Human Transit : How Clearer Thinking About Public Transit Can Enrich Our Communities and Our Lives

Public Transit Is A Powerful Tool For Addressing A Huge Range Of Urban Problems, Including Traffic Congestion And Economic Development As Well As Climate Change. But While Many People Support Transit In The Abstract, It's Often Hard To Channel That Support Into Good Transit Investments. Part Of The Problem Is That Transit Debates Attract Many Kinds Of Experts, Who Often Talk Past Each Other. Ordinary People Listen To A Little Of This And Decide That Transit Is Impossible To Figure Out. Jarrett Walker Believes That Transit Can Be Simple, If We Focus First On The Underlying Geometry That All Transit Technologies Share. In Human Transit, Walker Supplies The Basic Tools, The Critical Questions, And The Means To Make Smarter Decisions About Designing And Implementing Transit Services. Human Transit Explains The Fundamental Geometry Of Transit That Shapes Successful Systems; The Process For Fitting Technology To A Particular Community; And The Local Choices That Lead To Transit-friendly Development. Whether You Are In The Field Or Simply A Concerned Citizen, Here Is An Accessible Guide To Achieving Successful Public Transit That Will Enrich Any Community.--publisher's Description. What Transit Is, And Does -- What Makes Transit Useful? Seven Demands And How Transit Serves Them -- Five Paths To Confusion -- Lines, Loops, And Longing -- Touching The City: Stops And Stations -- Peak Or All Day? -- Frequency Is Freedom -- The Obstacle Course: Speed, Delay, And Reliability -- Density And Its Dangers -- Ridership Or Coverage? The Challenge Of Service Allocation -- Can Fares Be Fair? -- Connections Or Complexity? -- From Connections To Networks, To Places -- Be On The Way! Transit Implications Of Location Choice -- On The Boulevard -- Take The Long View. Jarrett Walker ; Illustrations By Eric Orozco ... [et Al.]. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Annotation Public transit is a powerful tool for addressing a huge range of urban problems, including traffic congestion and economic development as well as climate change. But while many people support transit in the abstract, it's often hard to channel that support into good transit investments. Part of the problem is that transit debates attract many kinds of experts, who often talk past each other. Ordinary people listen to a little of this and decide that transit is impossible to figure out. Jarrett Walker believes that transit can be simple, if we focus first on the underlying geometry that all transit technologies share. In Human Transit, Walker supplies the basic tools, the critical questions, and the means to make smarter decisions about designing and implementing transit services. Human Transit explains the fundamental geometry of transit that shapes successful systems; the process for fitting technology to a particular community; and the local choices that lead to transit-friendly development. Whether you are in the field or simply a concerned citizen, here is an accessible guide to achieving successful public transit that will enrich any community Front Matter....Pages i-x Introduction....Pages 1-11 What Transit Is and Does....Pages 13-21 What Makes Transit Useful? Seven Demands and How Transit Serves Them....Pages 23-37 Five Paths to Confusion....Pages 39-46 Lines, Loops, and Longing....Pages 47-58 Touching the City: Stops and Stations....Pages 59-71 Peak or All Day?....Pages 73-84 Frequency Is Freedom....Pages 85-96 The Obstacle Course: Speed, Delay, and Reliability....Pages 97-107 Density Distractions....Pages 109-115 Ridership or Coverage? The Challenge of Service Allocation....Pages 117-134 Can Fares Be Fair?....Pages 135-145 Connections or Complexity?....Pages 147-161 From Connections to Networks to Places....Pages 163-179 Be on the Way! Transit Implications of Location Choice....Pages 181-204 On the Boulevard....Pages 205-214 Take The Long View....Pages 215-221 Back Matter....Pages 223-244 Public transit is a powerful tool for addressing a huge range of urban problems, including traffic congestion, economic development, and climate change. While many people support transit in the abstract, it is often difficult to channel that support into good public transit investments. In Human Transit, Jarrett Walker explains the fundamental geometry of transit that shapes successful systems, the process for fitting technology to a particular community, and the local choices that lead to transit-friendly development. Whether you are in the field or a concerned citizen, this accessible guide to achieving successful public transit will help you to enrich any community. Public transit is a powerful tool for addressing a huge range of urban problems, including traffic congestion and economic development as well as climate change. But while many people support transit in the abstract, it's often hard to channel that support into good transit investments. In Human Transit, Jarrett Walker supplies the basic tools, the critical questions, and the means to make smarter decisions about designing and implementing transit services. Human Transit explains the fundamental geometry of transit that shapes successful systems; the process for fitting technology to a particu