Streetfilms: JUMP Aboard the Boulder Bus

The third Streetfilm in Clarence Eckerson’s Boulder series has a lot of good ideas for cities looking to make bus service a viable alternative to driving. In the words of former mayor Will Toor, Boulder’s bus system has evolved over the last 20 years from a "social service" to a mode "that can compete for people who have other choices." Today, more than a quarter of the city’s population rides the bus every day.

The keys to building ridership? High-frequency service, catchy branding (sample route names: JUMP, DASH and BOLT), and the Eco Pass — a card that allows local employees and residents to ride buses system-wide for free.

Inspired by Boulder’s bus branding, Clarence is holding the first Streetfilms T-shirt contest. To enter, submit a creative name for a New York City bus line by this Friday. The pokiness of our local buses seems to be the major inspiration for entries so far.

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Streetfilms: Contra-Flow Biking in Boulder

By Brad Aaron |
Here’s the first Streetfilm from Clarence Eckerson’s trip to Boulder, Colorado, recent winner of the League of American Bicyclists’ Platinum status designation. This vid shows off a three-block contra-flow bike lane, connecting the Pearl Street pedestrian mall to a greenway network. Where in NYC might contra-flow lanes be useful?

Streetfilms: Bike-Thru Banking in Boulder

By Brad Aaron |
Here’s another Streetfilm from Clarence Eckerson’s trip to Boulder, Colorado, where Pueblo Bank & Trust "has been providing bicycle customers a bike drive-thru window for some time now, complete with a bike rack and H2O for thirsty travelers!" Although this is the first bank I’ve heard about, in Portland, Oregon there are a number of […]

Streetfilms Shortie: Fast and Easy Bus Boarding in Oslo

By Clarence Eckerson Jr. |
While in Oslo shooting a Streetfilm on the city’s ambitious plans to become as car-free as possible by 2019, I got to interview Frode Hvattum, head of strategy for Ruter, the regional transit agency. I asked a quick question about Oslo’s amazingly efficient train and bus service. In this short video, Hvattum discusses how Oslo’s city center […]

Name That Bus Route: SKIRT Takes the Shirt

By Brad Aaron |
There weren’t a lot of entries, but what contestants in Streetfilms’ first-ever t-shirt contest lacked in quantity, they made up for in pithiness.  Inspired by the Boulder, Colorado transit system, Clarence Eckerson challenged the Streetfilms audience to come up with zingy names for New York bus routes. He writes: For sheer ferociousness, I really loved […]

Report From Boulder, CO: A City That “Gets It”

By Brad Aaron |
Streetfilms’ Clarence Eckerson, Jr. just returned from Boulder, Colorado — recent recipient of the League of American Bicyclists’ Platinum award for bike-friendliness. He writes: Boulder "gets it" big time — bicycling is important to its residents. So is a healthy walking and green living environment. But please note: this is not a car-free utopia — […]
STREETFILMS

NYC Buses: Time for a Turnaround

By Clarence Eckerson Jr. |
New Yorkers take 2.5 million rides on the city’s buses every day. While NYC’s buses provide essential transit, especially in areas beyond the reach of the subway, they are among the nation’s slowest and least reliable. Now a coalition of transit advocates are promoting practical strategies to improve the performance of NYC buses systemwide. Transit […]