I took your point in this post to be that buses are bad because some people behave in an offensive manner while riding on the bus. That has nothing to do with buses as a mode of transportation. The problem is the person’s behavior and that’s what should be addressed.

i said exactly nothing like this.

i’m starting to think that many liberal san franciscans see themselves as the rays of hope in the fight against racism, and yet, san francisco, like Boston and lots of other liberal northern towns - is as racist as any town i’ve ever lived in.

maybe one day a BRT proponent will talk about the merits of bus travel instead of try to turn the BRT vs. LRT question into a referendum on which white people can act more offended and victimized by racism.

at the end of the day, though, we should keep in mind that it is BRT proponents who feel that trains are too good for poor people - black or white.

Buses work well in many parts of the world. We just need to fix our bus system. It needs a lot more money and fresh ideas. If there’s something nasty — how about a standby crew to come and clean the damn thing. Maybe we have bus stewards for a time that ride buses and encourage acceptable behavior. This example is not making the case for not using buses.