12.6 Bus stop design

Places for waiting should be attractive, comfortable and well lit. This should be achieved by appropriate seating, cover and lighting as well as by locating stops adjacent to areas of street planting, small parks or play areas.

Bus stops must include a bus shelter.

Flag only stops should only be permitted in constrained locations.

Bus shelters could be designed with a green roof to deliver biodiversity and ecological benefits or solar panels (8.6).

Bus stops must be designed sympathetically to their surroundings and should reflect the distinctive character of the local area.

Additional street furniture should be kept to a minimum and only provided if absolutely necessary and not be positioned within 2m of boarding or alighting areas to enable bus ramps to be deployed without obstruction.

For further guidance refer the street typologies guidance in this document (4.2 and table 4-3).

Bins should be provided.

Cycle parking should be provided at stops in key locations as this can enlarge the catchment area of a bus stop.

Bus stops adjacent to cycle paths and passes should be fully transparent to ensure good intervisibility.

Pedestrian needs should be the priority where cycle paths run immediately adjacent to bus stops.

Consideration should be given to the appropriate size of waiting area and how to provide safe access to bus stops for pedestrians.

Please see Chapter 11 for further information on integrating bus stops with cycle infrastructure.

Bus laybys should not be used. They are an inefficient use of space and may reduce the ease of buses re-joining the main carriageway. They should only be used where stationary buses would cause a significant safety problem, which does not include queuing traffic.

Bus boarders are useful for incorporating cycle lanes, car parking or creating more space for waiting pedestrians to facilitate the easy pick up and drop off of passengers.

These should generally be between 2-2.6 metres in width although boarders of 1- 1.3 metres could be used on constrained sites.

Bus stops must be easily accessible to passengers.

Pedestrian crossings should be provided close to bus stops and other public transport hubs.

They should not be positioned within the bus gate.

Please see paragraph 5.11 for further information on the design of pedestrian crossings.