Why America needs fewer bus stops

When people talk about improving transit, they mention ambitious rail tunnels and shiny new trains. But they less often discuss the humble bus – which moves more people than rail in the US, the EU, and the UK – and whose ridership has bounced back more quickly after Covid than rail.[ref 1]

The problem with buses is that they are slow. For example, buses in New York City and San Francisco crawl along at a paltry eight miles per hour, only about double walking speeds in the fastest countries. There are lots of ways to speed up buses, including bus lanes and busways, congestion pricing, transit-priority signals, and all-door boarding. But one of the most powerful solutions requires no new infrastructure or controversial charges and has minimal cost: optimizing where buses stop.

Buses in some cities, particularly those in the US, stop far more frequently than those in continental Europe. Frequent stopping makes service slower, less reliable, and more expensive to operate. This makes buses less competitive with other modes, reducing ridership. This is why, despite having fewer bus stops, European buses have a higher share of total trips than American ones.

Bus stop balancing involves strategically increasing the distance between stops from 700–800 feet (roughly 210–240 meters; there are 3.2 feet in a meter), common in older American cities or in London, to 1,300 feet, closer to the typical spacing in Western Europe, such as in Hanover, Germany. Unlike many transit improvements, stop balancing can be implemented quickly, cheaply, and independently by transit agencies. By removing signs and updating schedules, transit agencies can deliver faster service, better reliability, and more service with the same resources.

American bus stops are too close together, driving low bus ridership

American bus stops are often significantly closer together than European ones. The mean stop spacing in the United States is around 313 meters, which is about five stops per mile. However, in older, larger American cities, stops are placed even closer. In Chicago, Philadelphia, and San Francisco, the mean spacing drops down to 223 meters, 214 meters, and 248 meters respectively, meaning as many as eight stops per mile. By contrast, in Europe it’s more common to see spacings of 300 to 450 meters, roughly four stops per mile. An additional 500 feet takes between 1.5 and 2.5 minutes to walk at the average pace of ...