RULE 23 | PROVIDE TRANSIT THAT ENTICES DRIVERS OUT OF THEIR CARS

WALKABLE WICHITA: LESSONS FROM JEFF SPECK

BY RAMI STUCKY

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A diverse group of feet crosses a striped walkway, a snapshot of movement and journey.

There are 1,103 bus stops in Wichita. [1] More than 84 percent of them do not have benches. Consequently, riders, who sometimes have to wait over an hour for their bus to come, have to stand the entire time. Such conditions impact the transit experience and undermine the walkability of Wichita.

As urban planner Jeff Speck notes in his book, Walkable City Rules: 101 Steps to Making Better Places, “entice drivers out of their cars” by improving a bus system’s urbanity, clarity, frequence, and pleasure. [2] Urbanity means providing transit to and from interesting areas. A clear transit system is easy to ride, navigate, and board. A frequent system runs often. And finally, a pleasurable system means that users enjoy using it: the bus is comfortable, climate-controlled, and its facilities are modern. The City of Wichita is currently completing a Transit Network Redesign, a plan that provides guidance on how to improve in four key areas. 

In the meantime, adding benches to any of the more than 1,000 stops without them is a cost-effective and easy way to improve the Wichita Transit system, particularly in terms of passenger comfort. Furthermore, there appear to be funding mechanisms to support such a project. In December 2025, the City of Wichita’s Sustainability Integration Board will issue a request for proposals (RFPs) for its micro-grant initiatives. These grants will provide up to $1,000 for “shovel-ready” projects that contribute to the city’s sustainability. What better project than providing benches for public transit users?

There are several places where benches are needed. One possible location is along Route 21, Wichita’s busiest line, which, in 2024, served 135,311 riders, accounting for approximately 12 percent of total ridership. The line passes by Wichita State University (WSU), runs along 21st Street, and is heavily used by WSU's international students, who make up almost 20 percent of the university’s student body. The line stops by ethnic grocery stores, such as Asia Bazaar and Asian Groceries, and serves housing complexes, including Parc at 21^st and Rock. However, like the rest of the city, about 83 percent of stops along Route 21 do not have benches. Google Street View even shows one student standing and waiting for the westbound bus at 21^st and Broadmoor. That seems like as good a place as ever to put one. Where do you think a bus bench should go?

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[1] Nelson\Nygaard, the planning firm tasked with writing the City of Wichita’s Transit Network Redesign, states there are 2,099 bus stops. Nelson\Nygaard, Wichita Transit Network Redesign (City of Wichita, 2025), 13, https://www.wichita.gov/DocumentCenter/View/32577/Wichita-Transit-Network-Redesign-Final-Report-PDF. The City of Wichita GIS layer, however, has way fewer.

[2] Jeff Speck, Walkable City Rules: 101 Steps to Making Better Places (Island Press, 2018), 54–55.