{"id":3827,"date":"2019-09-27T04:58:45","date_gmt":"2019-09-27T10:58:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/?p=3827"},"modified":"2019-09-27T05:17:08","modified_gmt":"2019-09-27T11:17:08","slug":"to-increase-bus-usage-make-driving-inconvenient","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/2019\/09\/27\/to-increase-bus-usage-make-driving-inconvenient\/","title":{"rendered":"To increase bus usage, make driving inconvenient"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Every time we have a municipal election, candidates claim they have the solution to improve transit ridership. The problem is that none of their solutions will work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Their solutions are always bandaid solutions that never address the underlying causes of low ridership. Few people take the bus in Lethbridge because it is way too convenient to drive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you want to be serious about increasing ridership, you have to make driving more inconvenient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019d take drastic, unconventional measures to increase ridership, but most city councils (present and future) will never go for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are a few measures I could think of off the top of my head to make driving more inconvenient and transit more attractive:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Eliminate bus fares<\/li><li>Make 15 min frequency standard (7 min across Whoop Up)<\/li><li>Have fewer routes stop downtown<\/li><li>Make holiday\/Sunday service same as the rest of the week<\/li><li>Stop adding lanes to existing roadways<\/li><li>Stop creating additional arterials<\/li><li>Don&#8217;t build a third bridge<\/li><li>Implement exorbitant commuter parking fees<\/li><li>Outlaw non-resident parking in London Road, Tudor, and Varsity Village, and near the hospital.<\/li><li>Make university and college parking exorbitant for Lethbridge users<\/li><li>Make drivers yield to buses at all times<\/li><li>Give buses ability to change traffic lights<\/li><li>Increase number of bus shelters and make them heated<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>But campaigning on all of these, let along implementing them, would be political suicide. So no one will do it, and we will continue to have low transit ridership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"580\" height=\"327\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/BhqaqnJI8ck?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-CA&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Every time we have a municipal election, candidates claim they have the solution to improve transit ridership. The problem is that none of their solutions will work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3828,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/bus-690508_1920.jpg?fit=1920%2C1280&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4NkW7-ZJ","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":907,"url":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/2010\/10\/11\/why-i-am-voting-cheryl-meheden-for-mayor-of-lethbridge\/","url_meta":{"origin":3827,"position":0},"title":"Why I am voting Cheryl Meheden for mayor of Lethbridge","author":"Kim Siever","date":"11 October 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"There\u2019s only a week left until the municipal election here in Lethbridge, so this morning I figured it was high time I buckled down and finally choose someone to publicly support for mayor. I knew right off the bat that it wouldn\u2019t be Rajko Dodic. He has accused me of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Lethbridge&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Lethbridge","link":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/category\/lethbridge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":814,"url":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/2010\/08\/12\/thats-it-i-quit\/","url_meta":{"origin":3827,"position":1},"title":"That\u2019s it. I quit.","author":"Kim Siever","date":"12 August 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Something I have prided myself on over the last few years has been my non-partisan involvement in politics. I don\u201dt adhere to a specific political party in provincial or federal politics, and I don\u2019t put all my eggs in one municipal basket. Per se. Well, I ruined that. Sort of.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Lethbridge&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Lethbridge","link":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/category\/lethbridge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":236,"url":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/2008\/02\/13\/7-reasons-why-i-take-the-bus-to-work\/","url_meta":{"origin":3827,"position":2},"title":"7 reasons why I take the bus to work","author":"Kim Siever","date":"13 February 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"It's blowing wet snow in Lethbridge right now and temperatures are below freezing. It made me think about why I take public transit to work even though I have a car. Here are some reasons I came up with: I don't have to clean off my windshield. I don't have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/category\/general\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4353,"url":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/2020\/03\/25\/alberta-workers-ignored-during-covid-19-crisis\/","url_meta":{"origin":3827,"position":3},"title":"Alberta workers ignored during COVID-19 crisis","author":"Kim Siever","date":"25 March 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Recent measures announced by the provincial government are not designed to help workers. Very few workers will benefit from them.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/working-1024382_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/working-1024382_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/working-1024382_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/working-1024382_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/working-1024382_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3709,"url":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/2019\/08\/13\/conservatives-dont-actually-care-about-the-economy\/","url_meta":{"origin":3827,"position":4},"title":"Conservatives don\u2019t actually care about the economy","author":"Kim Siever","date":"13 August 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"You\u2019ve probably heard conservatives talk about how important the economy is as an election issue, how important jobs are, or business investment is, or the GDP is. Except conservatives don\u2019t actually care about the economy.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Politics&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/Thumbnails.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/Thumbnails.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/Thumbnails.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/Thumbnails.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/Thumbnails.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3890,"url":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/2019\/10\/04\/tax-credits-dont-help-taxpayers\/","url_meta":{"origin":3827,"position":5},"title":"Tax credits don\u2019t help taxpayers","author":"Kim Siever","date":"4 October 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Must be a federal election. The Conservatives are promising tax credits again, and disguising them as tax cuts.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Politics&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/purse-3548021_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/purse-3548021_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/purse-3548021_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/purse-3548021_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/purse-3548021_1920.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3827"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3827\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3830,"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3827\/revisions\/3830"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siever.ca\/kim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}