How can public transport be improved?

Everyone needs a highly accessible public transport system that achieves the goal of getting you from point A to point B in a fast, reliable and safe manner. Even if there are more Australians driving rather than using public transport, they believe better transit options are of utmost importance, according to a recent Transport Opinion Survey.

People in the work force are preferring to sacrifice sleep and beat peak hour traffic rather than catch public transport, whilst over-60s are being left behind at bus stops. This obviously raises the question of how we could improve public transport, particularly for seniors?

Some suggestions for improving public transport include improving the following aspects:

• Accessibility: Most people, especially those over 60, have an issue of not having a transport stop too close to where they live. While in the case of trains, ferries and trams it is more difficult to increase accessibility, it should be a key factor for the government to consider to increase bus stops and services. Having more bust stops closer to them means that people will be more likely to use the service to either get to where they’re going, or to connect to the service that will connect them to where their final destination is.
• Connectivity: To continue from the point regarding accessibility, it is also important to increase connectivity to various areas of the city. While there are services connecting the main city areas to key suburbs, sometimes, there is just no service covering a particular area – making it difficult for people to justify using public transport.
• Frequency: Many people are put off by using public transport because the timetable is incorrect/they don’t read the timetable online, or because when a service has to be cancelled, the next one is an unreasonable wait. If the frequency of oft used services was increased, there would be more people inclined to use the service.
• Attentiveness: With the problem of leaving people at bus stops because they couldn’t see the sign on the bus, or because they weren’t fast enough to stop a speeding bus, it is important to educate bus drivers to pay more attention. Especially with those over 60, they might not be able to sprint towards the bus stop to catch an approaching bus, nor should they have to.

So tell us…what are your major problems with public transport? What would you suggest as an improvement to public transport, especially for those over 60?