[Izikiel43]

I live in a city with lots of buses, they are great. The problem is that they are neuropsychiatric units on wheels, there is always some crazy person being clinically crazy (like talking to imaginary friends), so that makes the whole ride something you don't want to experience often if possible.

[jeffbee]

Eh, that discourse is usually being advanced by people who never ride the bus, don't intend to start riding it, and have a personal interest in selling you a car. In real transit preference surveys, and historical outcomes, it is clear that people would ride a bus that goes to their destinations, comes often and reliably, and is reasonably priced, without regard to how many mental cases are aboard. So if a transit agency faces a choice of spending limited resources on policing the inside of the vehicle for lunatics, or adding a bus to the schedule, they should always choose the latter.

[Izikiel43]

I'm from a 3rd world country who rode the bus everyday to everywhere.

Me and my wife don't feel safe riding the bus in the West Coast of the USA.

[baggy_trough]

“it is clear that people would ride a bus that goes to their destinations, comes often and reliably, and is reasonably priced, without regard to how many mental cases are aboard”

If you believe this, it would be cause to doubt your sanity.

[acdha]

We take the bus all of the time here in DC. I’ve literally never once encountered someone like that.

I’ve been panhandled a couple of times (in as many decades) and there’ve been a few people yelling at each other, but they left everyone alone.

On the driving front, though, I’ve had a bunch of people with anger management issues threaten to kill me and the only times in my adult life that I’ve credibly been threatened with a fistfight were by people driving who resented being expected to stop for pedestrians in the crosswalk. The bus crowd is a lot more chill.

[Izikiel43]

> We take the bus all of the time here in DC.

Right, now try the same in Seattle and take a bus going to 3rd avenue in Downtown. I've also tried it in SF, it's not nice.