The third Streetfilm in Clarence Eckerson's Boulder series
has a lot of good ideas for cities looking to make bus service a viable
alternative to driving. In the words of former mayor Will Toor,
Boulder's bus system has evolved over the last 20 years from a "social
service" to a mode "that can compete for people who have other
choices." Today, more than a quarter of the city's population rides the
bus every day.
The keys to building ridership? High-frequency service, catchy branding (sample route names: JUMP, DASH and BOLT), and the Eco Pass -- a card that allows local employees and residents to ride buses system-wide for free.
Anyone that reads the Streetfilms site directly will note that Clarence is holding a contest for New Yorkers to "name" city bus routes. Thanks to some aggressive negotiations, I have convinced him to hold a similar project for Los Angeles. So here's the deal, whoever comes up with the best name for an LA County bus line or route will win a Streetfilms T-shirt.
So, fire away Streetsbloggers! Leave your suggested names in the comments section.
My suggestion? Change the name for Metro's busline from Union Station to LAX to the "Green Line" so we can finally have Green Line access to the airport, and at much less cost than any of the other proposals!
Yes, I'm kidding about that last part.
