Culture
Do We Really Need 'Sexy' Mass Transit Vehicles?
All else being equal, riders prefer good service to any particular mode.
When the city of Wellington, New Zealand, decided to expand its public transit system, Mayor Celia Wade-Brown initially favored light rail as the so-called sexy option. Then the project estimates came in. According to the Dominion Post, the capital budget for light rail came to $940 million, while those for bus rapid transit came to $207 million. And this despite the fact that BRT was expected to reap a greater return for the city.
That was enough to convince Wade-Brown, who subsequently called BRT "nearly as sexy as light rail and a lot cheaper."