Small but Significant: A Review of Research on the Potential of Bus Shelters as Resilient Infrastructure

Bus stops are an essential component of public transportation systems, significantly impacting human health, wellbeing, and overall user experience. As primary interaction points for passengers, they are integral to the urban landscape and, as such, their designs influence people’s experiences withi...

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Main Authors: Sarah Briant, Debra Cushing, Tracy Washington, Monique Swart
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-06-01
Series:Applied Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/12/6724
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author Sarah Briant
Debra Cushing
Tracy Washington
Monique Swart
author_facet Sarah Briant
Debra Cushing
Tracy Washington
Monique Swart
author_sort Sarah Briant
collection DOAJ
description Bus stops are an essential component of public transportation systems, significantly impacting human health, wellbeing, and overall user experience. As primary interaction points for passengers, they are integral to the urban landscape and, as such, their designs influence people’s experiences within the public realm. Despite their importance, the design of bus stops and bus shelters remains an under-researched area. This paper aims to review the existing peer-reviewed research on bus-stop design, identifying areas for future inquiry. Twenty-two peer-reviewed journal articles were selected and included in this study. The most common theme in the published research was the manner in which bus stops could address extreme weather and heat, along with other themes, including accessibility, sustainable energy, air pollution, and noise. Further empirical research is necessary to understand how bus-stop design affects the user experience, emphasizing qualitative methods to explore human experiences, perceptions, motivations, and challenges related to bus-stop usage and public transportation.
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publishDate 2025-06-01
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spelling doaj-art-b2ed192b30ee4f558041fa41d11ca0a72025-08-20T03:26:49ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172025-06-011512672410.3390/app15126724Small but Significant: A Review of Research on the Potential of Bus Shelters as Resilient InfrastructureSarah Briant0Debra Cushing1Tracy Washington2Monique Swart3School of Architecture and Built Environment, Queensland University of Technology, 2 George Street, Brisbane, QLD 4000, AustraliaSchool of Architecture and Built Environment, Queensland University of Technology, 2 George Street, Brisbane, QLD 4000, AustraliaSchool of Architecture and Built Environment, Queensland University of Technology, 2 George Street, Brisbane, QLD 4000, AustraliaSchool of Architecture and Built Environment, Queensland University of Technology, 2 George Street, Brisbane, QLD 4000, AustraliaBus stops are an essential component of public transportation systems, significantly impacting human health, wellbeing, and overall user experience. As primary interaction points for passengers, they are integral to the urban landscape and, as such, their designs influence people’s experiences within the public realm. Despite their importance, the design of bus stops and bus shelters remains an under-researched area. This paper aims to review the existing peer-reviewed research on bus-stop design, identifying areas for future inquiry. Twenty-two peer-reviewed journal articles were selected and included in this study. The most common theme in the published research was the manner in which bus stops could address extreme weather and heat, along with other themes, including accessibility, sustainable energy, air pollution, and noise. Further empirical research is necessary to understand how bus-stop design affects the user experience, emphasizing qualitative methods to explore human experiences, perceptions, motivations, and challenges related to bus-stop usage and public transportation.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/12/6724bus stopbus shelterdesignpublic transportheat mitigationshade
spellingShingle Sarah Briant
Debra Cushing
Tracy Washington
Monique Swart
Small but Significant: A Review of Research on the Potential of Bus Shelters as Resilient Infrastructure
Applied Sciences
bus stop
bus shelter
design
public transport
heat mitigation
shade
title Small but Significant: A Review of Research on the Potential of Bus Shelters as Resilient Infrastructure
title_full Small but Significant: A Review of Research on the Potential of Bus Shelters as Resilient Infrastructure
title_fullStr Small but Significant: A Review of Research on the Potential of Bus Shelters as Resilient Infrastructure
title_full_unstemmed Small but Significant: A Review of Research on the Potential of Bus Shelters as Resilient Infrastructure
title_short Small but Significant: A Review of Research on the Potential of Bus Shelters as Resilient Infrastructure
title_sort small but significant a review of research on the potential of bus shelters as resilient infrastructure
topic bus stop
bus shelter
design
public transport
heat mitigation
shade
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/12/6724
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