Building a Better Bus Stop – World Examples
May 5, 2008
Photo courtesy of Simon Clarke
To finish off this series on a positive note, TransitFan provides a few examples of good bus stop design from other parts of the world - both near and far. While most bus stops in our fair city are less than ordinary, should we not be striving for the extraordinary?
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CURITIBA, Brazil – This Brazilian city has probably the coolest-looking bus stops in the world along its Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system. But they’re also functional. Passengers enter the tubes and pay their fares before boarding, reducing dwell times at stations are to between 15-18 seconds. The tubes also provide shelter from sun, wind, and rain. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to buy a bus ticket at a bus stop in Vancouver? And I’m sure UBC and SFU students would appreciate shelters that truly provide shelter. (photo taken by Morio)
BILBAO, Spain – This city in northern Spain has great bus stop displays. TransitFan isn’t sure if this is real time information, but seeing the expected arrival times of all upcoming buses is a great feature. While this would be very expensive to roll out for even a majority of bus stops in Vancouver, something similar could at least be installed at major intersections where the number of boardings is high. (photo courtesy of Ryan Griffin-Stegink)
SAN FRANCISCO, United States – This photo is of a streetcar stop in the Muni system, showing the actual arrival time for the next streetcar. This would be the promised land for bus riders. The 98 B-Line bus stops have similar signage, but the arrival information is strictly the scheduled arrival time, not the actual arrival time. However, there is talk that TransLink is planning to roll out a system with real time information in the near future. TransitFan’s guess is that the B-Line bus stops will have real time information displayed, while for regular bus routes information will be accessed by cell phone or internet like the current Next Bus service. (photo courtesy of sftrajan)
Next time: A visit to San Francisco’s transit system
When the 98 B line was introduced it *did* have real time information. It was not just to feed the bus stops but also was supposed to get a late bus an extended green phase at signalized intersections, though the traffic engineers at the City of Vancouver did their very best to minimize its utility. The system was far from problem free - and was never used for what it should have been used for, i.e. keeping a regular headway between buses. (It is one thing to know where the bus is, it is quite another to be able to do something about it.) And, of course with the construction of the Canada Line the first thing that happened was that all the special facilities like bus lanes and dedicated stops were ripped out in Richmond.
Translink’s spin has been that they are getting a new system, and given advances in technology and a legal requirement to have annunciators it will almost certainly be better.
And the special shelters designed for the 98 were almost completely useless at actually providing shelter.