Paper Bus Connection – 紙巴士總匯

Although you might not be willing to pay to ride the Culture Bus in San Francisco when it was in service, now you can bring the Culture Bus home for free.

That bus was inaugurated in September 2008 and was discontinued on August 15, 2009. The purpose of the bus was to connect the Museums in Golden Gate Park, Civic Center, and Downtown together. The idea was good, the branding was attractive, but the execution was terrible. As soon as potential riders figured out the fare was much higher than its worth ($7 day pass), they kept away from the line and the management had done nothing to boost ridership (like lowering fares).

It is unfortunate to see all the branding go to waste.

In preparation for the Olympics last August, Beijing purchased thousands of new buses to improve the capital’s air quality and image. For the past several years, China’s bus production has improved under various joint ventures and partnerships with foreign bus manufacturers. The bus above is one of many examples.

There’s a chance that a Youngman bus would operating in America. ZAP, a company in California signed a deal with Youngman to import buses.