Cheers,
L

Lew’s response was incredibly good, I think he answers your questions more succinctly then I would be able to.

“If you want to get people using public transport then you need to get the costs of doing so down.”

That was my entire point – bus lanes are, in theory, one way of reducing the cost of taking a bus relative to the cost of taking your car.

Hi Lew,

Great comment!

That said, two of those three factors could be mitigated by a good implementation. Firstly, time wouldn’t be an issue, since Bnc=Bc>Cc; and secondly, more regular bus users, and more concentrated at peak times, would create economies of scale for bus companies. This leaves only your first criterion, which you imply has some external value (exercise). It’s also more Pareto efficient, since car travel in principle doesn’t get any worse – it’s just that bus travel gets better.

L

1.) To catch the bus was a 20 minute walk every morning. I could have could caught the bus closer but doing so added ~$30/week to the bus fare due to going into the next fare stage. The times for the bus at that stop also didn’t match my shifts.
2.) The bus journey itself was long, uncomfortable and could be late.
3.) Price. I saved myself $30/week doing a bit of walking but it was still costing ~$40/week.

Compared to the car:

1.) Was there when I needed it although parking was an issue – I still got a bit of exercise in the mornings and evenings but not quite as much as using the bus.
2.) The trip was 20 minutes instead of an hour or more. Was reasonably comfortable and on time.
3.) Cost was about $20/week

This all applied in congested times as well as other times and I’ve seen several letters to the newspaper that people find this all over Auckland. The costs of using the car almost never outweigh the costs of using the bus even if you’re paying for parking.

If you want to get people using public transport then you need to get the costs of doing so down.