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Transport User Voice April 2025 – The bus shelters of tomorrow
01 April 2025
Passenger led design
New research is helping put passengers at the heart of setting the standard for new bus shelter designs.
The report, from Transport Focus and Clear Channel, looks at the role of well-designed bus shelters to enhance the passenger experience. It emphasises the importance of involving passengers in the design process for new bus shelters.
Transport Focus and Clear Channel asked over 3000 bus passengers for their views on a well-designed bus shelter. When asked what they’d like to see, passengers referenced improved seating with only 15 per cent of passengers finding seating in its current state comfortable. Providing increased protection from weather and accurate real-time information features were also cited as necessary changes.
These findings follow Transport Focus’s national flagship bus survey Your Bus Journey, which found that bus stops, and the boarding experience are the third biggest influence on bus passenger satisfaction.
The report calls for the bus industry and local authorities to co-design bus shelters with users, ensuring people with mobility and sensory impairments are included in the process.
User feedback should be integrated at every stage of the design and build process, allowing for model testing, option refinement, and meaningful user influence on the final outcome. By incorporating real user feedback, bus shelters can be more inclusive, safer, and environmentally sustainable.
Transport Focus and Clear Channel held a productive roundtable event which involved bus operators, transport authorities and accessibility charities to share the findings discuss their implementation. We will continue to work with Clear Channel and the wider bus industry to ensure the passenger research delivers further innovation in bus shelter design and to improve accessibility, safety, and sustainability.
Transport Focus will be speaking to the Department for Transport and the wider bus industry about the research findings and explore whether a national standard for bus stops with specific facilities as a minimum could be useful. It was also clear from the roundtable that any new guidance or standards should be developed with representatives from transport authorities, who will need to implement them.
