Metro Transit adding information at bus stops - Signs that now simply say “Bus stop” will be replaced for ones with route numbers and other information.

Eric Roper writes in the StarTribune: Metro Transit adding information at bus stops Signs that now simply say “Bus stop” will be replaced for ones with route numbers and other information.  I am very happy about this. I have talked about bus stops a lot on this blog, they are the first step in First Class transit, but by no means the last. While this isn't quite everything I (or you should) want, it is more than we have. Upon full deployment, (and assuming they are maintained) it is probably enough to claim victory on the signage front and move on.

“It’s especially important in converting nonusers into users,” said University of Minnesota Prof. David Levinson, a transportation expert who has criticized Metro Transit’s signage. “It’s providing basic information to people who might not even know how transit works and where transit would go.” ...

Levinson said the agency’s next priority should be improving bus speed and frequency by expanding urban rapid bus service, the first example of which will go into service on Snelling Avenue next year, to all-important bus routes in Minneapolis and St. Paul. At a cost of about $27 million, the A Line is expected to increase bus speed dramatically through preboarding payment, wider stop spacing and traffic signal priority. Stops will also feature real-time arrival information and other amenities.

“I don’t want to say it’s cheap to do this, because there’s obviously some cost to doing this, but it’s a much more cost-effective investment than Southwest LRT, for instance,” Levinson said.

My evidence for the last claim is the data in this post: Cost per Daily Passenger Mile, which is still approximately correct.