On average public transit produces 2% of pollution but transport about 28% of riders. (I don't remember where exactly I got the numbers but I've seen them in a few places).
The buses need to run at night so the people can rely on them during the day -- it's just the price of public transit, the public uses transit way more if buses run on 10-minute interval during off-peak rather than 30-minut interval. (another study I can't find right now).
I think as programmers we tend to try and optimize problem for least pollution, but the problem here lies in the domains of sociology and urban planning; we might not be the most qualified people to solve it.
For example if buses pollute 3% because of the extra buses on off-peak routes but now more people use them, this would have net effect of reducing pollution.
Was going to downvote but this probably merits a reply.
All your points are correct, but you're not responding to the point that SDCs can be superior to buses for those low-capacity times. If it were one or the other, then yes, buses could be less pollution on average, but that doesn't address the case the parent was talking about.
The buses need to run at night so the people can rely on them during the day -- it's just the price of public transit, the public uses transit way more if buses run on 10-minute interval during off-peak rather than 30-minut interval. (another study I can't find right now).
I think as programmers we tend to try and optimize problem for least pollution, but the problem here lies in the domains of sociology and urban planning; we might not be the most qualified people to solve it.
For example if buses pollute 3% because of the extra buses on off-peak routes but now more people use them, this would have net effect of reducing pollution.