Options for Bus Schemes and Design of On-Street Bus Infrastructure
Bus transport system has several benefits. A few important ones are as follows:
Cost-effective: Buses are cheaper to implement and operate compared to rail or metro systems.
Flexible routes: Routes can be adjusted to meet changing demand or serve new areas.
High passenger capacity: Especially with articulated or double-decker buses, they can move large numbers of people efficiently.
Reduced congestion: Dedicated lanes and priority signals can speed up travel and reduce car traffic.
Lower environmental impact: Modern electric or hybrid buses cut emissions compared to private vehicles.
Accessibility: Frequent stops and low-floor designs make buses convenient for most passengers, including people with mobility challenges.
Integration potential: Easily connects with other public transport modes like trains, trams and metros.
There are different options for bus schemes. The advantages and disadvantages of them are summarised below.
1. On-Street Bus Lanes
A dedicated lane on an existing carriageway, marked and signed for bus use.
Purpose: Allows buses to bypass traffic congestion.
Variants: With-flow bus lane – runs in the same direction as general traffic. Contraflow bus lane – runs opposite the normal traffic flow on one-way streets. Part-time bus lane – operates only during peak hours; available to other traffic off-peak.
Advantages: Relatively low cost. Can be implemented quickly.
Limitations: Still shares space with other vehicles at junctions and crossings. Enforcement needed to keep private vehicles out.
Example: Red-painted lanes in many UK and European cities.
2. Busways (Fully Segregated)
A physically separated roadway for buses only — often entirely off-street.
Purpose: Provides high-speed, reliable service similar to light rail, without rail infrastructure.
Key Features: Separate alignment (alongside rail lines, in medians, or in their own corridor). Allows overtaking at stops if designed with dual lanes.
Advantages: High speed, minimal interference from other traffic. Can be landscaped for noise/visual impact reduction.
Limitations: Higher capital cost than painted lanes. Requires significant space.
Example: Cambridgeshire Guided Busway (UK) — a mix of guided and unguided busway sections.
3. Guided Bus Lanes (Kerb-Guided or Optical Guidance)
Buses run on a narrow track with raised concrete kerbs; small guide wheels on the bus steer it.
Purpose: Allows precise alignment and narrow corridors.
Types: Kerb-guided busway (CGB): Concrete tracks guide buses automatically. Optically guided bus: Cameras follow painted lines (used in some European BRT systems).
Advantages: Can run in tight spaces with minimal clearance. Drivers can “hands-off” in guided sections, improving safety.
Limitations: Requires specially adapted buses. Higher maintenance cost for guideway infrastructure.
Example: Leeds and Bradford guided busways (UK).
4. Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Corridors
A package of measures — usually a mix of segregated busways, priority junctions, off-board fare collection, and high-quality stations.
Purpose: Deliver rail-like performance using buses.
Features: Signal priority at junctions. Platform-level boarding. Distinctive branding.
Advantages: High passenger throughput. Flexible routing beyond the core corridor.
Limitations: Requires comprehensive design and funding.
Example: Curitiba (Brazil), Bogotá TransMilenio (Colombia).
5. Bus Priority at Signals & Junctions
Traffic lights and road layouts altered to give buses priority.
Examples: Early release green light for buses. Queue-jump lanes. Signal pre-emption when a bus approaches.
Advantages: Cost-effective congestion relief at bottlenecks.
Limitations: Benefits mainly at specific hotspots.
6. Shared Bus & Cycle Lanes
Bus lanes that are also open to cyclists.
Purpose: Maximise use of reserved space while still prioritising buses.
Advantages: Efficient use of limited road width.
Limitations: Potential conflicts between cyclists and buses.
Design of On-Street Bus Infrastructure
Bus Stop
Elements that should be considered in deciding the location of a bus stop are:
Accessibility for passengers (including location of suitable safe crossing locations (controlled or uncontrolled),
Other bus stop locations,
Minimum road widths that can accommodate bus use,
Interaction with traffic signals and temporary bus stops,
Proximity to visibility splays for adjoining junctions.
Bus stop proximity
Consideration should be given to the routes taken by passengers to and from the bus stop. Locating stops near pedestrian crossing facilities, and in particular at junctions, is convenient and helps passengers complete the rest of their journey safely. For example, as a minimum these walking routes to and from the bus stop should be accessible for wheelchairs and pushchairs. Stops need to be sited in proximity to dwellings but not where they include vehicle access to dwellings.
Bus stop locations
The following should be considered when positioning bus stop infrastructure:
The driver and waiting passengers are clearly visible to each other.
Stops are located to minimise walking distance between bus route interchange stops. No more than 400m (in urban areas) between stops or 15 minutes of average walking time.
Stops sited as pairs to be positioned (if possible) to allow traffic to pass opposing stops.
There is adequate space for a bus shelter if one is required.
Close to (and on exit side of) pedestrian crossings.
Away from sites are likely to be obstructed due to visibility requirements.
Suitable location to provide a litter bin near to the bus stop pole.
Adequate footway width (absolute 1.5m minimum).
Location of existing utilities (gas, BT etc.) and suitable location to install feeder pillar where power is required (lighting, Real Time Passenger Information (RTPI), advertising).
The approval of the position and layout of bus stops by relevant bus companies.
Bus stops to be located outside of visibility splays at crossings.
Stop spacing must consider the street’s location and movement functions and passenger demand for use of the stop. If it is proposed to relocate stops, an assessment of resulting benefits/impacts should be undertaken alongside consultation with stakeholders.
It may be necessary to provide additional dropped kerbs and/or crossing facilities as part of bus stop improvements. These types of work will need road safety auditing. However, schemes that do not impact on the road layout will not require a Road Safety Audit.
Where possible, the use of gullies in the position of the boarding and alighting zone should be avoided to ensure that the ramp, when deployed, is stable and passengers do not trip or become trapped in the event they step into the carriageway before stepping on the bus.
Bus stops and traffic signals
Bus stops close to traffic signals may require mitigation measures to retain traffic capacity at the signals. A bus stop in advance of the signals can have safety implications, as other drivers’ forward visibility will be reduced due to the bus obscuring the nearside signal or obscuring a pedestrian leaving the footway to cross the road, where bus stops are not in laybys.
There are locations where a bus stop is better located on the approach side of the junction to serve interchanges and attractions or before routes diverge. If a stop is located on the approach side of the traffic signals, there is a requirement for the primary signal to be visible for at least 70m in an urban environment. A stationary bus in advance of traffic signals will interfere with signal detection if placed less than 40m from the stop line. There shall be a minimum of 20m of unobstructed space from traffic signals.
Passenger Waiting Area
Bus shelters play a valuable role in delivering a broader measure of accessibility. The shelter will protect people from extremes of weather with lighting to help them feel more secure.
Lighting design subject to location and shelter style. Seating integral to the shelter should be provided and should include armrests.
Providing bus arrival information can make users feel more comfortable and secure.
Shelters also provide important opportunities to consolidate street furniture (maps, signage) into a single structure.
Bus Access Kerbs
At bus stops, bus access kerbs can be installed in order to reduce the step height between the footway and the bus platform where necessary and subject to vehicle types.
Buses now have ‘low floor’ capability in line with current legislation and the continuing trend to replace older vehicles on local bus routes with those that can provide level access, 160mm high bus access kerbs shall be installed at all new or improved bus stops.
Bus Laybys
Bus laybys can present operational problems for buses seeking to re-join traffic on the main carriageway and can make services slower. They should only be used when there is a compelling safety reason or need for a bus to wait time, such as at a terminal point.
A bus cage with 24-hour no stopping controls is recommended at all bus stops to prevent waiting or loading in the stop area. There may also be a need to prohibit waiting or loading on the approach to, and exit from, the bay to allow buses to reach the kerb effectively.
Bus laybys require a far greater kerb length than bus boarders, so an assessment of the adjacent land use is important to understand the place significance and kerbside requirements.
Bus boarders
Bus boarders are used to enable buses to stop within a traffic stream and move off without difficulty, where there is extensive kerbside parking and suitable carriageway width. They are generally built out from the existing kerb line and provide a convenient platform for boarding and alighting passengers. These are implemented where, for example, parking separates traffic from the kerb, reducing how far a bus must deviate to enter a bus cage. Care should be taken when building bus boarders that the necessary drainage has been provided.
A bus boarder should project into the carriageway for the bus to avoid manoeuvring past parked vehicles. For cars this should be at least 2.5 m where goods vehicles/vans are stopping. The total length of the boarder will depend on the vehicle types that serve the stop in addition to the bus frequency.
Bus boarders should not be used on high speed roads and where the frequency of buses or their dwell times will cause delay to following buses and significant delays to general traffic. There may also be circumstances where for safety reasons, it may not be appropriate to encourage an overtaking manoeuvre by other traffic, such as near the brow of a hill or an approach to a refuge/island.
Road Marking Requirements
The bus stop markings on the carriageway are often referred to as the bus ‘cage’ and define the limits of the bus stop. The bus stop cage defines an area of the carriageway where the bus can perform the following unobstructed:
Approach the bus stop
Straighten up in line with the kerb
Stop at the bus stop
Exit the bus stop
It is a key requirement that a bus stop cage marking is provided on all routes without bus lanes, and the area defined by the cage is unobstructed to allow easy entry and exit for the bus.
The length of the bus stop cage will vary depending on the highway layout, the size of buses, and number of buses per hour using the stop.
The cage road markings (including the “Bus Stop” lettering) shall be in colour.