Public transport is not popular, even though it exists for a considerable amount of time. Has it reached its top, or is there room for improvement?

Why would people choose to travel by car rather than by bus? The main difference is probably the lack of privacy in a bus. It can be crowded, there’s not a lot of personal space and it’s not quiet. In your car, you can open a window, turn up the music as you like and change the position of your seat.

Another difference is the travel time. The bus doesn’t stop in front of your house. This is a problem that can’t be solved; if the bus would stop at every corner it would take ages to get somewhere. And even if the bus does only stop a few times, it is still slower than your own car.

Then what is the advantage of the bus? There is only one, it costs less in terms of petrol. This is a reason to take the bus for people who aren’t in a hurry to get somewhere, who can enjoy the relaxing effect a bus can have. Longer travel times however mean shorter working times.

Is there any advantage left? The bus is much more relaxing than a car. You don’t have to do anything yourself, yet we have the feeling that we have to spend every minute to the maximum.

What can be done about this? Letting buses drive more regularly won’t do, it is the travel time rather than the waiting time. And the travel time can’t be decreased, either your walk to the bus takes some time. It is also possible to make driving a car less attractive and make roads smaller; but then there’d be a problem with not enough spaces for the huge amount of buses there need to be. Raising fuel prices is a good one, but that won’t make people happy – we care more about ourselves than the environment. Even if that worked, would buses, trains, ( and taxi’s?) be able to transport all those people who now travel by car?

We need something that is environmentally friendly and efficient.. Impossible?