Would more people take public transportation if it had business class?

If by "public transportation" we restrict ourselves to short-range metropolitan services, as used for commuting, all else being equal then the answer is no.

The reason for this "no" depends on whether we're talking about an area where public transport is highly developed (e.g. most urban areas of Western Europe and Japan) or areas in which it is underfunded and underdeveloped and is mostly seen as transport for poor people (e.g. most of the USA except NYC).

In the case of developed public transportation the answer is no, because simply adding first class would decrease capacity, which at rush hour is already at its limits. Hence, while a first class may attract a few new users, it would necessarily decrease the overall capacity of the system resulting in fewer users overall.

In the case of underdeveloped transportation, the answer is also no. The reason is that simply adding a first class to an insufficiently planned and inefficient network would still be little more than a more comfortable alternative for the less poor users to use said inefficient and insufficiently planned network through the city. In other words, the only people who would use it were those who were already doing so, be it out of principle (environmentalism), necessity (foreign students) or convenience (the bus just happens to be the perfect route to work and they can read a book on it), but who can actually afford this newly introduced first class. So, no net gain in terms of users.

If you want to increase the number of users of public transportation you don't need first class. You need more capacity and better and more efficient networks.

My wife would have used public transit more if the downtown train stations weren’t crawling with aggressive drugged out people harassing people at all hours; add that she used to get off work late at night, and it wasn’t safe for her

So, there’s a starting point. Let’s stop letting thugs who reek of Lysol on the train wander up to a stranger to steal their hat off their head without consequence (actual incident I saw last time I was in the train)

I would take public transport far more if it just had conductors in addition to the metro train/bus driver.

The general public don't want to confront degenerates (kids vaping on the bus, loud people, people insulting others with slurs, creeps etc).

Particularly late at night I don't feel comfortable on the bus and I'm a fairly imposing guy. If I were a young woman I don't think I'd want to get night buses at all.

There is an undertone to the whole public transport conversation that inevitably tends towards people thinking that you're bigoted (racist/classist/whatever) if you don't welcome antisocial behaviour, which anyone who actually had a poor upbringing will tell you is complete bullshit. There is no excuse for behaving like an animal in public.

In Switzerland, trains do have first-class. The train system in Switzerland is wonderful, so I’d settle for regular class. I would not drive a car there.

I forgot my bag on the train once. I reported it and they emailed me on the same day confirming they had found it and asked if I wanted it mailed to me, or I wanted to pick it up at a station of my choice. That service cost €20, but because I had the commuter card, I only paid €10.

Many train lines across the world do have the concept of classes. First class trains have more room and nicer amenities.

In the usa, the transit needs to be faster. Public transit is 1.2-2x longer than driving.

All trains in the Netherlands have a first class option. Mostly used by business people.

Others have mentioned this but a lot of places already have similar “class” concepts. To broaden the scope of this a bit CDMX has women (and children?) only metro cars - which seems to be confidence inspiring for women who use them. I’ve also taken a sleeper bus from Scotland to England which had seats along with cots for the overnight ride. Additionally Amtrak in the US has a few different offerings.

I know the scope of this is probably more bus/train related but in my opinion the people who would want a true “business class” might take an Uber/Lyft.

My senior manager at works takes the public bus to commute to this office - just another data point.

I am probably wrong, but aren't airlines mostly privately held companies (for profit) while public transportation is owned by municipalities?

The whole "government owned" and "multi class" sort of draws some very loose parallels to racial segregation of the past to me...something that was fought against so we could all get equal treatment. When you add on public funding and special interest groups, this just seems like a total no go.

In the public sphere, the best, most effective solution is rarely the one chosen...

I am just thinking out loud...

I would take public transportation if it meant not having to take buses only. Without trams or metros within cities or fast trains between cities, there’s really no benefit to me using those services over my car (unfortunately)

Buses are cheap for cities so they’re common, but I’ll just say it, they suck. Without dedicated bud lanes they get stuck in traffic, they’re slow, etc.

The MTR in HK heading to Lo Wu / Lok Ma Chau has a first class section: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Rail_line

It doesn't increase public transportation use.

People in North America don't take public transit because: - it doesn't take them to where they need to go; - it doesn't take them to their destination timely relative to a car; and/or - it doesn't have frequent enough service to not get bored to death, baked into heat stroke, or frozen to death in -30C weather, on a Saturday early evening

"Business class" is just a lip stick on a pig.

Yes. There is a train in Florida called briteline I like to take and it has seat upgrades and I take it all the time. It's very clean and the service is very good. I do not take subways or busses.

I see at least 1st and 2nd class very often in longer-range public transport, like trains.

That said, I don't think the lack of higher class options is the reason why people don't use public transport. Some other reasons I could think of:

- People (especially once they get used to it), might prefer to travel alone or with people they know (compared to strangers);

- For some, public transport can feel limiting, as you're bound to a limited schedule and predestined routes;

- Public transport can't and won't satisfy all the needs all travellers have, due to reasons above and others;

In the US, you probably wouldn’t collect enough from the first class passengers to pay for their trips let alone subsidize the trips of others. BART and the DC Metro famously serve lots of wealthy people, with a pretty mediocre standard of service, and aren’t close to breaking even. Do we really want to subsidize rich people traveling?

There are regional trains in Germany where this exists. Even if second class is completely full, first class remains mostly empty. It feels like a waste of space, as the downside for the general public is much greater than any potential gains for first-class travelers and train operators.

In Dubai, you can get a Gold card for the metro, which allows you to sit in a quieter carriage with more seats at the front of the train. Knowing I'll probably get a seat when I travel, I take the metro more often than I would otherwise.

Yes. Comfort, security and services definitely limit public transport’s appeal. Consider the difference, in New York, between taking a ferry and the subway.

Similarly, I can recline and nap on an Uber from San Francisco. Not so on the Caltrain.

Ehrm ... here in Switzerland trains do indeed have a 2nd and 1st class.