TransitAid

A Smarter Bus Shelter

Class Project 2021

3 weeks

The design challenge

Students in your locality use the bus system are dissatisfied with the bus stops along the route of the bus they take from their apartments to the main campus location. Some stops offer no weather protection, while others offer no relevant information on scheduling, events or other necessities.

Problem Statement

“Design the perfect bus stop for yourself and your colleagues. Consider all your needs while waiting at or while departing from the bus stop. Your prototype should be a quarter scale in size.”

Research

User Bio

Oliver

Rochester Institute of Technology

27 Years Old

Pursuing Ph.D. at Center of Imaging Sciences

Biography

Oliver is a 27-year-old Ph.D. student at the Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science at RIT. Oliver stays in an apartment along with his roommates in a quieter suburban Rochester

The RIT campus is about 5 miles away from his apartment and Oliver relies on the RIT Off-Campus Shuttle and the RTS Bus service to get to campus. He plans of moving to a nearby apartment due to extremely cold winters and to reduce travel times to campus.

Oliver is a very punctual person when it comes to reaching his lab for research work. He gives top priority for his ongoing research and doesn’t like to waste time.

Pain Points

bad-weather-city-heavy-snowfall-blizzard-winter-unidentified-male-pedestrian-hiding-snow-u

Most of the stops in the bus route do not have a shelter apart from a small platform to wait. This is true for most of the suburban stops along the route

Rochester is one of the snowiest cities in the state of New York. Situated right south of Lake Ontario, it is prone to strong chilly gusts from the north. Temperatures vary from -7-degree Celsius to -20-degree Celsius during winters

Sometimes, the Regional Transport Bus of Rochester service gets delayed at certain time periods and tracking buses at certain routes in real time becomes a hassle

Technology Research

Provision of an all-weather-proof bus shelter. At least, in those bus stops where there is no provision of a shelter

Bus shelter should have provisions for heavy snowfall with a proper entry and exit points along with a wheelchair accessible entry

Provision for a kiosk, information displays and Automatic Vehicle Location services would be a great addition

Provision for heating during winters

Focus Areas

Halogen heating and lighting systems can be a solution to solve the issue of discomfort due to cold weather

Polycarbonate or laminated glass roofing can help bringing in natural light to the bus shelter

Bus stop capacity is often an important consideration in the planning of bus stops serving multiple routes within urban centers. Limited capacity may mean buses queue up behind each other at the bus stop, which can cause traffic blockages or delays. Bus stop capacity is typically measured in terms of buses/hour that can reliably use the bus stop. The main factors that affect bus stop capacity are:

Number of loading areas (or number of buses that can stop at one time)
Average dwell time (How much time it takes a bus to load/unload passengers)
G/C ratio of nearby traffic signal (green time / cycle length)
Clearance time (time it takes bus to re-enter the traffic stream)

A Cost Distribution Estimate

Bus Stop Types

Transit stop configurations are based on the type of traffic they handle, their location in the city, type of vehicles they cater to, rider frequency and the type of riders they cater.

Each of these must be studied in relationship to the local context and can be used with a variety of vehicle types.

In-Lane Stops

These stops allow transit vehicles to pick up passengers without exiting the lane, thereby reducing transit dwell time. In-lane stops are applicable where transit operates in a dedicated lane where motor vehicle volumes prevent buses from reemerging from stops or where travel speeds are low to moderate. In-lane stops confer transit the highest priority.

Island Stops

These are platforms flanked by travel lanes on both sides, allowing transit vehicles to run in the center lane where there are fewer conflicts with other users. They provide a dedicated space for passengers to wait. They should be located adjacent to pedestrian crossings, where passengers can easily access the pedestrian crossing. Separate island stops are required for each direction of transit service. Stops may be staggered, which can allocate space for turn lanes while providing the benefits of far-side stops for both travel directions.

Median Stops

These stops are located in the center of a street and serve transit lines in both travel directions on both sides of the platform. They require transit vehicles to have doors on the driver’s side. Access to median stops should be provided through conventionally located, at-grade pedestrian crossings.

Pull-Out Stops

These stops provide a bay for transit to pull into the curb for boarding, allowing other vehicles to pass. On streets with dedicated transit lanes, pull-out stops should only be used to allow rapid service to bypass local service, enabling intraroute transfers or to enable buses to bypass vehicles queued at intersections. Pull-out stops or bus bays may also be appropriate where buses must stop and wait for a period of time, such as at the end of a route or at a high-traffic transfer point.

Boarding Lanes and Transit Stands

oarding lanes are provided at specific locations such as transfer points, hubs, or key destinations to improve transfer efficiency by providing designated locations for specific routes. Good design and enforcement reduce conflicts and increase safety at these locations, especially in crowded environments. The recommended width for these lanes is 3 m for minibuses.

Shared Stops or Easy Access Stops

These stops share the loading space for waiting transit users with vehicular travel lanes. Pedestrians wait on the sidewalk and when the transit vehicle arrives, cars, cycles, and other vehicles stop at the raised travel lane behind the transit vehicle, allowing pedestrians level boarding access. Once the transit vehicle leaves the stop and disembarking passengers have left the shared space, vehicles and cycles can resume movement. This type of stop is highly dependent on local context, compliance levels, and enforcement.

Ideation

Modelling

I made mockups of a few bus stop shelters using foam core to a quarter scale to get an idea and visualize how those shelters might look like in real life.