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Bus stops

Bus stops act as the calling card of the bus industry; the main point at which people interact with public transport. Despite this, bus stops are often unadvertised, neglected, poorly provided, or even absent altogether. Bus route maps often do not show where buses stop, and yet without stops, buses are useless. Here is a selection of bus stops of varying type and quality.

Brisbane, Australia, 1996. The bus stop occupies the full footway width, and the advertising board especially obstructs the width for pedestrians. But it provides shelter, timetables, and a litter bin. It has a positive and welcoming appearance.

Brisbane, Australia, 1996. The bus …

Astana, Khazakstan - Functional and with some decoration to liven the experience - Taken 2005

Astana, Khazakstan - Functional and…

Bus stop without seating, shelter or all-weather access on foot. This despite serving a large secondary school nearby, and having only a 20 minute service. South London, taken 2011.

Bus stop without seating, shelter o…

Birmingham, England - Let's play

Birmingham, England - Let's play "f…

Bletchley bus station after facelift (see photo taken in 2003). Shelters brightened up, and the buses have improved as well. Bletchley, near Milton Keynes, UK. Copyright Google October 2010

Bletchley bus station after facelif…

Bletchley bus station, UK. An unwelcoming shelter, dark and gloomy. Taken in 2003. (See more recent photo showing facelift.)

Bletchley bus station, UK. An unwel…

A pleasantly landscaped bus stop in a traffic-calmed suburban street - Brauweiler, near Cologne, Germany. Taken 1993.

A pleasantly landscaped bus stop in…

Münich, West End bus stop where cycle track runs between boarding area and shelter

Münich, West End bus stop where cyc…

Victoria, Australia. A neat design, and waiting passengers when seated have a clear view of approaching buses - a detail often missing. The robust structure is vandal-proff, but not graffiti-proof. Pedestrian access to the stop is poor.

Victoria, Australia. A neat design,…

Tuscany, Italy - A somewhat forlorn example, with the predictable passenger response to no seating

Tuscany, Italy - A somewhat forlorn…

Tottenham Hale, London - Bus stop flag obscured by other signs. Poor show. Taken 2012

Tottenham Hale, London - Bus stop f…

Waiting bus passengers obstruct pedestrians on the footway. London July 2002.

Waiting bus passengers obstruct ped…

Milton Keynes (Great Linford), England - A pair of bus stops opposite one another and with level boarding (good), but remote from housing and not overlloked, and only partial shelter (less good) File Name :DSCN0902.JPG File Size :642.9KB(658280Bytes) Date Taken :0000/00/00 00:00:00 Image Size :2048 x 1536 Resolution :300 x 300 dpi Number of Bits :8bit/channel Protection Attribute :Off Hide Attribute :Off Camera ID :N/A Camera :E885 Quality Mode :NORMAL Metering Mode :Matrix Exposure Mode :Programmed Auto Speed Light :No Focal Length :8 mm Shutter Speed :1/101.2second Aperture :F7.6 Exposure Compensation:0 EV White Balance :Auto Lens :Built-in Flash Sync Mode :N/A Exposure Difference :N/A Flexible Program :N/A Sensitivity :Auto Sharpening :Auto Image Type :Color Color Mode

Milton Keynes (Great Linford), Engl…

Imst, Austria -

Imst, Austria - "saw tooth" bus sto…

Caceres, Spain - bus stop with poor pedestrian access, taken 2013

Caceres, Spain - bus stop with poor…

Austria - inappropriate advertising for a bus stop

Austria - inappropriate advertising…

"Pretend" bus stops at care homes a…

Cassel, France - prominent bus stop in main street, but no passenger shelter

Cassel, France - prominent bus stop…

Havant, England - A pair of bus stops with speed cushions. A cheap and cheerful construction that does not give sufficient prominence or priority to buses. Taken 2002 File Name :DSCN0651.JPG File Size :654.6KB(670278Bytes) Date Taken :0000/00/00 00:00:00 Image Size :2048 x 1536 Resolution :300 x 300 dpi Number of Bits :8bit/channel Protection Attribute :Off Hide Attribute :Off Camera ID :N/A Camera :E885 Quality Mode :NORMAL Metering Mode :Matrix Exposure Mode :Programmed Auto Speed Light :No Focal Length :10.1 mm Shutter Speed :1/261.7second Aperture :F8.4 Exposure Compensation:0 EV White Balance :Auto Lens :Built-in Flash Sync Mode :Normal Exposure Difference :N/A Flexible Program :N/A Sensitivity :Auto Sharpening :Auto Image Type :Color Color Mode :N/A Hue Adjustment

Havant, England - A pair of bus sto…

Manchester, Deansgate - Much of the clutter, including excess bollards and signs, has thankfully been removed since this was taken in 2004 File Name :DSCN4451.JPG File Size :639.6KB(654980Bytes) Date Taken :0000/00/00 00:00:00 Image Size :2048 x 1536 Resolution :300 x 300 dpi Number of Bits :8bit/channel Protection Attribute :Off Hide Attribute :Off Camera ID :N/A Camera :E885 Quality Mode :NORMAL Metering Mode :Matrix Exposure Mode :Programmed Auto Speed Light :No Focal Length :8 mm Shutter Speed :1/232second Aperture :F2.8 Exposure Compensation:0 EV White Balance :Auto Lens :Built-in Flash Sync Mode :Red Eye Reduction Exposure Difference :N/A Flexible Program :N/A Sensitivity :Auto Sharpening :Auto Image Type :Color Color Mode :N/A Hue Adjustment :N/A Saturation

Manchester, Deansgate - Much of the…

Düren, Germany - a pair of bus stops opposite one another - giving priority to buses and creating prominence in the street scene - taken 1992

Düren, Germany - a pair of bus stop…

Bus stop at Gerainger Fjord, Norway. A rather depressing offering, especially since most users probably are visitors to this extremely popular tourist area.

Bus stop at Gerainger Fjord, Norway…

Upper Ballinderry, Northern ireland - advertising pays for bus shelters, but at the price of visual intrusion and distraction

Upper Ballinderry, Northern ireland…

Haren, Netherlands - subtle bus stop boarding platform within a shared space. Does not appear to achieve level boarding.

Haren, Netherlands - subtle bus sto…

Haslemere railway station, England - dreary and dangerous bus stop on the wrong side of the road from the station. All buses should turn into the station forecourt to provide

Haslemere railway station, England …

Havant, Hampshire, England - A small maintenance issue - Taken 2002 File Name :DSCN0695.JPG File Size :713.4KB(730471Bytes) Date Taken :0000/00/00 00:00:00 Image Size :2048 x 1536 Resolution :300 x 300 dpi Number of Bits :8bit/channel Protection Attribute :Off Hide Attribute :Off Camera ID :N/A Camera :E885 Quality Mode :NORMAL Metering Mode :Matrix Exposure Mode :Programmed Auto Speed Light :No Focal Length :8 mm Shutter Speed :1/197.1second Aperture :F2.8 Exposure Compensation:0 EV White Balance :Auto Lens :Built-in Flash Sync Mode :Normal Exposure Difference :N/A Flexible Program :N/A Sensitivity :Auto Sharpening :Auto Image Type :Color Color Mode :N/A Hue Adjustment :N/A Saturation Control :Normal Tone Compensation :Auto Latitude(GPS) :N/A Longitude

Havant, Hampshire, England - A smal…

A bus stop on the car-free island of Hiddensee, Germany. The difference here is that the buses are horsedrawn, as motorbuses are prohibited. Taken August 2012.

A bus stop on the car-free island o…

Hull, UK - substantial bus shelter in keeping with Victorian streetscape, taken 2001

Hull, UK - substantial bus shelter …

Leigh Park. Havant, England - Clearly passengers need to be carefully guarded, but from what? Bus stop on roundabout - taken 2002 File Name :DSCN0674.JPG File Size :624.8KB(639760Bytes) Date Taken :0000/00/00 00:00:00 Image Size :2048 x 1536 Resolution :300 x 300 dpi Number of Bits :8bit/channel Protection Attribute :Off Hide Attribute :Off Camera ID :N/A Camera :E885 Quality Mode :NORMAL Metering Mode :Matrix Exposure Mode :Programmed Auto Speed Light :No Focal Length :11.1 mm Shutter Speed :1/135.1second Aperture :F8.8 Exposure Compensation:0 EV White Balance :Auto Lens :Built-in Flash Sync Mode :Normal Exposure Difference :N/A Flexible Program :N/A Sensitivity :Auto Sharpening :Auto Image Type :Color Color Mode :N/A Hue Adjustment :N/A Saturation Control :Norm

Leigh Park. Havant, England - Clear…

Milton Keynes hospital bus stop (Standing Way), England. Car users would not choose to be demeaned in this way. Parking is on site and no dearer than a return bus fare. Picture taken 2002, but no improvements had been made by December 2012. File Name :DSCN1464.JPG File Size :678.5KB(694827Bytes) Date Taken :0000/00/00 00:00:00 Image Size :2048 x 1536 Resolution :300 x 300 dpi Number of Bits :8bit/channel Protection Attribute :Off Hide Attribute :Off Camera ID :N/A Camera :E885 Quality Mode :NORMAL Metering Mode :Matrix Exposure Mode :Programmed Auto Speed Light :Yes Focal Length :13.2 mm Shutter Speed :1/60.1second Aperture :F3.5 Exposure Compensation:0 EV White Balance :Auto Lens :Built-in Flash Sync Mode :Red Eye Reduction Exposure Difference :N/A Flexible Program :N/A Sensitivity :Auto Sharpening

Milton Keynes hospital bus stop (St…

Montreal, Canada - There are some good bus stops in the city, but this isn't one of them. No indication other than being at a cross roads. The bus clearly does not play the prime role in the traffic mix. Taken 2007

Montreal, Canada - There are some g…

A motorway bus stop at Vellinge, near Malmö, Sweden. Seen August 2012. Copyright Google.

A motorway bus stop at Vellinge, ne…

Orleans, France - bus stop within an arcade in historic centre Image Size :2048 x 1536 Resolution :300 x 300 dpi Number of Bits :8bit/channel Protection Attribute :Off Hide Attribute :Off Camera ID :N/A Camera :E885 Quality Mode :NORMAL Metering Mode :Matrix Exposure Mode :Programmed Auto Speed Light :No Focal Length :8 mm Shutter Speed :1/161.4second Aperture :F2.8 Exposure Compensation:0 EV White Balance :Auto Lens :Built-in Flash Sync Mode :Red Eye Reduction Exposure Difference :N/A Flexible Program :N/A Sensitivity :Auto Sharpening :Auto Image Type :Color Color Mode :N/A Hue Adjustment :N/A Saturation Control :Normal Tone Compensation :Auto Latitude(GPS) :N/A Longitude(GPS) :N/A Altitude(GPS) :N/A

Orleans, France - bus stop within a…

Leigh Park, Havant, England - Another example of how bus travel is marginalised, this time by thoughtless parking - Taken 2002 File Name :DSCN0624.JPG File Size :642.0KB(657437Bytes) Date Taken :0000/00/00 00:00:00 Image Size :2048 x 1536 Resolution :300 x 300 dpi Number of Bits :8bit/channel Protection Attribute :Off Hide Attribute :Off Camera ID :N/A Camera :E885 Quality Mode :NORMAL Metering Mode :Matrix Exposure Mode :Programmed Auto Speed Light :No Focal Length :15.3 mm Shutter Speed :1/582.7second Aperture :F3.8 Exposure Compensation:0 EV White Balance :Auto Lens :Built-in Flash Sync Mode :Normal Exposure Difference :N/A Flexible Program :N/A Sensitivity :Auto Sharpening :Auto Image Type :Color Color Mode :N/A Hue Adjustment :N/A Saturation Control :Normal

Leigh Park, Havant, England - Anoth…

Potsdam, Germany. This bus stop in the centre of Potsdam is prominent without being obstructive. Real time bus information if displayed as well as printed route and timetable information. Fold up seats minimise the space taken from the footway. Shelter, however, relies on the adjacent shop awning. Taken May 2012

Potsdam, Germany. This bus stop in …

Bus stop on Rügen, an island in the Baltic off the German coast. It is believed to date back to the former DDR, but has been given a jolly facelift in keeping with a seaside town.

Bus stop on Rügen, an island in the…

A bus stop on Rügen, a Baltic island off the German coast. It is apprently useful as a bike-and-ride stop, or even as a boat-and-ride stop!

A bus stop on Rügen, a Baltic islan…

Skiers waiting at the central bus stop in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Taken in December 2011

Skiers waiting at the central bus s…

Toledo, Spain - bus stop on one-way street in city centre, taken 2013

Toledo, Spain - bus stop on one-way…

A thatched bus stop on the Baltic island of Usedom, Germany. Taken August 2012. Very cosy!

A thatched bus stop on the Baltic i…

Villefranche - sur - Mer, France - A pretty bus stop, but if seated inside, one would not be able to see the bus coming, and bus drivers would not know to stop. Taken 2006

Villefranche - sur - Mer, France - …

Watford, England - The advert might be for

Watford, England - The advert might…

Bus stops at Wood Green, London, have a conspicous presence, provide reasonable shelter and facilities, and do not obstruct pedestrian movement. Taken early 2012

Bus stops at Wood Green, London, ha…

A subtle (too subtle?) bus stop design in Ypres (Ieper), Belgium. A positive aspect is the placing of bus stops for each direction opposite one another. Taken July 2011

A subtle (too subtle?) bus stop des…

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