More Buses, Fewer Riders? Thoughts on the Ridership vs Coverage Tradeoff

For several years, I worked as a transit planner and scheduler nested in an architecture firm. Along the way, I learned about the concept of a “starchitect” (“star” + “architect”). Basically, a starchitect is an architect that has established fame inside of (and maybe even outside of) the field of architecture based on the buildings they have designed. A local example to me here in Chicago is Jeanne Gang. You may not know her, but if you know Chicago, you probably know her buildings. Jeanne’s firm designed Aqua Tower in downtown Chicago. When it opened, it gained fame as the tallest building designed by a female architect. Aqua Tower lost this title in 2020 when the St. Regis Chicago opened in 2020. Its architect? Also Jeanne Gang!