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Is there such a thing as being too safe? Jeff Kaufman writes that buses are much safer than cars, by about a factor of 67 but buses are not very popular and one of the main reasons is that if you look at situations where people who can afford private transit take mass transit instead, speed is the main factor. According to Kauffman, we should look at ways to make buses faster so more people will ride them, even if this means making them somewhat more dangerous. Kauffman presents some ideas, roughly in order from "we should definitely do this" to "this is crazy, but it would probably still reduce deaths overall when you take into account that more people would ride the bus": Suggestions include not to require buses to stop and open their doors at railroad crossings, allow the driver to start while someone is still at the front paying, allow buses to drive 25mph on the shoulder of the highway in traffic jams where the main lanes are averaging below 10mph, and leave (city) bus doors open, allowing people to get on and off any time at their own risk. "If we made buses more dangerous by the same percentage that motorcycles are more dangerous than cars," concludes Kauffman, "they would still be more than twice as safe as cars."
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Saturday March 19 2016, @05:54PM
>Very bad idea. Since the driver is involved in the paying...
Really? I don't ride the bus that often, but when I have there has usually been an automated pay station next to the driver, who isn't directly involved at all except to make sure you actually pay. In which case the driver doesn't need to pay any attention except to listen for a nice clear chime indicating you've paid, and stop and tell you to get off if it doesn't sound.
I agree with getting on and off while moving though seems like most buses would be really treacherous for that. Gotta love that old London bus design! It would be nice at stoplights, etc. though - if the bus is stopped, the doors could be open.