The Institution’s new ‘Buses in Urban Developments’ document provides practical advice on measures that planning and transportation professionals can take to promote bus use through good design, with several case studies included.

 

It presents evidence to show that high quality bus services attract high levels of use, and urges a coordinated approach across all relevant stakeholders to ensure these services become integral to the urban fabric.

 

“Buses play a vital part in providing accessibility for everyone and, through their efficient use of space, in supporting the viability of high quality urban places,” commented CIHT President Andreas Markides.

 

“For buses to play their full role, urban developments must be designed specifically to encourage their use,” he added. “This involves bringing together the planning of land uses, the access routes to bus stops, and the bus infrastructure.”

 

Key messages offered by the document include that new developments should be sufficiently dense to support high frequency bus services which, argued the guidance’s principal author and independent consultant Tim Pharoah, are “unlikely to be viable if not frequent”.

 

It also calls for the layout of streets and paths in new developments to support direct and efficient bus operation. “Gratuitous bends” in street design are counterproductive to achieving this, said Tim Pharoah.

 

Consideration also needs to be given to providing attractive and clearly defined walking routes to bus stops, with careful attention given to the strategic placement of these stops.

 

The document, which is already garnering cross sector support, is part of CIHT’s Streets and Transport in the Urban Environment collection of guidelines and can be downloaded by clicking here.