The Wrong Solution to the Right Problem: Articulated Buses

The state of public transit in Richmond may not be strong, but we are more fortunate than many US cities of our size to be served by the Greater Richmond Transit Company, or GRTC. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, GRTC has outperformed many other systems, in part because of the “Zero Fare” policy instituted during the pandemic, and in part because of a clever and successful redesign of the bus routes in the years before it. The centerpiece of the redesigned system is the Pulse, a BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) line that runs down Broad Street. The Pulse has exceeded ridership expectations and changed the way many people view the system. (As a regular rider myself, I am grateful for this transformative change.)

More recently, as ridership has grown and buses have become crowded at peak times, GRTC announced their intention to add articulated buses to their fleet. Articulated buses are longer than typical buses, and therefore hold more passengers. If demand is high, increase supply: it’s an intuitive idea. But is it the best solution to this very real problem? No. 

There are two principal ways to increase the number of riders on a transit route. The first is to increase the capacity of the vehicle – the number of people that can ride on each bus, train, or boat. This can be done by increasing the size of the vehicle, or by changing the interior organization of the vehicle. In subways, for example, there are a mixture of seated and standing areas. Standing areas can contain a larger density of people than seated areas. GRTC is seeking to increase the capacity on the Pulse by increasing the size of their buses.

The second way of increasing the number of riders is to increase the frequency of service. For example, to carry 100 people in an hour, you could have one bus that carries 100 people once an hour, or four buses that carry 25 people once every 15 minutes. 

Which is better? Generally, and in the case of the Pulse, its increased frequency. That’s because increased frequency improves the experience of riders every day – it makes transit better. The more frequent the bus service, the less planning riders have to do to catch a bus, and less time they waste waiting for buses to arrive. Increased frequency makes the experience of catching a bus more pleasant and convenient. Everyday, thousands of people think to themselves “I wish the bus was coming sooner.” No one has ever thought “I wish this bus was longer.”

On top of that, articulated buses have a number of well-known problems. Although they have three doors as opposed to two for a typical 40-foot bus, boarding can take longer. Due to their size, they don’t make sharp turns as well, and they cannot fit on as many streets as shorter buses, making them less flexible and harder to re-deploy as transit needs change. Longer buses also require longer stations, and the cost of upgrading the existing Pulse stations on Broad Street is considerable.

Articulated buses are also more accident prone. In London, articulated buses were found to be five times more likely to be involved in an accident than other buses in their fleet. The large buses are more difficult to control, causing stress for the drivers and putting pedestrians in danger. In addition to these safety issues, many riders simply displiked the experience of riding these buses. Articulated buses were ultimately eliminated from London’s fleet, and replaced entirely with conventional buses. Articulated buses may be the best solution in highly crowded routes where frequency is already very high – every 5 minutes or better, for example – but the Pulse isn’t even near that mark yet.

GRTC is making a mistake in transitioning the Pulse to articulated buses while frequency remains low, by the standards of rapid transit systems. For inspiration, we need only look back to GRTC’s 2018 system redesign, which has been successful precisely because it prioritized frequency above all. Admittedly, hiring new drivers has been difficult given the nation-wide labor crunch. But will making the job of drivers harder by giving them a bulkier and more dangerous vehicle to operate make it any easier to find new recruits?

Clearly, crowding on the Pulse is a problem, but it is also an opportunity. Let’s solve it in a way that improves the experience of transit riders every day, rather than investing millions in a technology that brings with it a whole new set of problems. Let’s increase frequency. 

Don O’Keefe

Photograph courtesy of Echo • Inshade Media, provided under Creative Commons License CC BY-NC 2.0.