I think this would work well, but my gut reaction is that a passenger who is already annoyed at a late bus watching that bus just go right on by would be unappreciative.
1. Bus #1's signage updates so it doesn't show the bus route externally; it's no longer "your" bus, so you aren't upset when it passes by
2. Bus #2 (which is ostensibly no more than half a block away) has an N% discount for passengers (where N increases according to demand).
3. When Bus #1 gets "bumped" (metaphorically) by Bus #2, bus company regulations have it pull over and let Bus #2 pass it; therefore, the less-crowded Bus #2 can pick up more of the waiting passengers. [Edit: Oh; I see this has been covered in some other comments already.]
It's not always so easy to trick people. For me, in SF, there are often bus stops with either only one bus line, or with multiple bus lines that will all take me to my destination.
They do that sometimes here in Brisbane, Australia.
This happens in Japan too. The first bus is full with people packed in leaning on each other. Wait 20 seconds the next bus is empty and I get a seat.
The problem is I don't know they are bunched when the first bus arrives. I assume that's the only bus and that if don't get on it will be another 10 - 20 mins for the next bus. If I knew the busses were bunched I'd be more than happy to take the less crowded bus.
If and when that happens, you'll understand why I once hit the external emergency door override for a bus that tried to drop off a passenger but not let me on, and gave the busdriver an earful when he tried to close the door on my arm.
Not everyone lives in temperate zones.
Unless you're a pensioner, that's not going to kill you, but any person who would willingly leave another person in that situation for even 5 minutes is an arsehole.
Are you really such a moron that you can't figure out for yourself that a bus service that can't do both is worthless?
There's no need for that.
It's not practical to bring a camelback everywhere in case the bus decides not to show up, but I don't expect you to know that, since you clearly turn the air-conditioning on at 25.