107. "We Have the Best *** in the World"

Go ahead, plug in "healthcare," or "education," or "military," or "political system" or whatever, and most Americans will say, yes we do.  Which means of course that we can't look overseas for suggestions about how to improve our whatever, because that would imply that we may not be the best after all.

But if it's public transportation that is the issue at hand, I think even the most fervent patriot would pause. Consider the world-wide "bus rapid transit" systems (BRT) throughout the world which include the following characteristics that I have seen in Guatemala City, Quito, Guayaquil, and Lima:

1. Designated (bus-only) lanes
2. Off-bus fare collection
3. Level boarding
4. Designated, bus-only lanes.
5. Express stops

A handful of U.S. cities are trying various parts of BRT, but not to the scale seen overseas. "Yes we can" ... learn from others.