CityLab Daily: Bus to the Future

Round and round: As traffic congestion gets worse in cities around the U.S., shiny solutions abound, from light rail to gondolas to autonomous vehicles. But there’s already a cheaper, more flexible option that doesn’t get the love it deserves: the bus.

Now arriving: our Bus to the Future series. Though there’s a nationwide downturn in bus ridership, the basic model—a big container of people moving along a set route—has never stopped working. And cities are tinkering with new tools, from road-space policy to new-age technology, to make riding the bus better. Introducing the series, CityLab’s Laura Bliss writes that this underdog of transit needs a lot of love—but it’s also never held more heroic potential.