Bus line does not make money

[drsoong]

Hi

I am an absolute beginner and have run through the getting started tutorial where it is recommended to built bus lines that constantly make money. The trouble is I have exactly done as said in the tutorial but for some unknown reason the bus line only constantly costs money each time the “bus” stops. Does anybody know why the buses don’t earn money?

[Blokker_1999]

You need enough busses on a line in order to attract passengers and it is those passengers that will earn you money. Running a single or two busses == loss, you need to get an interval of a bus every 2 to 3 minutes. And a line that consists of no more than about 8 stops.

[drsoong]

Many thanks. Things changed when  a new bus type was available and I took this one. Then suddenly I started to earn money. I follow your advice and see where I get. Thanks again.

[gcampono]

I also tend to go slightly in the red (hard difficulty) because I have a higher frequency. I still feel that it helps feeding my other train lines.

However, I am not convinced about what is the best type of line. Is it better a circular line or it is better a hub and spoke line (I mean, station/residential>commerce>station/residential>leisure>station/residential>industry) or even multiple separate lines ? Did you experiment with different liines layouts ?

[drsoong]

@gcampono: No, I am still doing the beginner stuff. Trying to understand the interface and why streets can not be built as I want to etc.

The game seems to be way more demanding than I thought.

[simonmd]

Supply and demand, that’s what this game is all about. The new bus was probably a bit faster than the old one and so it made the bus line attractive.

[Varana]

However, I am not convinced about what is the best type of line. Is it better a circular line or it is better a hub and spoke line

I don’t think that there’s an answer that fits everything, but generally speaking, I find straight lines from the train station to some end stop and the same way back (all stops included) the most consistently profitable.

After a city reaches a decent size, I usually set up two or three lines:
One tram line from the station straight through the city along a major road, touching (if possible) at least the inner-city red zone, the edge of the industrial zone, and one high-value residence zone. That’s not always feasible, but as a general planning consideration. The trams stop at some major crossroads, with about four to five stops (at the maximum) in one direction. They go to the terminus, turn around and take the same route back, serving all stops along the line in both directions. The train station is usually one of the ends, but can sometimes be in the middle of the line.
This line usually is the backbone of the city network. It quite reliably creates money and, in most cases, subsidises the other city lines. If my combined city network makes some money, it’s fine.

In addition to the tram line, I build one or two circular bus lines intersecting the tram at one or two stations each. Whether these make money, is a bit hit-and-miss; I’ve had hugely profitable bus lines, but most of them just about break even or run a bit of a deficit. If they’re basically creating no income at all, they should be redesigned.

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