Maximizing Transit Efficiency Through Inconspicuous Operational Upgrades

Yes, NIMBYs are terrible. From Montreal to San Diego they are killing elevated rail projects because "pRoTect My VieWs!" I know. BUT... I'm optimistic. I believe cities (especially American ones) can vastly improve their transit systems--even before fighting a single battle with NIMBYs. Here's how: Maximize Frequency on busy existing lines. Instead of passively increasing frequency only in response to overcrowding, proactively increase frequency to increase ridership. Doubling frequency on your busiest existing rail lines flies under the NIMBY radar, because it involves little to no new capital projects. "But my transit agency is broke!" Which leads me to... Allocate More Money to Operations. The FTA (at least during Dem admins) generously funds transit capital expansion. But the FTA barely gives a cent to fund transit operations, even during Dem admins. Prioritize minimizing BRT dwell times . Yes, we should build bus-only lanes and implement signal priority. But first, let's go for low hanging fruit. Bus lanes are visually striking and alert every NIMBY to "sAvE mY StReet ParKinG!" Signal Priority also ticks NIMBYs off. Meanwhile, long dwell times also slow down buses a ton. So we should consolidate bus stops, implement off-board fare payment, all-door boarding, and level boarding. NIMBYs won't even notice any of these improvements. Yet even some bus lines with median bus lanes still make you pay on board, board at a single door, and don't have level boarding. In many cities, the above improvements are the the most urgent and impactful yet most neglected. If we prioritize these inconspicuous improvements, however, you get these rewards: The bus runs faster and more frequently than ever Ridership skyrockets. Bus-only lanes gain political support. The bus gets even faster with bus lanes, attracting even more riders. Pushing to convert busy BRT lines into subways/metros becomes much more politically powerful the more ridership you get NIMBYs lose. Incremental improvements today are better than perfect plans tomorrow. Incremental improvements today will build support for tomorrow's megaprojects.