Places of transit: An exploration of bus stop design and how to make them an attractive urban place

Abstract

A major issue for urban policy makers and planners is how to stimulate a shift away from car dependency. A key problem they face is how to make public transport – specifically bus travel – attractive to people who have other choices. Much of the transport and planning literature investigating how to make bus travel more desirable has focussed largely on the logistics of bus movement and bus network efficiency. However, this has overlooked the role of the design of bus stops in influencing passengers’ travel experience. This study considers the role of bus stops in travel experience and how they are designed and managed within the transport system. It examines two perspectives, key stakeholders and the community, undertaking key informant interviews, policy analysis, open-ended surveys and focus group discussion. It explores how the design features shape and can alter the community’s experience of travelling by bus in order to make sustainable travel arrangements more attractive. By understanding the experiences of the passengers waiting at bus stops, conclusions can be drawn on what design features bus stops require to be a more desirable urban place. The findings suggest that in order to make bus stops a desirable and liveable urban space there are six areas that need to be improved, bus stop design process, issues that arise during the process, land-use issues, tensions between agencies, the visions and ideas of the community, and more collaborative approach between responsible agencies. A more proactive and creative approach to bus stop design as an integral part of liveable streets could make them ‘shop windows’ to encourage more public transport use as a pathway towards a more sustainable urban future.