In my city at least, this happens because a lot of the bus routes are one way in the morning / afternoon (into or out of the city) so if you want to take a bus out of the city/downtown in the morning, it ends up being a mess.
Could also easily happen in a system that’s entirely hub and spoke without any lines that meaningfully cross each other, particularly if buses come 30+ minutes apart. So, going to a neighborhood that’s not between your location and city center can take forever speaking from experience.
In my city at least, this happens because a lot of the bus routes are one way in the morning / afternoon (into or out of the city) so if you want to take a bus out of the city/downtown in the morning, it ends up being a mess.
Could also easily happen in a system that’s entirely hub and spoke without any lines that meaningfully cross each other, particularly if buses come 30+ minutes apart. So, going to a neighborhood that’s not between your location and city center can take forever speaking from experience.