Wow this is some incredible feedback, I was actually just on a shortish Unity hiatus because I had lost direction with this project but I think that's over now. So after what you said I'm thinking :
- Redesign map to match Russian/Soviet city layouts (circular with a city center)
- Remove bus stops and add regions/areas/landmarks that people request to be dropped off at instead, and make the NPCs hail you from the side of the road
- Add a paper map to reflect where those areas are/where you are using a pin or a marked X
- Add a highlighted route on the map which you will be following for that day, and make NPC's only spawn on that route. (You'll have an amount of time to get to the start of the route and then you'll be expected by the boss at the end of the route at a certain time)
- Simplify document checking and add change counting while on the go
- Make the vehicle harder to control (vary in intensity with added weight/damage)
- Add day mode w/ bad weather, have it transition from day to night through your shift
- Add other marshrutka drivers on the road that behave especially erratically.
- Redesign marshrutka to have sliding door that can jam, (make it so you can disembark the bus and walk around slowly, also start the day on foot and make you enter your vehicle in the morning)
- Have the people in the back frequently talk to you and ask questions that you have to answer with multiple choice while driving. Also make them ask to be dropped off and if you're too far away they won't get out.
- Increase difficulty of steering/braking as your vehicles sustains more damage, this will replace the system where you instantly die. At the end of each day you can choose if you want to pay money to repair your vehicle as well as other options you must weigh.
Those are just some of the notes I made so that I don't forget everything you said. Honestly these changes wouldn't be too hard to implement and I'm glad to have some direction again. Much appreciated!
And expect me to reply to you in the future some time as I will likely have questions about specific things.