Metro News Release
For immediate release: November 17, 2009
Metro developing guidelines to improve bus stops throughout region
Design elements, information, placement meant to improve customer experience
Metro planners are in the process of developing guidelines for Metrobus stop design and placement in an effort to improve the overall customer experience and make sure that common elements like accessibility, customer information and physical design are incorporated into all new or relocated bus stops.
Approximately 12,000 Metrobus stops are located throughout the Washington region, and most of them are owned and maintained by the jurisdictions in which they are located. There are 4,566 bus stops in Maryland, 3,488 in the District of Columbia and 3,329 in Virginia. Metro owns the remaining 412 bus stops, which are mostly located at Metrorail stations.
“Bus stops are gateways to Metrobus and other regional bus systems,” said Metro General Manager John Catoe. “In order to provide a more uniform experience for customers and improve the access, function and safety of all bus stops throughout the region, we are working closely with our jurisdictional partners to develop these guidelines.”
The guidelines are intended to provide Metro and its jurisdictional partners with specific physical design criteria to be integrated with local comprehensive plan policies, land use ordinances, pedestrian plans and street design guidelines. They are also meant to improve the information that is provided to bus riders so they can easily tell which bus routes serve the stop, bus scheduled departures, the availability of Next Bus information and maps that show where the bus routes go.
Some of the common design elements that are proposed for each bus stop include designated locations for passengers to enter or exit the bus; accessible pathways for customers who use wheelchairs; new signs, maps and schedules; and seating and shelters.
Metro planners also are reviewing bus stop spacing and the appropriate number of bus stops that should be located per mile. “Other transit systems have found that four or five stops per mile provide the best balance of customer access and operational efficiency,” said Jim Hamre, Metro’s Acting Director of Bus Planning.
Metro could reduce some bus travel times and operational costs by limiting the number of bus stops per mile. Staff plans to provide recommendations to the Metro Board’s Customer Service, Operations and Safety Committee in January.
For more information, please see the “Guidelines for Bus Stop Design, Information and Placement” presentation that is scheduled to be made at the November 19 committee meeting.
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Media contact for this news release: Angela Gates or Lisa Farbstein at 202-962-1051.
For all other inquiries, please call customer service at 202-637-7000.
News release issued at 10:25 am, November 17, 2009.