I started this discussion on mastodon, but want to here too. If you could create the perfect bus stop, what would it have? Here are some of my ideas:
⛑ Safety:
- Shelters: no advertisements blocking views. Enclosed shelters must have 2+ exit points.
- Solar lights
♿ Accessibility:
- A space in shelters for wheelchairs.
- Marked wide paved section for wheelchairs & those with mobility difficulties to board a ramp onto the bus.
- Braille on bus stop signs & tactile pavement.
🚲Other:
- Bike racks
- Vending Machines
- Public water fountain
- Tiny library
Do you have more ideas?
Edit: realized the photo i added is ai, but i can’t seem to get rid of it so 🤷♀️
A stop button for the bus stop.
Where I live the bus does not stop if no one flags it from the bus stop. The problem is that sometimes it is hard to see which bus is coming and you have to always be on alert. A button that maybe turn on a light that show the incoming bus that passagens wants to get in. For bus stop with multiple bus lines it should show which line needs to stop.
Similarly a info panel with the buses that stops in that stop, when the next one is due and maybe even a map of the buses route. I know that with smartphones this is not such kife change but still useful I think.
I like that idea a lot. It would allow for more mini bus stops in side streets and out of the way areas, because the bus wouldn’t have to divert from the “main” route unless someone on the out-of-the-way bus stop actually needed it. It would be great for people with mobility issues, also. You could really go nuts with it if you had enough buses!
This is a bad thing - buses need to be predictable for everyone. Sure it is nice for the person who is off the “main” route. But for everyone else trying to get to their meeting on time it means sometimes they are late because the bus decided to take a longer route. Transit needs to be predictable because getting there on time is critical for a large number of trips.
Maybe yeah, maybe a shuttle service is better for disabled folks. I wasn’t imagining a big detour, but I suppose it could add up if the bus you’re on takes one or two detours between your stops.
That’s a cool idea, it could eventually help them adjust service if a lot of people are requesting buses a certain day.
Or simply act as an anonymized data source for future changes. The time when someone requests a bus is different from when someone actually gets on a bus