Edward Glaeser pens an opinion piece on the missing ingredient in the bus riding experience—cool. Not necessarily Mick Jagger cool, but definitely Steve Jobs cool.
Edward Glaeser starts by acknowledging that although buses are more cost efficient that trains, the former wins the public opinion battle, hands down.
So, “For better or worse, the obvious economic benefits of buses won’t win hearts and minds. We need tough medicine on the city streets that reduces stops and competing traffic. But we also need a heavy dose of design — some beauty in our buses.”
Glaeser goes on call out some of the areas in which buses already have an advantage or could be improved:
- “Flexibility and customization are hallmarks of our age of innovation. That should favor buses.”
- “Silver Line buses have no Wi-Fi or style within, and little design outside. Even buses need a little magic to them.”
Read the full story: Boston needs cooler buses
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