By Tom Austin-Morgan

Bus stops are by far the most common transport interchange, but not many people think about what happens at them unlike railway stations, for example, where the process of getting from the street and onto a train is well mapped out.

Prof Tyler from UCL says that the ‘phase transition’ from becoming a pedestrian to a passenger is an important one. This transition also includes an intermediary step, which he calls becoming a ‘pedenger’, where the potential passenger is looking for their tickets and/or money, or arranging their bags.

“Typically, this is done in a panic,” Prof Tyler states. “We need to account for the fact that somebody’s going to arrive at a bus stop and they’re going to want to manipulate bags, check their pockets for their bus pass, identify the correct bus.”
He adds that, similarly, alighting busses is thought about even less than boarding and that bus stops should be designed with these things in mind.

There are three types of bus stop designs in use in the UK, generally. The first is a simple pole or shelter next to a road, the second is a ‘boarder’ bus stop where a cycle lane is placed between the bus stop and the road, and the third is a ‘floating island’ bus stop where cycle lanes are diverted around the back of the bus stop, effectively forming an island upon which the bus stop is located. The latter two were introduced to increase active travel and make cycling easier and safer. 

However, they have caused issues for people with mobility impairments, namely those with hearing or visual impairments, wheelchair users and anyone with limited mobility. 

Main image: Nick Tyler, Professor of Civil Engineering at UCL giving speech; credit: UCL.

Adding cyclists into the mix

When you also consider cyclists, an extra layer of complexity and conflict is created. On a floating island bus stop pedestrians must cross the cycle lane to get to and from the bus stop platform. This is difficult to do for those with mobility issues and wheelchair users who must turn their bodies/chairs 60° when entering the bus stop or more than 90° when exiting.

But for those with visual impairments, it’s often harder as there is no clear way of knowing there’s a cycle lane beyond the bus stop at all, let alone how to get to the tactile pavement that signifies the crossing. Then, of course, there’s the issue of whether cyclists will stop at the zebra crossing.

Prof Tyler and a team at UCL’s PEARL (Person-Environment-Activity Research Laboratory) facility are testing new designs of floating bus stops with the participation of the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB). 

“The 2.5 metre platform width is not enough for wheelchair users who require the use of ramps,” Prof Tyler explains. “Because you can’t manoeuvre the wheelchair at all until it’s completely off the ramp, it needs to be three metres at least. This might mean that there can’t be a floating bus stop because of the restrictions in space from the building line to the roadway.”

He also called for better education for pedestrians, passengers, and cyclists around how to use floating island bus stops. However, he concluded that there might be no way of making them 100% safe (especially boarder bus stops), but there may be a simpler solution.

“In Denmark, cycle lanes go along the curb and cyclists wait behind busses while they’re at bus stops,” he says. “I don’t really see that working here. However, in cycle infrastructure design LT 1/20, cycle lanes go around the outside of loading bays, so cyclists go from the curb out into the roadway, around the loading bay, and back to the curb. I wonder if something like that can be implemented for bus stop design to improve conditions for those with mobility impairments?”

Designing highways and transportation for people with dementia is the latest course on CIHT Learn to help make transport more inclusive. You can listen to the CIHT podcast on the subject, or see all the courses on CIHT Learn.

Main image: Nick Tyler, Professor of Civil Engineering at UCL giving speech; credit: UCL.