What if public transit was like Uber? A small city ended its bus service to find out::Small-scale, tech-based solutions to transportation problems have emerged as a great equalizer in the battle for infrastructure dollars between big cities and rural communities.
I think on-demand transit makes sense in many areas but for a town of this size, it seems like it would be better as a supplement to a traditional bus system than a full replacement. 50,000 is not exactly rural though I’m not sure what the density looks like.
I think 50k is definitely on the low end of what you might consider a “city”. And you’re right, it would depend on density. IMO a city with that population can’t really sustain a bus system if it’s spread out too much.
I lived in a town with 50k back in the 90s. I don’t remember there ever being a bus service except for the school buses.
The town was pretty massive though. Half the town was on a plateau as well so you had to walk up a pretty huge hill to get to half of it.
There was quite a few taxi’s driving people around.
Maybe there was a bus that I never used and can’t remember. As a kid I rode everywhere. That hill was a son of a bitch though.