Mass Transit

All the honking you hear outside isn’t a show of support, Mayor.

Those blaring horns are the sound of frustrated motorists stuck in traffic jams. The road network has been adequately upgraded, yet gridlock is still a common occurrence, particularly during the morning and evening commutes.

If we don’t do something fast, the traffic problems could lead to complete paralysis, preventing Sims from getting to work and emergency vehicles from responding to fires, injuries, and crimes.

It’s time to turn to buses, streetcars, trains, boats, and planes to encourage alternative modes of transportation.

Mass transit systems aren’t cheap, but as the city increases in density, it’s essential to keep Sims, freight, resources, and emergency vehicles moving.

The more mass transit alternatives we provide, the fewer cars on the roads, significantly decreasing the likelihood of traffic jams.

Let’s start by providing buses first, then later we can expand our mass transit network to accommodate the city’s growing population as well as the influx of commuters and tourists.

Buses

The Bus Terminal dispatches high-capacity municipal buses ideal for transporting Sims throughout the city and region.

Is your city ready for mass transit? Buses are the most cost-effective method to transport Sims around your city and the connected region.

Start with a Shuttle Bus Depot and a few Bus Stops, then expand service as necessary to increase ridership and promote a congestion-free city.

While buses remove cars from the roads, the buses also rely on roads to get around. In extreme cases, buses may add to the very congestion you’re trying to avoid.

As your city increases in density, look for other transportation alternatives such as streetcars, otherwise your buses will get caught in traffic, leading to long waits at each Bus Stop, and making your bus network a less appealing option for Sims.

Long waits and overcrowded buses can lead Sims to skipping work, potentially having a ripple effect on the city economy.

So monitor the info tab within the Mass Transit menu to keep an eye on wait times and daily ridership.

This information can help identify problems with your bus network.

Add more buses to your system over time to decrease wait times and increase ridership.

Shuttle Bus Depot

• Cost: 20,000
• Operational Cost: 300 per hour
• Buses: 3
• Bus Capacity: 40 Sims
• Prerequisites:
• Town Hall
• Description: Help your Sims get around the city! Shuttle buses stop here for low and medium wealth Sims.

At the first sign of congestion, plop a Shuttle Bus Depot and several Bus Stops to get some cars off the roads. The small shuttle buses dispatched from this depot can carry 40 Sims each—half the capacity of municipal buses from the Bus Terminal.

Shuttle buses are local too, restricted to transporting Sims within the city limits. Still, the Shuttle Bus Depot is much more affordable, providing your city with the most economical approach to mass transit.

As ridership increases, add additional Shuttle Bus Lot modules. In addition to increasing ridership, dispatching more shuttle buses will reduce the wait time at stops, ensuring Sims get where they need to go in a timely manner.

The Shuttle Bus Depot itself does not function as a Bus Stop, so it doesn’t really matter where you plop it. Consider placing it in a low-traffic area to prevent backups as all those shuttle buses enter and exit.

When expanded to capacity, one depot can dispatch a total of 24 buses, carrying a total of 960 Sims at any given time. If wait times at Bus Stops are still long, consider adding an additional Shuttle Bus Depot or a Bus Terminal to accommodate more riders.

Modules

Shuttle Bus Lot

• Cost: 7,000
• Operational Cost: 100 per hour
• Buses: 3
• Bus Capacity: 40 Sims
• Maximum Modules: 8
• Description: Expand your shuttle service! Provides parking for three shuttle buses.

Bus Stop

• Cost: 200
• Operational Cost: 10 per hour
• Bus Stop Capacity: 125 Sims
• Prerequisites:
• Shuttle Bus Depot
• OR Bus Terminal in region
• Description: Wait for it…buses stop here for low and medium wealth Sims.

These stops function similar to the School Bus Stops available in the Education menu. However, the buses that stop here are only dispatched from a Shuttle Bus Depot or Bus Terminal—school buses from the Grade School or High School will simply drive past these stops.

Bus Stops are available whenever you have a Shuttle Bus Depot or Bus Terminal—the Bus Terminal can be in your city or within a connected city in the region.

Just as you did with your School Bus Stops, place these stops at regular intervals throughout your city.

With each stop placed, the nearby street turns green, indicating the stop is within walking distance (approximately 400 meters or a five-minute walk) of the highlighted area.

Place another stop where the green color in the road begins to fade, expanding bus service to a new area. Continue placing Bus Stops all over the city until most of your road network is green. But don’t go overboard.

Focus your Bus Stops in the most heavily populated areas. There’s no need to place Bus Stops in wealthy neighborhoods, because wealthy Sims don’t ride buses.

But make sure all low and medium wealth buildings and job-generating buildings are near a Bus Stop.

As ridership catches on, fewer and fewer cars will clog your streets. This is most noticeable during the morning and evening rush hour commutes.

Park and Ride

• Cost: 400
• Operational Cost: 30 per hour
• Bus Stop Capacity: 80 Sims
• Prerequisites:
• Shuttle Bus Depot
• OR Bus Terminal in region
• Description: Municipal and shuttle buses stop here for low and medium wealth Sims. Commuters can park in the back before taking the bus.

The Park and Ride is essentially a Bus Stop with an attached parking lot. These come in handy when dealing with commuters traveling in and out of your city, transferring Sims from their cars onto buses.

If you have Sims coming into your city for work or to shop, consider placing a few Park and Rides near your highway connection. This helps intercept cars early on before they clog your roads.

The commuters leave their cars behind and then hop on a bus to reach their desired destination.

If dealing with commuters leaving your city or traveling great distances within your city, consider placing Park and Rides within residential neighborhoods.

This gives local Sims a chance to leave their car behind and board a bus to reach their job within the city or in a neighboring city.

Like the Bus Stops, the Park and Ride serves buses from the Shuttle Bus Depot as well as from the Bus Terminal.

Even if you have no buses dispatched from your city, you can still build a Park and Ride as long as a Bus Terminal exists in the region.

Watch as these large buses enter from the highway and make stops at each of your Bus Stops and Park and Rides.

In such cases, you can let your neighbors incur the bulk of the mass transit expenses while you simply supply Bus Stops and Park and Rides for their buses to service.

Bus Terminal

• Cost: 45,000
• Operational Cost: 750 per hour
• Buses: 3
• Bus Capacity: 80 Sims
• Prerequisites:
• City Hall
• Department of Transportation in region
• Description: A terminal for larger municipal and regional buses. Low and medium wealth Sims can drive here before taking the bus. Municipal buses can pick up and drop off Sims inside the city as well as at neighboring cities with Bus Stops. Regional buses can drop off and pick up tourists here.

The Bus Terminal dispatches large 80-passenger municipal buses throughout the city and region, providing a significant improvement over the Shuttle Bus Depot when it comes to capacity and range. The Bus Terminal also offers a large parking garage, allowing commuters to park their car and take a bus to their destination—just like the Park and Ride.

As a result, the Bus Terminal draws plenty of traffic as cars enter and exit the parking garage.

Therefore, build the Bus Terminal along a Medium or High Density Avenue that isn’t already impacted by traffic—the constant activity around the Bus Terminal can lead to sluggish traffic flow, potentially leading to the sort of gridlock you’re trying to avoid.

If you already have a number of existing Bus Stops and Park and Rides plopped throughout your city, there’s no need to add extras—the municipal buses use the same stops as your shuttle buses.

If you have any tourist attractions in your city, such as a casino or landmark, consider building the Bus Terminal nearby.

Municipal buses from the region stop at the Bus Terminal to load and unload tourists, making it a cheap and efficient transportation hub when attempting to supplement your city’s economy through tourism.

As long as the Bus Terminal is close to an attraction, tourists can disembark and walk to nearby casinos, landmarks, parks, and shops.

But a Bus Terminal alone won’t solve all the congestion problems associated with tourism.

Modules

Bus Terminal Sign

• Cost: 200
• Operational Cost: None
• Maximum Modules: 1
• Description: No, it’s not a stop. You actually have to go inside!

Municipal Bus Garage

• Cost: 15,000
• Operational Cost: 250 per hour
• Buses: 3
• Bus Capacity: 80 Sims
• Maximum Modules: 8
• Description: Expand your bus fleet!