bus shelters

Ryerson University
Department of Architectural Science
ASC 907 – Small Buildings








BUS SHELTERS
Project 3: Part 2 & 3







By: James Kang
For: Dr. June Komisar
Due: April 7th 2006
PART 2: Bus Shelter Program

The transit system is seen as the “bloodline” of an urban crawl. Bus shelters are the limbs connected to the bloodline of the city. It is an area where all types of people come to travel together. Bus shelters are a representation of the transit system. Bus shelters must meet certain requirements which include safety.

Bus shelters started their debut as very simple concrete or masonry structures. These designs were a target for vandalism and did not create a safe environment for commuters to wait. Due to isolated incidents relating to vandalism and commuter’s personal safety, the program for designing a bus shelter was developed, taking into consideration many issues. These issues take into consideration personal safety, comfort, vandalism, aesthetics, protection from weather, and accessibility.

Bus shelters are required to have a glazing wall system all around on all sides of the structure. This provides piece of mind for the commuter and visibility. It also allows the bus shelter to blend in with the streetscape and not appear out of place. The shelter must also allow commuters to enter in and out freely. Therefore it must have at least one opening, approximately the size of a typical door and should not exceed more than two openings. These two openings should not be directly across from each other to avoid cross-ventilation during frigid weather. The modes of egress should also be wheelchair accessible and should be large enough to allow a wheelchair to rotate without difficulty. There must be a non-permeable, translucent or opaque roof to shield from direct sunlight. Along with the roof, a simplified ventilation system just below the roof should be in place for air flow.

The bus shelter should be able to hold between 5-10 people at one time, as that is the average number of commuters waiting during rush hour at a single stop. A bus shelter should be able to accommodate as many commuters at it possibly can in extreme weather conditions. It would be best for a bus shelter to be located on or close to major streets and common intersections for increased visibility by the driver and commuters.

All bus shelters cannot be located conveniently on major roads and intersections. Due to this fact, bus shelters, located in less busy roads should have large visible signs. These signs should be visible to both the drivers as well as the commuters. Signs should display the route, a schedule and the direction of which the bus is going. A lighting system should also be in each bus shelter. Certain bus routes run all day and all night and bus shelters should have light during the evening and night hours for commuters. Light is perceived as a safeguard at night and also provides visibility for the driver to view those waiting for a bus. Also to add to commuter comfort, a simple bench should be located within the glazed walls. These benches should be only a place to sit briefly and should not exceed any levels of comfort. It should be a simple seat with arm rests to prevent anyone from sleeping on the bench.

The most important recommendation for a bus shelter is to build it out of materials which are vandal-proof. This is one of the most difficult, important and commonly dealt issue with bus shelters. The glazing system is susceptible to cracks and severe damage. It is also a target for graffiti and other visible forms of defacement. The same materials used for the walls and the roof should also be a durable material, being able to last a minimum of 25 years under all weather conditions.

The bus shelter should take into consideration how a commuter would feel waiting for the transit at any time of the day or night. A shelter should be designed to encourage commuters to take the transit even during the night by incorporating design details to provide them with a certain level of comfort and safety.


CASE STUDY 1: Appearance
The bus shelters found in Toronto generally fall under two categories: basic rectangular shelters with a brown metal structure and glazed shelter with aluminum pole structure. The bus shelters designed for the City of Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area should consist of glazing walls on all sides of the shelter. The purposes for the glazed walls are to encourage comfort for commuters to use the shelters, allowing them to see everything and everyone around them, and to provide a space where they are safe from weather and other potential dangers.
The glazing system is to allow commuters inside to be able to view the bus arriving and for others to see who is occupying the shelter. The glazed walls also bring a level of comfort and safety as the commuters inside can see who else is approaching. It also services another purpose. The transparency of the walls allow the drivers to see from afar if there is anyone waiting for the bus or streetcar and knowing whether to stop or not. The glass walls also provide a partial enclosure from the harsh weathers.

The glazing system allows the bus shelter to exist on the streetscape, but not become an obstacle or an eyesore if it were to be built out of concrete or masonry. It allows the streetscape to continue and blend in with the buildings behind. The integrity of the bus shelter design is compromised when advertisements cover up the glazing system. In certain bus shelters, the advertisements get so overwhelming that the ideology of comfort and visibility are comprised. Some may say that standing in an area with such lavish images and advertisements, as shown in the above image, may be intimidating because it draws too much attention to that specific area.
The contrast between the two images above show the difference in design integrity. The image at the top shows an older bus shelter design. A very basic rectangular box design with a barrel roof with an unattractive brown metal structure is not as appealing as the new shelter designs. The other image is a new design, with an aluminum pole structure and transparent glazing on all sides and roof. It encompasses the same safety and comfort integrity as the older design, but the colour and material choices are more appealing to commuters which encourage people to take the transit.






CASE STUDY 2: Safety
The older bus shelter designs were simply built to provide just shelter from weather conditions. Unfortunately, it did not take into consideration the commuters and night. Transit systems have been extending their hours of operation until the early hours of the morning to accommodate commuters as much as possible. The older bus shelters, however, did not take into consideration personal comfort and safety.

Bus shelters become a very dark and intimidating area at night. This makes commuters feel uneasy because in the case of potential danger, other people passing by may not observe any problems occurring because of the lack of visibility. The solution to this issue would be to install a lighting system which comes on as soon as it gets dark. It not only improves on the idea of comfort and safety at night, but also ascents the structure of the shelter. The use of florescent lights inside a bus shelter illuminates the shelter through the glazing which resembles lights being left on in an office building at night. It becomes the focus at night which makes it easier for drives to see commuters, but it also illuminates the streetscape, giving it a lively feel that only occurs when the sun goes down. The lit bus shelters seem to blend in with the streetscape at night. When the sun goes down, the city lights up and another “face” of the city comes alive. Along with all the lit stores and signs, bus shelters also come alive with the city at night and blend in with the lighting show from the streetscape.
Bus shelters need to include comfort and safety aspects during the night as it exists during the day. The simple use of a very basic lighting system can bring a plain bus shelter more alive and make it a lot safer. The image of florescent light beaming through glazing and bouncing off the aluminum structure also reflects off the commuters using the structure which brings everything in that small area be to more vibrant. The introduction of the lighting system also provides the commuters the ability to observe the environment around them and to ensure that there is no immediate potential for danger around them. If there is a sense of danger, commuters using the shelters can see it and take precautions as opposed to being caught off guard.







CASE STUDY 3: Amenities
Bus shelters have always been viewed as simply a structure for commuters to use while waiting for the bus or streetcar. Though that might be what most people see, it also takes into consideration other aspects and other amenities. Most bus shelters have more than just four walls and a roof.

Bus shelters take into consideration the commuters who may need to take a break and require a seat while waiting for the transit. All bus shelters are occupied with a simple seating arrangement. Usually the seats are for two people. The seats are just the seat with no back and are attached to arm rests. The armrests are placed with the seats to ensure that no person will use the seats in the bus shelter as a bed. This is done on purpose to prevent homeless individuals from using the bus shelter as a home and making commuters feel uneasy using the shelters.

Another amenity which has just recently been introduced is the new Viva York Region bus system. At each Viva bus shelter, there is a automated pay booth which allows the person(s) to purchase a ticket before the bus arrives. Since the Viva bus travels as far as Newmarket, tickets are not all a standard price. In fact, the cost of a ticket is determined on how far you are traveling. The pay booth at the bus shelters allow commuters to pay ahead of time, avoiding the lag-time between the driver and the commuter.

As public transit becomes more widely used and as it expands into various parts of the city and its surrounding areas, there will be more improvements to the bus shelter. We can see that there have been credited improvements on such a simple and small structure, but a very important one for today and tomorrow.