Buses World News

In brief: Worldwide montly news & informations about Buses, Busmakers, Passengers' and the Transport Industry

22.5.14

* USA - Bus stop or transit station?

* DC - It's not all the same thing

Washington,DC,USA -Greater Greater Washington, by Canaan Merchant -May 19, 2014: -- The more riders who use a bus stop, the larger and more amenity-filled the stop should be. That's the message behind this nifty infographic from Arlington, showing the basic types of stops, and when they're appropriate... Much of the outcry over Arlington's "million-dollar bus stop" seemed to stem from the widespread belief that all bus stops are the same. But while the Arlington stops did benefit from a redesign, the general idea that "a bus stop is a bus stop is a bus stop" is wrong. Actually there are several different kinds, appropriate in different times and places... For very small stops, used by less than about 40 passengers per day, simple "flag pole" bus stops are perfectly fine... Bigger stops serving up to a couple hundred people per day need a little extra space for waiting, and at that level it's nice to provide basic amenities like seats and trash cans, so transit agencies step it up with sheltered bus stops... Naturally, Arlington isn't building these larger transit stations at every bus stop. They're only going in at a handful of the busiest stops, where passenger capacities meet that threshold of a few hundred per day, or soon will... For example, according to Arlington Transit Bureau Chief, Steve Del Giudice, the eastbound Walter Reed station is currently hosting about 525 boardings per day (that's boardings only, not including alightings). Assume it doubles with the streetcar, and Walter Reed will soon have over 1,000 boardings per day...

Labels: bus stop shelters

21.7.09

New Signs * USA - Let riders know when buses arrive

Planning a trip around town just got easier

Santa Monica,CAL,USA -SMDP, by Melody Hanatani -July 21, 2009: -- The Big Blue Bus recently installed a series of new signs that notify awaiting passengers when their ride is scheduled to arrive, part of an effort aimed at improving technology and communication between the public transportation agency and its growing customer base... Displayed overhead at four stops along Broadway and Santa Monica Boulevard in Downtown, the new electronic signs relay real-time information to riders on which line is due next and the estimated time of arrival... All motor coaches in the system have been outfitted to transmit information of their exact locations via radio channel to the Big Blue Bus, passing that along to select bus shelters... (Photo from bigbluebus fleet: North American Industries (NABI) Bus)

Labels: bus stop shelters

7.6.09

MIT's 'EyeStop' * USA - Giving Riders iPhone-Like Experience

Manhasset,NY,USA -InformationWeek, by W. David Gardner -26 May 2009: -- Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT's) SENSEable City Lab, in collaboration with Florence, Italy, have developed EyeStop, an interactive, solar-powered bus stop waiting area that enables commuters to browse the Web, create bus routes, and determine the exact location of approaching buses... The EyeStop touchscreen can be used to indicate a desired destination, with the system highlighting the shortest route. When a bus approaches, the EyeStop shelter glows increasingly bright. For bus users, EyeStop could work with location-based services that are increasingly available on smartphones and mobile devices... EyeStop also can act as an environmental sensing node to gather information on air quality and other environmental factors... (Image from i.cmpnet: Automated eyestop full)

Labels: bus stop shelters

16.11.07

Bus Stop Shelters * Abu Dhabi/UAE -Will introduces 550 air-conditioned ones in the Emirate

Abu Dhabi,United Arab Emirates -AME Info (press release) -November 13 2007: -- The Department of Transport (DOT) in Abu Dhabi invited investors to bid for the design, construction and maintenance of 550 air-conditioned bus stop shelters throughout the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in 2008 under a Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) contract... The provision of 550 new bus stop shelters by the Department of Transport intends to give the users of the public transit system in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, a convenient service, through an air-conditioned environment in most of the upcoming shelters, an iconic design, comfortable seats, good ventilation, ample reading light, wheel-chair access and an approach towards utilizing solar power, one of the cleanest and most environment-friendly sources of energy... (Imasge from ameinfo.com/images: Trueform Group, UK's Solar powered bus shelter)

Labels: bus stop shelters