I’ve noticed that bus stops are frequently situated past the intersection, meaning that if you were waiting at a bus stop watching the bus coming down the street, you would be facing the intersection.
It is my opinion that this configuration is in fact suboptimal. It would be better to have the bus stop situated before the intersection, that way, in many instances, people can board the bus while it is already stopped at the traffic light, rather than having to stop at the intersection twice.
Also, when the bus stop is located past the intersection, it is common for cars to move forward when the light turns green only to have to stop right in the middle of the intersection to wait for everyone to get on and off the bus, causing gridlock.
So why aren’t all bus stops located before the intersection?
You know, this question used to keep me up at nights. Really. Here’s my guess. They are located past the intersection to prevent cars making right turns from going around the bus to make the turn and potentially causing an accident.
There’s always some clown (and I know because every once in a while I am that clown) who decides he or she can’t wait for the bus to discharge and pick up riders so s/he pulls around the bus, honks his/her horn a couple of times to let the bus driver know s/he’s pulling in front of him/her and turns right.
Two possible reasons come to mind immediately, as a long-time bus rider.
There’s more room (wider sidewalk, park or parking lot) for passengers to wait on that side of the street without blocking pedestrian traffic.
If there are frequent transfers from a connecting bus travelling down the cross-street, if one stops before travelling through the intersection and one stops after, then passengers can walk from one stop to the other without having to cross any streets.
Not going to comment on whether those factors are more important than the concerns that you mention, just saying that they seem likely plausible lines of reasoning.
Personally, it’s a bit of a sore point with me, since I live at a major bus lines intersection point, however my corner is the ONLY one where you cannot catch a bus without crossing the street. (Or disembark, unless the bus driver happens to let people off away from the real bus stop while he’s waiting at the red light.)
on preview - urbanchic, that’s possible, but I think that the passenger transfers make more sense… if the pattern of bus stops seems to fit that explanation of course!
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You are assuming the traffic light will be red when the bus arrives and that it will be the only vehicle at the stop line.
If the bus approaches a intersection with a near-side bus stop, were the signal is red and several cars are waiting, it must stop well short of the pick-up point. Then, when the signal turns green, it would pull forward a few car lengths and stop, at a green signal, and, by the time it is loaded and everyone is seated, the signal is red. Many truely pissed off drivers. If it is downtown, it will then start out when the signal turns green and move to the next signal/stop which should also be green if the signals are co-ordinated and the process continues.
As a lifetime bus rider in an urban setting, it is definitely better to have the bus stop after the intersection vs. before. For one thing, there’s nothing to prevent the driver from letting passengers off while waiting at a stop light (although I know that this is generally against the rules) which would speed up the boarding process at the bus stop across the intersection. From a traffic flow standpoint, as someone has already pointed out, a bus that’s stopped in front of an intersection will stop or seriously hinder traffic flow in the right-most lane because of its size. No right turns are possible and cars can only try to inch pass the stopped bus. Stopping before the intersection, because of other parked cars, the bus will not be able to angle completely into a “parked” position (without its tail sticking out), while a bus that stops after the intersection can more easily slipped into its parking spot and less likely to hinder traffic in the right lane.
**UrbanChick **is right. The problem is that when you’re behind a bus at a bus stop before an intersection, you have no way of knowing how long the bus will be there. If you need to turn right, you have no choice but to pull around the bus and cut to the right, in front of it. Being in a small car, I hope the bus driver is aware of my “toot-toot” and doesn’t flatten me. But it’s more than a little nerve-wracking. All other things being equal, I’d rather they put all the bus stops **after **the intersection.
I agree. Here in Chicago, most of the bus stops are before the intersection. I always thought it would make more sense to have bus stops after the intersection because: a) you won’t get caught at the light as much because you’re dropping off and picking up passengers (or at least it would seem that way. Maybe you’re not really saving time, but it feels like I always get caught at reds because the bus is letting some slow poke off.) and b) you don’t disrupt the flow of traffic behind you.
I’d think you’d deserve to get flattened. I wouldn’t wish you bodily harm, but to heck with your precious car. It’d sure be fun to see a car turning right in front of a bus totally demolished. That’d be worth being late to work for!
Like disabled people? Those slow pokes? Do you yell out the window at those people to get a move on because your time is soooo important?
Any time a bus inconveniences passengers (and I think stopping past the intersection does just that) just to make life easier for cars is a sad day indeed. Busses and their passengers should be given every priority.
Well, by “slow pokes” I simply meant anyone getting on or off. It wasn’t a serious jab at anyone.
How does it inconvenience the passenger which side of the street the bus stops?
Half the time I want to be dropped off on the other side; half the time I don’t.
And it doesn’t matter. Sometimes the bus drivers here will run through a yellow and drop me off on the other side (where there is no bus stop) rather than get stuck at the red and drop me off where there is a bus stop. And as someone who has ridden the bus in Chicago several thousand times (and continues to do so, despite having a car) I think my opinion is just as valid as yours.
That may be, but common sense and the ever-present threat to one’s safety do not stop people from driving poorly. It’s a topic for another thread, but careless and hurried drivers outnumber safe and paced drivers.
(Or disembark, unless the bus driver happens to let people off away from the real bus stop while he’s waiting at the red light.)