Well designed transit routes and stops are essential to a usable system. Bus stops should be located at intervals that are convenient for passengers. The stops should be designed to provide safe and convenient access and should be comfortable places for people to wait. Adequate bus stop signing, lighting, and a bus shelter with seating and trash receptacles are also desirable features. Bus stops should be highly visible locations where people can reach them easily on foot.
Convenient crossings are also important.
Proper placement of bus stops is a key to user safety. For example, placing the bus stops on the near side of intersections or crosswalks may block pedestrians views of approaching traffic, and the approaching drivers view of pedestrians. Approaching motorists may be unable to stop in time when a pedestrian steps out into traffic from behind the front of the bus. Relocating the bus stop to the far side of the intersection can improve pedestrian safety since it eliminates the sight distance restriction caused by the bus.4 Placing bus stops at the far side of intersections can improve motor vehicle operation but should always be placed where pedestrians can cross the roadway safely. The bus stop location should be fully accessible to pedestrians in wheelchairs, and should have paved connections to sidewalks where landscape buffers exist.