Key factors to consider when planning and designing bus stops with separated cycleways include bus stop operation and frequency, pedestrian and cyclist volumes, and road corridor geometry and function.
When designing the bus stop design and cycleway integration consider:
Such information helps determine how often buses stop and their dwell time (stopping duration).
Other features of bus stop operation to consider are whether the bus stop is a:
For roads with high volumes of cyclists or where they will be separated from high volumes of vehicles, carefully consider how to provide a safe cycle facility around the bus stop.
It is important to recognise that all bus stops will be used from time to time by the full variety of customer groups, including disabled, older and younger people. Ensure accessibility in the design to avoid transport exclusion.
Consider the needs of pedestrians who have to cross a cycleway. This movement creates a potential conflict area. The choice of mitigation measures is a function of the passenger demand to use the bus stop and how much space is available to make the island a buffer space for pedestrians, so they don’t have to wait or step directly into a cycleway.
‘Island’-type bus stops (often called ‘bus stop bypasses’) are typically a preferable way to reduce conflicts associated with cycleways and bus stops and are described below. This type of design may not be necessary if the likely use of the stop is low (for example, a very low volume of buses passes the bus stop per hour or buses stop very briefly such as when the passenger volume at the bus stop is very low. Designs more similar to those described above on integration of bus stops with cycle lanes may be acceptable though may be less attractive to less confident cyclists and associated with higher bus-bike crash risk.
An island bus stop should be near adequate street lighting for cyclists and people moving to and from the bus stop to be able to see each other.
The geometry of the road (including the road reserve and driveway locations) informs the type of cycleway - bus stop that can be installed.
The function of the road corridor (for instance the different modal classifications from the One Network Framework) may inform the preferred design option as trade-offs will often be needed in constrained road corridors to prioritise certain modes or movements.
Because of the space an island bus stop requires, the bus stop may need to re-locate further in-lane. For guidance about in-lane bus stop planning, see:
Given the potential conflict for vehicles turning left in front of cyclists, pay careful consideration when implementing cycleways behind bus stops near intersections and driveways. Preferably, locate island bus stops (also called bus stop bypasses) on the departure side of the intersection or driveway.
If the needs of the catchment area or route taken by the bus service indicate the bus stop should be located before the intersection or driveway, then locate the bus stop where it provides motorists with appropriate sight lines of oncoming cyclists.
