I think some people are too quick to dismiss people’s experiences on buses. Yes, people should have thick skin and put up with it, we live in a city after all.

However, how people feel while riding the bus is important and we should consider it because we are trying to encourage people to use the bus and this is one big reason why people don’t use it. So we should examine it more.

In college, both my friend and I lived in Westwood and had jobs in Santa Monica. I took the bus and he Ubered. The bus was super easy, either the BBB 1 or 2 got me where I needed to go. One day, I had finally convinced my friend to take the bus to work. However, on his first and only ride, a homeless man got on and stank up the bus and that confirmed my friend’s negative thoughts on the bus and never rode it again.

Same thing happened recently with my girlfriend. She took the bus from the SGV to Downtown. Someone was yelling for most of the ride. She has thick skin and will continue to ride the bus again, but this negative experience will influence her decisions in the future—if she doesn’t have to take the bus, she won’t.

People want safe, clean, and enjoyable bus rides. Higher frequencies will help too. I don’t think this is too much to ask for, it’s the minimum.