Tuesday, January 28, 2014

How Long It Felt Like You Waited For the Bus Versus How Long You Actually Did

Does waiting for the bus feel like this sometimes?
In talking with people over the years, I have found that the worst part of using public transit for many people is the wait for the bus.

Because they can't physically see the bus, there is a lot of worry over whether it's really on the way, whether it's on time, if they're at the right stop, etc., etc.

Plus you have to stand out in the weather with people driving by gawking at you and sometimes in a bad part of town or with other conditions that make you uncomfortable.

The "psychology" of waiting for the bus is something we don't normally think about but a facinating subject. Research suggests that people waiting for the bus often think they've waited twice as they actually have. This is a major deterrent when trying to get people to use public transit. How do you fight it? There's an app for that, according to the Atlantic Cities.

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About SRTC

SRTC is the federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for Spokane County. Urbanized areas with populations exceeding 50,000 people are required to have an MPO. SRTC was formed to address the county's transportation planning needs. It provides coordination in planning between the public, cities, small towns, the county, the state, transit providers, and tribes.

SRTC offers services including transportation monitoring, transportation modeling, census information analysis, travel demand forecasting, historical traffic count analysis, geographic information systems, and trip generation rates.