transit. They're sensitive to safety, and they want to be in a nice spot. If you draw them in, you are reaching a broad market. A whole lot of transit systems, when you look around, you notice certain populations are missing.'"
"He was addressing, in Eagan, dozens of officials involved in the creation of the Cedar Avenue bus rapid transit Corridor -- a project fast-forwarded by the Twin Cities' success in obtaining a major federal grant in competition with dozens of cities. More than two dozen new buses will be added to the corridor from Lakeville to Eagan and into town, and they should be running by 2010."
FULL STORY: For new rapid bus lines, much is riding on image
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