Bus Stop Design Guidelines
Bringing Better Bus Stops to the SRTA Service Area
Bus stops are the “gateway” to transit, and SRTA wants to ensure that all bus stops offer the highest comfort and accessibility for passengers. SRTA Getting On Board looks at current bus stop locations, conditions, and amenities to create design guidelines and improvement plans that will make taking the bus easier, faster, and more comfortable.
Bus Stop Design Guidelines
SRTA serves more than 1,100 bus stops in 7 different Massachusetts communities. We know that our stops could be improved with additional shelters, more passenger information, and better spacing. Bus Stop Design Guidelines will assist the region with improving all current and future SRTA bus stops and ensuring that they are consistent.
Bus stop spacing guidelines
Many bus stops are too close together. Our guidelines propose spacing of at least 1,300 feet between stops, and 18 of 24 SRTA routes have an average stop spacing closer together than that guideline.
Expanding the distance between stops will reduce the time buses spend sitting still at stops and allows for greater investment at other bus stops.
Project Documents
Bus Stop Design Guidelines and Stop Consolidation
The purpose of the guidelines is to provide direction on creating a network of bus stops that improve the customer experience and bus operations. While the guidelines are focused on typical SRTA bus stops, amenity standards for SRTA’s two transit terminals are also provided. Furthermore, with the exception of federal and state accessibility requirements cited in this document, the guidelines provide recommendations and direction, rather than strict standards. They are intended to be flexible, if need be, to the different situations of each bus stop.
Context Analysis
This Context Analysis provides a baseline understanding of the current conditions and policies related to SRTA’s bus stops. The purpose of the Context Analysis is to ensure that SRTA’s eventual Bus Stop Design Guidelines are appropriate and service a wide range of locations. Specifically, SRTA’s Bus Stop Design guidelines need to reflect real life conditions, and the policies described therein need to reflect the existing operating environment
Peer Review
The development of bus stop guidelines and capital plan for the SRTA provides an opportunity to improve bus service in Southeastern Massachusetts. To inform the development of bus stop guidelines for SRTA, three transit agencies were chosen for a peer review of their bus stop design guidelines, in consultation with SRTA staff. The peer review identifies best practices for the visual design, content, use, and specifications from these guides to include in SRTA’s guide.