Fewer Bus Stops & Walkability

 Why America Needs Fewer Bus Stops at Works in Progress.

Bus stop balancing involves strategically increasing the distance between stops from 700–800 feet (roughly 210–240 meters; there are 3.2 feet in a meter), common in older American cities or in London, to 1,300 feet, closer to the typical spacing in Western Europe, such as in Hanover, Germany. Unlike many transit improvements, stop balancing can be implemented quickly, cheaply, and independently by transit agencies. By removing signs and updating schedules, transit agencies can deliver faster service, better reliability, and more service with the same resources.

In Northeastern cities especially, most people can get to a bus stop within a hundred meters, because different routes can take you to similar destinations. Four blocks feels like a mile to a tourist, but to a resident it's a comfortable distance that does not involve going up and down flights of stair and escalators for a subway.

Relatedly, the desire for walkability in neighborhoods is up against more friction that it used to be.  Houses and properties are larger but have fewer people in them, reducing the density that a retail store might need to stay operative. "Corner stores," similar to what we would call convenience stores now were ubiquitous in small cities when I was young, as were barber shops, churches, schools, music teachers, tenement apartments, and postal dropboxes. It was all walkable not only because we expected to walk more, but because the density allowed it. This remained true even in suburbs built around small-town centers, as many up here were. Not many in the neighborhood I lived in until 2020 walked the mile into town for milk or to have a beer, but I did. Online ordering means fewer customers on foot as well. We want contradictory things in our lives.