First off let me say that I have seen some of the first sketches that the students from Design Center have made and they are incredible! This is really an exciting project and one that is sorely needed right now with gas prices skyrocketing and no end in site. As a matter of fact, I just read an article saying that the world's demand for gas will more than double in the next 20 years. I can't even imagine what that would mean to all of us on a daily level, but I do know that public transit will become increasingly important and that we as a society will need to change the way we live.
Getting off my high horse though, I wanted to ask a question about bus amenities. What about entertainment? How do people feel about TV screens like Metro has in their buses. What if each screen was individualized and you could plug in with earphones and watch TV like on many airplanes? And what about Internet connections on buses, i-Pod plug ins, etc? What do you think the bus of the future would offer customers, and what would you like to see on board to keep you entertained and informed?
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Which is your favorite Bus of the Future?
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What should buses look and ride like in 2050? As gas prices and congestion increase and environmental quality decreases, these questions have never been more important. Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus has been asking bus manufacturers and the public to share their ideas via this blog, and Art Center College of Design students have been translating them into new and exciting designs for the Bus of the Future.
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10 comments:
Let me ride in peace! No TV screens like Metro has. I don’t like all of the added noise. Half of the information is in a language I don’t understand as well. Internet Access would be great, but you need to give me enough room to use a laptop. If the bus is crowded there is not the space. If I am using the laptop, I would love a way to power it. Not sure what good an iPod plug in would do since amplified music is not allowed on the bus. This should all be secondary. I would gladly give up all of the technology on the bus if it would come twice as often.
Passengers can figure out how to entertain themselves with books, newspapers, ipods, whatever technology the future brings. Most people are not on the bus that long. We want speed, comfort, and reliability.
What about a solar powered bus? Zero emissions and a quiet ride would be great. Currently, bus emissions and noise disturb passengers as well as bikers and people waiting for the bus. How about a solar-panel "skin" that would fuel the bus? What about natural light from a transparent roof?
Perhaps the space in the bus could be more adjustable, like the Element car. Seats could be reconfigured--go up or down or move around--to make space for carts, luggage, bikes, strollers, wheel chairs as needed.
Please, no entertainment.
No TV screens.
No music.
Something to quiet the noise, yes.
Or better, an electric carriage that has no noise.
But no foolish attempts to "inform", "educate" or "entertain".
We don't need our government choosing a WiFi vendor, a universal jukebox system, or that god-awful MTA inflight-movie system they've got. LEAVE US ALONE and let us ride in peace.
Keep the coaches clean, quiet, comfortable, frequent, fast, and on-time. Keep them SAFE and pleasant.
But don't worry yourself silly about how to keep us distracted. We can do that ourselves.
I agree with other sentiments to leave entertainment to the passenger. If there is going to be a screen in the bus it should display useful transit information like arrival times of connecting buses or perhaps points of interests at upcoming stops for tourists using public transit. Such a screen should display this data with no news segments, commercials or other distractions.
Great feedback! It's much appreciated. We're taking notes...
As a homeowner the notion of having a party at home is always attractive. As a bus driver,not so much. Do you realise the number of passengers who would stay on the bus just to enjoy these amenities. We already have the "homeless" who try to ride all day because we have A/C. If we add entertainment all they would need would be a toilet and they would never leave. Comfort is a must for passengers I agree but the amenities would pretty much be useless when the bus is packed with a full standing load.
At work and all around us we are barraged with a lot of noise. Leave the entertainment to each individual choice be it an Ipod,video. Minnimize the noise as Noise is a stressor. Instead, how about an automatic announcement each time the bus stops with" Please vacate designated seats for our seniors and disabled people". Our drivers are not helpful to the senior citizens who ride public transportation. Instead you see young high school kids seating on these priority seats.
I wouldn’t mind television screens so long as they were SILENT and provided helpful transit information as well as news stories, etc. However, I prefer to read a book or newspaper when I am on the bus, so a quiet environment is preferable. I usually have a backpack with me, so somewhere to put that while I ride (to free my hands up for holding a book) would be really helpful. Perhaps you could install overhead racks on every bus like the Rapid 3.
Additionally, please work on making the bus of the future as quiet as possible and minimize the bumpiness of the ride. A few of the Big Blue Buses that I’ve ridden were not smooth and one was so bad that I got off to take the next bus.
I really enjoy the fact that the bus is one of the last public places I see people reading anymore. It's one of the only places that I can, and do, read daily. I agree that people can figure out how to entertain themselves, and it's interesting to see them do it. Unwanted noise and stimulus can be very aggrivating, is a waste of money, and homogenizes people into watching the TV or listening to the iPod or whatever. Let people do their own thing.
Who knows where to download XRumer 5.0 Palladium?
Help, please. All recommend this program to effectively advertise on the Internet, this is the best program!
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