Frequency is freedom: a quick explainer for new members

If I could get one idea into every planning meeting, it'd be this.

A bus every 10 minutes is a service you can just turn up for. A bus every 30 minutes is an appointment you have to keep.

The usual rule of thumb for "don't need a timetable" is around 10 to 15 minutes. Below that, ridership and everything else tends to look quite different, since a missed bus is no longer a catastrophe.

Caveats welcome. That's what this Space is for.

@owen_tracks · Steady contributor

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@ana_ferreira

Pinning this in my head for the next time someone asks about a new route with a 40-minute headway.

@noor_haddad

This explains my entire relationship with the 37 bus.

@nadia_v

It's a good point that reliability counts too. A "10-minute" bus that bunches up is really a 20-minute bus.

@owen_tracks

Yes! Bunching is a whole other post, and it's coming.

@hollis_grant

This also applies to rural services, where you can't get anywhere near that. What's the answer there?

@ana_ferreira

Timed connections, mostly. If it can't be frequent, then it had better meet the train.

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