FTA: Public Buses Strain Carrying Heavier Riders

WTAE ^ | March 24, 2011

[rightwingintelligentsia]

PITTSBURGH -- The Federal Transportation Administration said buses are feeling the strain of carrying heavier passengers.

Buses in most cities are designed for an average weight of 160 pounds per passenger, based on data collected in 1960.

The average rider today is 175 pounds.

The FTA said that weight matters when considering the wear and tear on public transportation across the country.

Some ideas to help lighten the load is removing seats from public buses or placing a weight limit for riders.

"It's discrimination against overweight people. They can't help the way they are. I think they should make accommodations for them, if anything," North Side resident Greg Rodgers said.

[trisham]

Most men over 5 feet 8 inches would have to pay extra to ride. That makes no sense. Better to end public transportation.

[FrankR]

[trisham]

People are taller now than in 1960.

[TruthBeforeAll]

Well with the size of most of the drivers, I can see why they are struggling with the passengers.

[Buckeye McFrog]

"It's discrimination against overweight people. They can't help the way they are. I think they should make accommodations for them, if anything," North Side resident Greg Rodgers said.

the North Side of Pittsburgh is EXACTLY the sort of place where you might expect to hear such an opinion.

[Palmetto Patriot]

FTA?

At first glance I thought someone was making a disparaging remark about the US Army.

[rightwingintelligentsia]

[PA Engineer]

So, if 50 passengers average 15 pounds higher, the bus will have to carry 750 pounds more. That doesn’t seem like such a big deal. It’s like having 5 extra passengers.

Something doesn't seem right. It was standing room only when I was college student many, many moons ago. Five extra people would have been a light load. I think they are bucking for more money.

[Slings and Arrows]

Here with my rebuttal, Weird Al Yankovic.

[TheOldLady]

Add this to the list.

“Things the Gubmint Insists That You Worry About Compulsively” #104,673.

[tnlibertarian]

So, is early death discriminatory for overweight people? What can government do for those “unfortunate” people?

Do what every other manmade attempt at equality of outcome does: spread the misery equally. If you can't raise fat people's lifespan, we'll just have to kill some skinny people to lower their life expectancy.

[Lady Jag]

Lies, lies and more lies!

Stop letting the carpetbaggers scare you!

It's those cheap POS low bid buses.

The fellows boarding this bus aren't fat...



FIGHT BACK!!!

[Emperor Palpatine]

When the streetcars, (which they never should have gotten rid of), were run by the Pittsburgh Street Railway Co they actually MADE a profit.

Has PAT ever operated in the black since its inception?

[Emperor Palpatine]

[MarineBrat]

That’s a great streetcar picture. I used to ride the 39-Brookline as a child, before they stopped the Brookline run in September of 1966. Now it seems they call them trolleys. They were streetcars when I rode them.

[Squawk 8888]

We still have streetcars in revenue service here, MOF we’re taking delivery of a new batch in 2013. That picture was of a PCC “Streamliner”. The last of them were taken out of service in the mid-1990s but they restored two of them for the tourists.

[Mr. Jeeves]

Buses in most cities are designed for an average weight of 160 pounds per passenger, based on data collected in 1960.

The average rider today is 175 pounds.

So buses designed to carry 160 pound men are now struggling to handle 175 pound women...what happens if today's 250 pound man ever starts riding buses again in large numbers? :)

[MarineBrat]

I loved those old screetcars. We lived near the “turnaround” at the end of Brookline Boulevard, and you could get just about anywhere in Pittsburgh via streetcar. Sadly, they stopped service to Brookline in 1966 when I was just a lad, and I only got to ride on the 39-Brookline a few times before it was gone. I’ve become a bit of a collector of photos of the 39-Brookline in service.

[MasterGunner01]

We have the RMTD (mass transit district) that runs a fleet of 60 passenger buses. I have yet to see ANY bus on any route operate at even 25 percent of capacity 90 percent of the time, seven days a week. If it wasn’t for subsidies, I don’t see how the buses would keep running. Of course, they’re driven by public union drivers.

[glock rocks]

People are taller now than in 1960.

Gravity is increasing.