In terms of advanced strategy, one of the best ways to get ahead is to learn how a properly laid out shuttle system can help you. Busing is critical to reducing pollution and making life in your city as awesome as possible for your citizens.
You should anticipate setting aside 4,000 simoleons for twenty bus stops. These bus stops will increase the ability of low-wealth citizens to get to low-wealth jobs. This is key to growing your local economy and you will see a noticeable increase in your total population.
School vs. Shuttle Stops
There are fundamental differences between how you handle school buses and shuttle buses. First is targeting: school buses are about transporting children to and from residential neighborhoods. Period. Shuttle buses cover a much broader area -- namely (ideally) the entire city.
School Stops: Gang of One
Residential neighborhoods need to have one school bus stop for each street. However, there is one exception. Children will walk to school if they can see it from where they live. So you do not need to plop down a stop at either the school or anywhere within, say, twenty houses of the school.
It's much more likely that you will run out of classroom space before you overcrowd your buses, but whenever you happen to plop down a new classroom -- double-check your buses.
Shuttle Stops: Key Locations
Coverage for shuttle buses is much more extensive. In fact, consider it global. Citizens should be able to take a bus from any corner to any other corner. There are several locations that you absolutely want to make sure get a shuttle bus stop. In order by importance, they are:
- the ferry dock
- the train station
- the airport terminal
- the bus station that sends people out of town
- all streetcar stations
- all of your health clinics and hospitals
- your central business district or shopping area
- outside your stadium
- even though it has one of it's own, across the street from a park and ride
- at any industrial pocket with large factories
- city hall
- anywhere weird that attracts tourists like a huge park
As far as residential neighborhoods go, don't get crazy with the bus stops. As you plant stops, you'll notice the color of the streets change. Watch the color changes and -- after planting the essential stops on the list above -- if you still find a pocket of non-green street, then and only then plop down a bus stop.
Don't Double Down
You don't need to set up bus stops across the street from one another -- the game automatically makes your lazy Sims cross the street. Also, just because you see a traffic jam doesn't mean that a stop belongs there. Expand roads to fix jams and persuade people to leave their cars at home by setting up streetcars and adding more buses.
Wait Problems
While watching YouTube, I noticed that a lot of people obsess about wait times. Don't worry about how long someone is warming the bench. Just let them sit there. When you get some extra cash, add some more shuttles. Between now and then, just make sure the bus system as a whole has quality, thoughtful coverage
Post Construction
I forget constantly that when I bulldoze a street it kills off my bus stops. That's mostly because I'm an idiot. Don't make the same mistakes I do.
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