What is a bus stop?
A bus stop is any location that is designated for buses to stop. There are several different types of stops from a simple wide spot in the road to
an off street transfer facility. Stops can be for local school buses, private bus companies, or public transit agencies. Types of Bus Stops:
Flag Stop - This is an unmarked stop that is served by request of the passenger. The term comes
out of Railroads where there were stops along the route that were served only when a flag was raised.
Regular Stop - Your standard bus stop marked with a sign and having one or more additional
facilities.
Transfer Stop - These stops are located where people transfer from one route to another. The routes will either serve the same stop, or stops a short walk apart.
Limited Stop route Stop - A stop served by a limited stop route. These routes commonly follow the same routing as a regular route, but only stop at certain stops.
Express Stop
- A stop that is served by an express route, these routes usually operate for some distance between stops, in same cases this may be many miles or kilometers between stops.
Transit Center
- This is an area that is designed for several bus or rail routes. These may either be simple on street stops, or very complex off street facilities. One common feature of transit
centers is for various routes to have individual stops, not all transit centers are set up this way, but many are. Transit centers will usually have multiple passenger facilities, such as shelters and
benches, and also will usually have some form of information available for the passengers, this may include a staffed information center where passengers can buy passes and get printed schedules.
There might also be sanitary facilities for the drivers who have breaks at this point.
Layover Stop - A stop where the bus sits at the end of a line. Sometimes this is a dedicated stop
where passengers are not allowed to board.
Temporary or Portable Stop - These are usually mounted on portable stands and are used for
special events, or for when a regular bus stop is closed for one reason or another (most often construction). These can be mounted on an existing pole, or on a portable pole of some type. What makes up a bus stop sign?
A bus stop signs usually contains several pieces of information. They almost always say "Bus
Stop" on them and identify the agency that is responsible for them.
Other information that may be included might consist of, the route numbers serving the stop. This
might include some information on the route such as the destination, direction, or a summary of when the route operates. In some cases it might be a special sign added to the regular sign that
will identify the bus route.
Bus Stop signs might also include the information phone number for the agency. This might also
include a code or number that allows you to get specific information on the routes service that stop.
Here is a brief history of bus stop signs at one district. Facilities commonly found at bus stops:
Click here for various passenger facilities. What makes a good bus stop?
There are several elements to a good bus stop. Look here for a brief description of a good bus stop. Ways that signs are mounted to their poles.
There are several ways in which bus stop signs can be mounted on the pole. The method used partly depends on the type of pole.
U-Bolts - This is a simple mounting that uses a bolt and a bracket. The U-Bolt attaches the
bracket to the pole, while the sign is then bolted to the bracket. This normally requires 2 U-Bolts and Brackets per sign.
L-Bracket - This is a bracket attached to the top of the pole that is shaped like an "L", the sign is
then attached to the bracket. This is commonly used when more than one sign is attached to the same pole.
Banding and Bracket - This is commonly used when attaching signs to light standards. The
banding material is wrapped around the light standard and a bracket is also attached before the band is secured. The sign is then bolted to the brackets.
T-Bracket - This is a simple bracket that attaches to the top of the pole. It usually contains a couple of set screws that can then be tightened down on the sign.
Bolted to Building - In some cases the sign might be bolted directly yo a building.
Other - There are several other ways of mounting signs, including screwing them directly on a
wooden post or shelter.
Click here to see examples of some of the mounting methods. |
