Headway

Steve Offut over at CommuterPageBlog posted about how transit systems could benefit from more memorable route names:

I’ll bet you there isn’t a single rider who can explain why those buses are called #2, why there are 6 different ones, why those particular letters of the alphabet are used, and why the 2W and 2T are somehow paired with the other 2’s. The numbering is worthless to the rider (who is, after all, the customer). So here’s a system that not only provides zero useful information but actually provides the disservice of confusing customers.

He points to Boulder’s named bus routes as one alternative:

Many of the buses have names: Hop, Skip, Stampede, Bolt, Dash, etc. The more complete names are things like “Skip Along Broadway” and “Dash down South Boulder Road.” Now that’s useful info to a customer.

It’s true that virtually no one knows the arcane numbering system for their city. On the other hand, the picture at the top of Steve’s post demonstrates the wayfinding advantage of numbers: they’re short, so they can be shown in huge type on stops and vehicle headsigns. There’s no reason you couldn’t use similarly short route names using letters, though.

For example, the RER commuter trains in Paris have four-letter names like PUMA and MONA that indicate the stops that a train is serving:

(photo courtesy Barbara Smith)

To be confident that they’re on the right vehicle on an unfamiliar route, a rider generally needs to check two things: the short name (by looking at the headsign) and the direction (from the headsign or by asking the driver “are you going to X?”). Given this, the short name has to be different from the names of places that the route serves, to avoid confusion between multiple routes operating in the same area. (The Boulder and Paris systems both have this property.)

Given sufficient care in picking the names, I think this has great potential. Cheers to Steve for questioning something that we’ve taken for granted for so long!

I’ve been meaning to interview my friend Anukul (the voice of buskarma these days) about his involvement in Pittsburgh’s Art in Transit program, but it seems that WQED has saved me the trouble:

Art in Transit is a program that turns Port Authority transit vehicles into mobile galleries by filling unused ad placard space inside buses and trains with works from local artists. It’s a great example of how a small amount of funding (from local arts & philanthropy groups) along with the efforts of passionate volunteers can improve the transit experience.

This year’s submission deadline is August 14th, so if you’re an artist in southwestern Pennsylvania, you still have a couple weeks to put your works in the running!

Since we’ve been chatting about the iPhone enough recently, let’s look at some low-tech solutions. How about plain old paper?

A new site called SeptaMadeBetter.org is encouraging riders to print out their own signage and post it on bus stops and rail stations.

This is a great idea: if you can adopt a highway, why not a bus stop? It can be hard for an agency with tens of thousands of individual stops to provide up-to-date map and schedule information at all of them. However, there are people who stand at each of those stops every day, who can notice if the schedule has gotten out of date, or if the map has faded to illegibility, and can post replacements.

Here’s how we could take this to the next level: First, create a web application that lets you find your stop, and then generates a printable PDF map and schedule tailored to that stop. (This photo from a Washington, DC shelter is a great example of stop specific-signage.) The schedule information is key, because “am I going to be standing here forever like a chump?” is usually the main question running through people’s heads when they’re standing at a bus stop. Second, add a measure of pride and accountability by putting the name of the person or organization maintaining that sign on the sign itself, as well as associated with the stop in the web app.

The biggest problem to solve is how to post signs securely and protect them against the elements. This is complicated by the wide variety of bus stops—some might be marked on city-owned poles, some might be agency-owned signposts, and some might be bus shelters that are owned by media companies like Clear Channel! For their part, SeptaMadeBetter recommends covering the printed pages with clear tape or laminating them before posting them. I wonder what other low-cost/low-hassle mounting solutions people could use: a more constructive version of postal label graffiti? Cable ties in service of transit?

Fortunately, some agencies are already encouraging this type of community involvement. A search for “adopt a bus stop” turns up many programs, mostly aimed at cleaning up litter around bus stops. And Bewdley in the UK has (or had?) a program to keep schedules current using volunteer effort. Still, I think this is an area with a lot of untapped potential for forward-looking transit agencies and community-minded riders.