The Brake: Where Do Great Bus Stops Come From — And How Do We Get More Of Them?

Streetsblog’s America’s Best Bus Stops Contest is down to its final two contenders. Nationwide, though, the United States have a lot more sorry stops than good ones — and to understand how our two wonderful waiting areas bucked the trend, we brought in an expert for some game-time commentary.

Today, Streetsblog’s podcast, The Brake, is talking with bus stop expert and Transit Center Senior Research Associate Mary Buchanan, author of the indispensable report From Sorry to Superb: Everything You Need to Know About Great Bus Stops.

Host Kea Wilson chats with Buchanan about how cities can create — or fight for — the structural conditions that help create great bus stops, and keep them well-maintained for years to come. In addition to sharing her thoughts on the finalists, Buchanan gives us a quick tour of the latest research on which essential bus stop features actually get Americans onto shared modes, and which ones are just nice to have. And then we dig into why America’s best bus networks might not have a whole lot of “great” stops at all — but they would have plenty of adequate ones.

Give it a listen, and don’t forget to vote in the final round of America’s Best Bus Stops by Friday, April 15 at 10 a.m. ET.