Eliminating Bus Stops Can Actually Improve Service

You might think that more bus stops mean better bus service, and to some extent that's true. A transit system certainly becomes more useful when you can get on near your home and off near your destination. That said, every stop made by a city bus increases trip time from Point A to Point B. Strong systems find a way to strike a balance between stop access and route speed.

Sometimes striking that balance means getting rid of stops that are clogging up the line. Last week, reporters at News1130 in Vancouver pointed to research showing that eliminating some bus stops "reduces travel times significantly without drastically affecting the number of people served along a route." They suggest that city agency TransLink cut stops as a "simple" way to reduce costs while still improving service.