Downplaying the Dull on Public Transit

[font size="1"]Stockholm[/font]


[font size="1"]Munich[/font]


[font size="1"]Prague[/font]


Downplaying the Dull on Public Transit

Copenhagen | 06/01/2012 9:15am |
Carren Jao | This Big City


When we think of getting from point A to point B, we normally think along the lines of efficiency. Google Maps gives us options, categorizing our choices by route length and estimated time of travel, but nowhere does it say which the most interesting route to take is.

Public transport is by and large stuck in the same simplistic mindset of speed and efficiency. In a new e-book called Making Transit Fun! How to Entice Motorists from Their Cars (and onto Their Feet, a Bike, or Bus), urban designer Darrin Nordahl challenges public transport planners (and takers) to level the playing field with car manufacturers and add joy to our daily commute.

Nordahl rightly notes, “The automobile industry and its associated infrastructure are heavily subsidized, while budgets are routinely cut for public transport. Why? Because people love cars. We love their style and we love what they represent, namely status, American culture, and freedom. So, we lobby vigorously to preserve our status, our culture, and those perceived freedoms. Only when transit snares popular affection will people fight for it.”

Nordahl shares numerous playful public transport projects: What if bus stops looked like giant, delectable fruits? Could love seats on a bus add levity to an otherwise dull bus ride? What if instead of boring old bus stop seats, we got swings instead? I would love to see any of these options (or more) implemented in and around my city. Just reading about them sets my transit-riding heart aflutter. ...................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://americancity.org/daily/entry/downplaying-the-dull-on-public-transit