Even if you think what you would say is obvious, please add. This is genuinely something I think makes sense regarding local bus routes given the longevity of light rail and how infrequently routes change, but I also suffer from confirmation bias, so I’m hoping for reasons this would be a terrible idea but obviously would prefer reasons it would be an even more amazing idea than I thought.
Bingo. Frequency is king.
My city doesn’t have great public transport. But I recently started taking a bus rapid transit line to work downtown from out in the suburbs. The best part about it is that it is every 10 minutes all day long. I do not need to plan my timing for my route except in a very general sense because I know a bus will be there. Huge advantage.
We also have limited light rail in our downtown area. It arrives every 20 minutes or so. Doesn’t seem like a lot more on paper but it’s a huge wait if you just miss it. It’s pretty annoying. Our might rail also happens to move a lot more slowly than busses which is counter intuitive to me.