Design stops and stations as introductions to the transit system, paying special attention to how transit space interacts with the sidewalk and adjoining buildings. Comfortable stops with shade trees, shelter, places to sit or lean, and nearby business activity can anchor an improved local pedestrian realm and improve rider perceptions of transit service. Branding and distinctive stations serve to advertise frequent service, while clear information saves people time—and bolsters ridership.
Transit stops involve interactions among nearly everyone on the street, and the type and location of transit stops affect reliability and travel time. Stop location and design can support prompt transit and safe crossings by accounting for intersection operations, transfers to other routes, and local destinations. Cluster stops with bike share stations, car share, and for-hire-vehicle zones to create neighborhood mobility hubs, making the best use of station and sidewalk investments.
Use boarding islands and bulbs to allow transit vehicles to stop in their moving lane. Buses have long been expected to pull out of traffic to the curb, but this practice de-prioritizes transit, sometimes significantly on mixed-traffic streets. In-lane stops eliminate that delay, and provide an opportunity for near-level or level boarding. They also create shorter, safer pedestrian crossings, provide more walking space on the sidewalk, and make the street more predictable by sorting out bike-bus conflicts at stops.
Design streets so that people of all ages and abilities can safely reach transit stops and board comfortably. The elements that make transit more smoothly accessible can benefit all transit riders, regardless of physical or sensory ability. Thoughtful, human-centered design of transit infrastructure elevates the experience of riding transit, and can save both time and money.
Social safety and traffic safety at transit stops are critical for riders, and impact their decisions about where and when to take transit. Prioritizing walking access to transit stops, including direct routes and convenient, low-delay pedestrian crossings, is vital to achieving a safe system. Proximity to all-hours activity, human-scale lighting, and transparent shelters and structures all help provide riders with a secure place to wait.
Transit vehicles, platforms and street surfaces work together as a system to achieve accessible and fast boarding. Design platforms that work flexibly with the range of transit vehicles already in use to ease boarding, and use fleet purchases and major street projects as opportunities to create level boarding.