Can riding the bus be fun?

Through activations, art, contests, digital outreach, and “open house”-style public events, BostonBRT gained a richer understanding of the routes, features, and amenities that would meet people’s needs and positively impact communities.

Community support is critical to the success of BRT.

Local neighbors, civic leaders, policymakers, employers, and frequent riders need to feel enthusiastic about the promise of a new and dramatically different kind of transit service.

BRT must be designed in the locations people want and provide service that fits people’s lifestyles.

Unfortunately, transit conversations often feel tedious and exclusive – accessible only to experts or highly-motivated members of the public. Traditional public meetings, white papers, and planning processes don’t lead to innovative and creative transit solutions that truly benefit the most people.

For these reasons, BostonBRT set out to have a different kind of transit conversation and made community engagement a key focus throughout the initiative.

These efforts also put a human face to the bus riding experience, which is often minimized or ignored. BostonBRT aimed to show that bus riders – their time, opinions, health, and quality of life – are critical to determining our transportation future.

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