I may regret this – but I’m asking for the best ideas you out there in the blogosphere have for the ideal bus exchange.
If you’ve ever been to the Coquitlam Loop just off the Lougheed Highway, you might have observed the contrast between the heavily used bus exchange – a woeful asphalt desert – and the nicely appointed West Coast Express station on the other side of a fence, visible but out of touch, that’s only used for a few hours during the day. Or the contrast between a $10-million Millennium Line station and the standard bus stop.
It only reinforces the idea that buses are a second-class form of transportation – even though they carry the majority of transit riders.
So what would a first-class bus exchange look like?
I’ll start off with something I saw in Freiberg, Germany. There at one of the transfer points was a kiosk that not only provided reading material and snacks but also … beer!
It’s a beginning.
If you’ve taken a look at what’s being proposed in the RFP for the bridgeport bus loop it looks pretty great.
I would love to see active display boards one on each end and one in the centre, some overhang at bus-stations to stop the rain, at least one manned information kiosk prefered in a central location. Public washrooms would be great as would some retail (cafe, convenince store). Add some bike lockers and generous landscaping, great lighting and it would make the whole place feel more inviting, and none of this stuff really costs alot of money.
“Perfect Streetcar Stop in Tokyo”
http://regardingplace.com/?p=1238
Yes, bring the term “mixed-use” to the world of bus exchanges. Standalone bus exchanges where there’s nothing to do and no other reason to be there except to wait for a bus are soooo ’90s.
The perfect bus loop/exchange would…well not be a bus exchange at all. It would be a busy, mixed-use, dense, urban place that alot of busses just happen to stop at. Preferably under or on top of a rapid-transit station. Climate controled with places to sit, shelter from the elements, contain transit infomation (maps, schedules etc.), have retail services, real-time next bus infomation, It should not at all feel like you are standing in the middle of a wind-swept parking lot, next to a freeway interchange, in the middle of nowhere. Basically a great bus exchange should be exactly like a well-appointed subway station.
Beer would help!
The Coquitlam bus loop is soul-suckingly depressing. Nothing worse than being stranded in a parking lot with no amenities whatsoever, very little shelter, an no real time bus arrival information.
My thoughts for improvements would be to develop the parking lot into a real place so you can spend the 1/2 hour wait for the bus in a cafe rather than a crummy bus shelter.
In the short term: landscape the place so it isn’t an asphalt wasteland, put in some new shelters and SEATING, holy would I ever be glad for a place to sit. You have to wait a loooong time at those suburban bus stops, after all. A kiosk selling snacks/coffee would be handy and would provide a set of eyes to watch the loop.
As I wrote recently, transit needs some creativity:
http://allaboutcities.ca/transit-needs-some-creativity/
As for bus loops: how about GPS maps telling you exactly where your bus is, and how long before it gets to you. This would allow you to go grab a coffee, find a bathroom, or get something else done.