Why the humble bus shelter is more important than it looks
In this special guest blog from Better Transport Week sponsors Bauer Media Outdoor, their Product Design Director for the UK & Europe, Neil Chapman, looks at the importance of bus shelters.
Few things feel more British than the bus. From the unspoken etiquette — standing in awkward silence, always picking the same seat, quietly thanking the driver, or sighing when someone talks loudly. It’s a great equaliser – whether you’re a school kid, pensioner, nurse or office worker — the bus is where community, class, and culture casually collide. Few sights are more familiar than a queue of people at a bus stop, checking the time and their social media feed.
With around 9.9 million daily bus journeys in England buses connect our communities. They bring access to employment, connect us to our friends and family, help to reduce inequality, reduce congestion on our roads and improve the environment with healthier populations to reduce the NHS burden.
So why is a media company talking about bus shelters? It’s a fair question. Since the 1960s, bus shelter advertising has helped pay for the infrastructure. Today, almost 50p in every £1 spent on outdoor advertising goes toward the public purse or directly funds street furniture like bus shelters. That’s where we come in — we manage around 20,000 bus shelters across 180 local authorities in the UK.
Local authorities are essential to delivering quality public transport, with responsibility for the planning, funding and coordination of services and infrastructure. Their role will grow as the Better Buses Bill devolves more transport decisions to local leaders.
Every £1 invested in local bus infrastructure generates around £4.55 in wider economic benefits. Strong bus networks lead to higher retail footfall and more stable commercial activity. The Urban Transport Group estimates bus passengers spend £27 billion a year in the UK economy — vital to retail and hospitality. Buses aren’t just good for society; they’re a powerful economic driver. Reliable, affordable, and frequent services deliver significant returns on relatively modest public investment.
Poor bus stop infrastructure can discourage usage though, particularly among vulnerable groups like the elderly and those without access to cars. While bad design limits mobility and access to essential services.
Over the past two years, we’ve been asking: what makes a good bus shelter? Through research with Transport Focus, Scope, and the Thomas Pocklington Trust, we’ve explored passenger needs — and we believe there’s more we can do. But to improve, we need a benchmark.
That’s why we’re support the Campaign for Better Transport, the Bus Centre of Excellence and the Department for Transport in calling for a national standard for bus shelters.
We have identified four areas of the passenger experience that should form the backbone of the standard:
- Accessibility & comfort– appropriate layout, seating, lighting and tech for users with impairments
- Protection from the elements– roofs, end panels, and enclosed options where appropriate
- Safety– well-lit environments, CCTV where needed, especially in isolated areas
- Clear, useful passenger information– real-time displays, timetables, route and area maps.
A standard would also help local authorities get better value from public investment. Design, features, size, maintenance and sustainability all contribute to long-term value. While standardisation reduces waste by ensuring common parts that can be swapped and reused across shelters and avoids one-off designs or aesthetic-led designs that increase costs. Furthermore, we should be able to keep aging shelters going to avoid new spend and the associated carbon emissions. A standard could include guidelines on refurbishment and how they can be upgraded to the new standard
Of course, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. Town centres, hospitals, and transport hubs need larger shelters with more information. Rural or low-traffic stops may only need the basics. Budgets also vary by area, so funding must match local priorities.
We should embrace transparency. Help passengers understand why a certain shelter looks the way it does — whether it’s a perch seat due to limited space, or the absence of USB ports to prevent anti-social behaviour. Accessibility might call for lower-placed timetables which means they’re placed immediately above seats.
And in a world facing a climate crisis, sustainable design is non-negotiable. Materials must be durable, low-impact, and recyclable or upcycled wherever possible. Suppliers should provide environmental impact assessments and lifecycle declarations to back up any sustainability claims and avoid greenwashing.
The opportunity is big – in 2023, 25 per cent of trips were under a mile, and 71 per cent under five miles. When surveyed, 47 per cent of people would use buses more if shelters were clean and comfortable. 52 per cent want better information at stops.
At Bauer Media Outdoor we are on a journey to improve public infrastructure. The world is constantly evolving with new challenges for all our customers, and we want to do our bit to help. We want to be a Platform for Brands – this is the advertising we sell on the bus shelters – and a Platform for Good – this is the infrastructure we install and maintain. We want this infrastructure to provide good value and tangible benefits for the people who use them and communities where they live. And hopefully encourage greater bus use.
By investing in well-designed, standardised shelters, we can encourage greater bus use, deliver public value, support inclusive mobility, and help meet our climate goals. The humble bus shelter is more important than it looks — and we’re proud to help make it better.
Neil Chapman is Product Design Director, UK & Europe, at Bauer Media Outdoor. See Bauer Media Outdoor for more information.
