An Open Letter to Trieste Trasporti

Since I am my own boss, I feel like it is time to give back by giving unsolicited advice for better marketing and communications to my favorite local businesses.

Here is my first go.

It's no secret here that I love the bus. I take it everywhere (when I'm not riding my bike, which I love just a little bit more) and truly BELIEVE in public transportation. I think, however, that once in a while the approach to Public Transportation here in Trieste could use some Tweaking.

I know you are having a difficult time, TT, we all are. But you've got to tough it out and weather the storm. IMHO, you could make a couple of small changes to encourage more ridership and make everyone's experience a little better.

1. GIVE US MORE! I know it goes against comon wisdom, but if you want more money to come in you've got to offer MORE, not less. The great price hike of 2013 coupled with that bus-route-cutting revolution a few months ago to save gas money or whatever it was, has meant more waiting and overcrowded, uncomfortable busses, not to mention more fights about whether that little window stays open for air, or remains shut to avoid the "giro d'aria" and the neck and back problems that it inevitably produces.

Think about your competition (bike, feet, scooter, car), if I had to choose between bus and, say, scooter, I would probably say scooter (and wear a scarf).

2. GET AN APP! I know you are technologically savvy. You have a website and pdfs with the various bus schedules. You sell the paper version at the newspaper kiosk. But really, when I need bus info, I am on the run and would like something I can read from my smartphone. Make the investment. If they can do it in almost every major city in the world, why can't Trieste? Tourism is our future, and those travelers expect it. For those of us who don't, you could feel satisfied in the knowledge that you made a few depressed bus riders a little happier.

If you are worried about how to pay for it, you will like my next point.

3. CHECK TICKETS or GET A SYSTEM THAT REQUIRES YOU TO PAY BEFORE YOU GET ON! The whole "trust system" just doesn't jive with the larger Italian context and feels like laziness more than trust anyway. There have been a few "Blitzes" in recent months, but generally, paying for the ticket is a culture issue that needs some cultivating from the top down. Here is a moment where lowering prices but making sure everyone pays could bring in more revenue.

4. GIVE US MORE ACCORDION BUS! Share it with other routes! Is the 10 route REALLY THAT worthy?  While I don't think it would be appropriate for the 44 or 46 routes that go up to the Carso on death-defyingly narrow roads, why can't the 20 or the 21 have a go, especially during rush hour in the morning and lunchtime when students go home (now is the time to convince them to become lifelong bus riders!)?

5.  CLEAN UP THE TRAM AND LET HER SIT IN PIAZZA OBERDAN. I'm not saying you have to USE her anymore, but at least put her there as a museum piece. She is so important to local lore, why hide her away? If the system is going to break down every 15 minutes, let the people on the hill take a normal bus and let the rest of us get a chance to see her every day on our way to work. Give her a shine, put some cameras on her so she doesn't get graffitied, and let her be something tourists can get their pictures taken in front of.

End of rant. Gotta catch the 34 and then the 44 to go pick up Sweet P.