Editorial: Public transportation should be more efficient

“Efficient public transportation” is unfortunately an oxymoron in Pittsburgh.

But on…“Efficient public transportation” is unfortunately an oxymoron in Pittsburgh.

But on Sept. 25, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that groups encouraging development of a bus rapid transit system linking Downtown, Oakland and the East End will meet four times within the next month to gain input from the public. Many groups, including universities and hospitals in Oakland, have already endorsed this project.

A bus rapid transit system is described as a more-efficient bus system that is comparable to a light rail, but with much lower costs. Bus rapid transit systems rely upon extra-long buses, bus lanes and bus stations that display times of arrival.

Despite these perks and the possibility of more efficient transit in Pittsburgh, we do not feel that a dedicated bus rapid transit system is necessary. Pittsburgh’s regular bus routes already have many features of a bus rapid transit system, so we feel that additions to the system would be superfluous.

Pittsburgh already has dedicated bus lanes and highways which allow buses right-of-way and decreased competition with traffic, and one of these (the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway) is a bus-only highway that goes from Downtown to Swissvale; there is also a busway that serves the western neighborhoods of the city.

Pittsburgh’s public transportation problems could be ameliorated by making improvements to the existing infrastructure, instead of adding additional bus lanes. For example, Port Authority could increase the number of times the 61 and 71 buses (which travel between Downtown and Oakland) run per day. Other improvements we think could be made include modifying bus routes to be more efficient — for example, stops which are used infrequently or which are very close to other stops could be eliminated.

Some features of typical bus rapid transit systems could be added to all of Pittsburgh’s bus routes. For example, a feature that many bus rapid transit systems in other cities have is bus shelters that show times of arrival. We think that it could improve peoples’ public transportation experiences to wait at a bus shelter instead of standing under a sign. Showing estimated times of arrival at bus shelters would help students decide if they should wait for a bus or if they should start walking to class from their off-campus apartments.

Another way to improve bus service could be to increase the number of double-long buses on popular routes during rush hour. Students who live in Squirrel Hill probably know the frustration of a bus passing them because it’s full. Using more double-long buses could help alleviate the problem of overcrowded buses without the need for an additional bus rapid transit system.