MTV should have a show called "Pimp my Bus".
IMO, no system has a better integrated design aesthetic than LA. From the use of art in stations to design of the bus passes to bus shelters, wayshowing and bus wraps. It has continued to present LA as thought leaders in graphic design and branding, a process that began with the 1984 Olympics that pulled together one of the first integrated design teams (for an Olympic event), housed them in a warehouse and got them to produce quickly and effectively an LA style. The work of the 1984 Olympic design team has influenced design, architecture and product development and design education up and down California over the last 25 years.
I would hope that with Metro's guy being from LA he would see what an importance having strong branding from top to bottom (and giving an integrated design team prominance throughout the organization) has had on making transit in LA both loved and effective and turning Los Angelenos into transit riders.
For me the absolute most important thing Metro could do to improve bus service would be to bring back (on all lines) the Next Bus service.
Building off this, they could add electronic signs along the lines they hope to increase new ridership giving the nextbus info (they tried this at some 38B "the Orange Line with a view!" stops, but doesn't seem to have worked). The signs could offer additional info, like the estimated time to popular destinations on that line.
For me, getting Nextbus would make my bus lines actually useful on the weekends. As it is, it's a total crapshoot.
C -- to clarify, it is the MTA system that has the great design sensibility you mention. Some time, when I reorganize my files this summer post-move (I have already bought one new file cabinet, and likely I'll need to get another) I will try to dig up for you a couple articles from an old proceedings book from the Am. Society of Civil Engineers on transit. It has two pieces on the Rapid Bus system in LA, one by the guy who managed the marketing launch.
R -- interesting points and ideas. Just yesterday--rueing not having my camera--I was thinking about how Metrobuses could communicate messages, just like the RideOn "Ozone Alert Ride Free" messages yesterday.
And since revisiting Williamsburg a couple weeks ago I have been thinking about how the onboard announcement systems for bus stop information could include other information like key attractions.
"And since revisiting Williamsburg a couple weeks ago I have been thinking about how the onboard announcement systems for bus stop information could include other information like key attractions."
That's a good idea, so long as the messages don't get too long. The speakers in the bus can sometimes be a little loud, and I wouldn't want to hear a lot of long messages in the morning. If all it said was something like "Exit here for the White House" that would be ok. Obviously it would be important to have way-finding information at the bus stop to get to those highlighted attractions.
Catoe has said he wants to use LA style livery for buses - different colors for different types of bus.
BeyondDC -- that makes a lot of sense.
Christopher, re my point about LA, I meant to expand it, saying that other public transit systems in the area (other bus systems that complement MTA, as suburban bus systems and the Downtown Circulator and Georgetown Shuttle complement Metrobus) don't seem to have nearly as well designed identity systems.
- http://www.flickr.com/photos/rll...man/2218371011/
- http://www.flickr.com/photos/gre...iver/614262998/
-- although I suppose this isn't so bad.
Fuck sexy -- focus on reliability and frequency first. If you can't count on the bus to get you where you need to be in a reasonable amount of time, people with alternatives won't take the bus -- regardless of what it looks like.
I don't resent the Circulator because it's better-looking (actually, the inside looks really weird/inefficient to me) -- I resent it because 3-4 nearly empty ones routinely cruise past before any 30 series bus appears. And the 30s are the most-used bus line, I think.
And, of course, there's the busses are stuck in traffic issue. I'll be curious to see whether/how much travel times improve once the green light prolonging equipment is installed and the number of stops decreased. My bet is that it'll take dedicated lanes to make a substantial difference.
As for Nextbus, at Friendship Heights it was annoyingly unreliable. It would tell you that there wouldn't be a bus for an hour, I'd start wandering off to look for a cab, only to see the bus pulling into the station, and then run back to catch it.
I thought I read that WMATA had indicated that Nextbus is coming back once they can make it more reliable, but they seem to have pulled out all the displays in the FH terminal.
S -- hmm. Apparently there is a software issue with nextbus. 2. the 30s buses are the #1 line in terms of use, but really it's two bus lines -- the Wisconsin to PA route, and the PA Ave. route going south to the DC border at Southern Ave. Be that as it may, more reliable service on that and other routes is definitely the #1 priority. Although I find your term "fuck sexy" deliciously ironic.
R
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