alt Hacker News> they’re not supposed to be “comfortable” if the frame of reference used are AC/sleek private vehicles
Sure. But that means you have no buy in from the latter. If you add a shuttle service, with a forward-looking eye to self-piloted vehicles, you increase use and potentially also revenues to reïnvest in uncomfortable busses.
This notion that revenues are a problem for busses is also not universal, even in the US. In the PNW the bus services in the city I am in and nearby are free - no fares charged. Their revenue is elsewhere (note that I'm not saying ridership is unimportant, but if you're deriving revenue from ads which then ties to miles driven, then it becomes less important).