9 ideas for making public transport more fun

by Joe Peach at This Big City

We hosted our eleventh #citytalk tweetchat last week, this time looking at how cities move. There was some serious discussion around the importance of investing in quality public transport solutions that are frequent, affordable, and take people where they need to go, but our favourite moment came when we asked you to share your ideas for making public transport fun. Here’s some of the best bits:

Is it a train or a movie festival?

A8 Barcelona ran a film festival whose entries where only shown in the trains and had to be underground oriented.#citytalk

— This Big City es(@thisbigcityes) October 30, 2012

Co-working space

@thisbigcity Wi-Fi on Cambridgeshire BRT buses to rival commuting experience of a train so time can be used for productive work #citytalk — Anthony Bubb (@bubb1989) October 30, 2012

Improve it with paint

A8: Look at this cool use of colour in Bratislava! tinyurl.com/92hbff8 #citytalk

— Rashiq Fataar (@RashiqFataar) October 30, 2012

Projects to remind people public transport exists

A8. Melbourne has a restaurant tram, which is more novelty but it can make the whole system more attractive #citytalk — courtney claessens (@sidewalkballet) October 30, 2012

Sing it!

@thisbigcityin Latinamerica you have live music in buses and trains, not sure suitable to @mycitibus #citytalk

— Open Streets CT (@OpenStreetsCT) October 30, 2012

Gamification (or no pants)

A8 Theres always the no-pants subway ride. Also content to read on standing handles. Gamification can be huge here. Racing friends #citytalk

— Gareth Pearson (@TheSkillsmith) October 30, 2012

Public transport heroes

@futurecapetown Promotion of bus branding by local “heroes” and celebrities was effective in Brighton & Hove (England) #citytalk — Anthony Bubb (@bubb1989) October 30, 2012

Subsidise with more effective advertising

A8 advertising opportunities (money generating for PT) can also make the transport fun. See Dunkin Donuts bit.ly/NYTS5W#citytalk

— futurecapetown.com (@futurecapetown) October 30, 2012

Transit apps

A8: In addition to the cool collaborative games/stories I mentioned in A6, London has a great transit app: chromaroma.com#citytalk

— Jace Deloney (@JaceDeloney) October 30, 2012

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Image via Stationary Hobo and Vallo Sadovsky Architects