Bus stop

:For other meanings, see Bus stop (disambiguation).

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A bus stop is a place where a public transport bus stops for the purpose of allowing passengers to board or leave the bus. The simplest kind has just a sign saying "bus stop", but often line numbers and/or destinations are indicated. The times the bus departs may be given, or the whole timetable for the lines involved. A map of the bus lines and tariff information may be provided. Electronic signs may be present to tell real-time when the next bus will come, regardless of schedules; NextBus is one such system. A recent innovation in London is the addition of automatic terminals to buy tickets from: these save time when boarding.

Related Topics:
Public transport - Bus - Timetable - Real-time - NextBus - London

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In many places the signs themselves are covered in operators stickers. Sometimes, these stickers are out of date or misleading. Defunct routes can get left up further confusing people.

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There may be a shelter, a bench, lighting and a garbage box. These components have the general term street furniture.

Related Topics:
Shelter - Bench - Lighting - Garbage - Street furniture

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There are two main kinds of stops:

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• Scheduled stop: The bus arrives at the stop at a set time, at which point it allows some or all passengers to disembark and lets those waiting at the stop board. It departs at another set time later.
• Request or flag stop: The bus does not come to a halt unless it is signalled to do so. Passengers may signal either by pressing a button or pulling a cord, or by verbally alerting the driver. A person waiting at the stop may be required to flag down the bus (no sign may be present), or his/her presence may be sufficient.

Some bus stops have a button which controls a traffic signal for the bus at some distance before the stop. A "demand stop" is a variant of a request stop in which a bus passenger tells the driver to leave them off at a specific bus stop, otherwise the bus will not travel to the bus stop. People are not picked up at a "demand stop", only let off the bus.

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A location with a large number of bus stops is called a bus station, bus depot, or transportation center; in the case of an end destination it may be called a terminal station. It also may house one or more stations for other forms of mass transit, such as a train station. It may have a waiting room instead of just shelters. (In the UK a bus stop is a single place where one or more buses stop; a bus station is a building which buses stop at, commonly facilities for drivers and passengers, a ticket office, refreshment outlets and a waiting room will be provided; and a bus depot is a storage area and garage for buses, used when the buses are not in operation. A location containing more than one form of transport is more commonly referred to as an interchange in the UK.)

Related Topics:
Terminal station - Train station - Waiting room - UK - Interchange

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Platforms may be assigned to fixed bus lines, or variable in combination with a dynamic passenger information system http://www.vialis.nl/engels_vialis/content3-1-17.htm. The latter requires fewer platforms, but does not supply the passenger the comfort of knowing the platform well in advance and waiting there.

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In bus rapid transit systems, bus stops are more elaborate. They have enclosed areas to allow the collection of fares prior to the arrival of the bus. This allows for rapid boarding of the bus using all doors on the bus instead of queueing through the front doors and paying fares. The most famous such system is in Curitiba, Brazil.

Related Topics:
Bus rapid transit - Queueing - Curitiba, Brazil

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