@ Bob2, while I can't contradict your actual experience on a given bus, the geometry of bus v car v bike is pretty clear--single driver cars take up more space per traveling human unless the bus is nearly empty.
[twitter.com]
pictures worth many words. Basic principles for speeding up ANY form of mass transit, dedicated ROW which includes "traffic signals" or in the rail case "block signals" (whether wayside or cab display), off vehicle fare control, level and all door boarding are proven. For how far apart the stops should be, check out this recent research from an Illinois Institute of Technology student, and CTA planner.
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The paranoid "those socialist planners want to confiscate my car" agit prop in the comments says it all.