The bhop movement style is important in NS1 for marines. In terms of gameplay it provides four things:

1.) Shortening downtime between battles
2.) Making travel more active and engaging{fast arcadey movement}
3.) Adding angles of attack and general depth to combat(the player state not the game mode)
4.) Existing as a difficult to master skill move

I think 1{Podcast 16 - squad respawning} and 2{Padcast 5 - sprinting} have been directly addressed by the game devs and we've been informed of those decisions(or at least plans).

While we have not been informed by the devs of their plans for 3(beyond sprint), I think a lot of workable answers have been developed ie: parkour,wall jumps, give-and-take battle systems, rolls, and others.

I can't think of any suggestions for 4 beyond including Bhop in NS2. To clarify I'm talking specifically about the marines on the ground and not the commander. I don't think a included skill move has to be specifically a movement ability, but it does need to focus on (near) vanilla marines. Consequently marine movement, such as modifying the sprint button, is a good starting point. Ideas?

The melee vs ranged combat needs mobility indeed.

Encouraging boosting and such might give some depth and skill curve, but it won't get anywhere close to bhop on the depth and variety of skill. In addition it's something you can't really practice with random teammates. I'd still like to see such moves used even in fights, or at least on high threat moments.

Could enough of variety replace the one brilliant movement skill? I can't see bhop getting replaced easily by a single superior way of movement.

Interesting point.

That's why I broke it up into the four areas. I think the stated plans cover the first two and there are many options for maintaining depth within combat itself. Whether you attack/evade from an unexpected angle because you sprinted or bhopped doesn't really matter. It does matter that there's no longer a practicable skill move(beyond aim) for non-commander marines.

ive always been for - aliens bhop style movement is a must, but for marines, not so much (cause they have ranged weapons)

After thinking about what Bacillus said about "high threat moments" I have a suggestion for a marine movement ability: make ghost jumping a larger part of the game.

It could be implemented using a jump charge meter(takes .5 - 1 sec to charge fully), and by pressing backwards(from the direction of the bite) and releasing at the same time you are "hit". It can't be charged in the air.
Pros:
Increases depth of combat
More intuitive for new players, but still hard to perform consistently
Cons:
Not practicable alone

Edit:
Alternatively, if you decrease the charge time a bit, allow it to charge it in the air, and don't require a hit then you have an easier to learn bunny hop.
Edit2:
Pros:
Increases depth of combat
More intuitive for new players, but still hard to perform consistently
practicable alone
Cons:
Easy to script meaning there's no incentive to learn.

I'd say the optimal thing would be to have a method of movement that forces you to move your mouse. That allows the marine to make decisions between a quick dodge and maximum damage through constant aim. Too bad that isn't inuitive for a new player anymore.