[bluetonium]

I've always wondered whether it would be possible to have some kind of compartmentalized bus.

Some kind of compromise between asking people to cram themselves like sardines against a bunch of strangers, while still allowing people to sit next to their family members and friends.

It's convenient to say a desire to not jam up close to strangers implicates its holder in some terrible character flaw of not caring for ones fellow human. But if you really want to get more people on buses it's a desire we'll have to accommodate and contend with.

[prova_modena]

You're describing a system that is operating beyond capacity. There's no special fix required other than increasing capacity, by adding more buses to existing routes or new routes. There may be political issues with allocating funding or getting authorities to acknowledge/address lack of capacity. But it's not something that requires redesigning the bus.