View source for Bus bulb


{{Short description|Bus stop extending into a traffic lane}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2023}}
[[Image:Bus bulb on Broadway below Lispenard street jeh.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|right|A bus bulb on [[Broadway (Manhattan)|Broadway]] in [[Tribeca]], [[Manhattan]]]]
[[Image:Przystanek półwyspowy w Budapeszcie.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|right|Bus bulb in [[Budapest]] (Honvéd utca)]]
[[Image:Buskap notext.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|right|A schematic drawing of a bus bulb.]]
A '''bus bulb''', also called a '''bus boarder''', '''bus border''', '''bumpout''', '''bus cape''',<ref name="proceed-guidelines-en">{{cite web | url = http://www.proceedproject.eu/images/documentos/deliverables/PROCEED_D4_30_03_10.pdf | title = Principles of successful high quality public transport operation and development, Guidelines for European High Quality Public Transport in small and medium sized cities | publisher = Directorate General for Energy and Transport, European Commission | pages = 83–85 | year = 2009 | access-date = 17 January 2014 }}{{Dead link|date=October 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> or a '''kerb outstand''' is an arrangement by which a [[sidewalk]] or pavement is extended outwards for a [[bus stop]]; typically the bus bulb replaces roadway that would otherwise be part of a [[parking]] lane. With bus bulbs or boarders, a [[bus]] can stay in its [[traffic lane]] to discharge and pick up passengers, instead of having to pull over to the curb.

The term bus bulb is prevalent in [[North America|North American]] usage, whilst bus boarder or bus border is used elsewhere.<ref name=tcrpr65-in>{{cite web | url = http://gulliver.trb.org/publications/tcrp/tcrp_rpt_65-a.pdf | title = Transit Cooperative Research Program Report 65, Evaluation of Bus Bulbs | publisher = Transportation Research Board | pages = 1 | year = 2001 | access-date = 18 April 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050501053556/http://gulliver.trb.org/publications/tcrp/tcrp_rpt_65-a.pdf | archive-date = 1 May 2005 | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref name=tflgaa>{{cite web | title = Accessible bus stop design guidance | url = http://www.tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/accessibile-bus-stop-design-guidance.pdf | publisher = [[Transport for London]] | pages = 31–36 | year = 2006 | access-date = 18 April 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Buses | publisher = Auckland City Council | url = http://www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/auckland/Transport/buses/first.asp | access-date = 18 April 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080513162353/http://www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/auckland/transport/buses/first.asp | archive-date = 13 May 2008 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

A bus bulb or boarder can be considered as a specific form of [[curb extension]], although that term is more normally used to describe a sidewalk extension for the purposes of [[traffic calming]] or other [[Road traffic management|traffic management]] purposes.

== Benefits ==
Benefits include preventing buses from being delayed by having to pull back into traffic, reducing risk of [[traffic collision]]s, reducing pedestrian exposure in [[crosswalk]]s (if provided at the same location), reducing sidewalk congestion, providing space for bus patron amenities including [[bus shelter]]s, and [[traffic calming]]. The protrusion also facilitates easier full length alignment of a bus entrance with a raised kerb stop, especially to allow level boarding in the case of [[low-floor bus]]es.<ref name="tflgaa"/>

Bus bulbs also retain more parking when compared to a bus stop located in a parking lane, as a bus stop so located requires run-in and run-out tapers. Together these tapers may take up as much space as the actual stop, requiring parking to be prohibited over a longer length of road than with a bulb, where cars can park immediately on either side of the bus stop itself.<ref name="tflgaa"/>

== Drawbacks ==
The main drawback is for cyclists. The narrowing of the road can create danger for cyclists if the design does not take their needs into account.<ref name="tflgaa"/><ref name=tcrpr65-c2>{{cite web | url = http://gulliver.trb.org/publications/tcrp/tcrp_rpt_65-a.pdf | title = Transit Cooperative Research Program Report 65, Evaluation of Bus Bulbs | publisher = Transportation Research Board | pages = 5–22 | year = 2001 | access-date = 18 April 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050501053556/http://gulliver.trb.org/publications/tcrp/tcrp_rpt_65-a.pdf | archive-date = 1 May 2005 | url-status = dead }}</ref> Where more than one lane exists in one direction, modelling has shown that there is no additional delay overall for following drivers, since the buses have shorter [[terminal_dwell time|dwell time]]s (there is less time spent pulling back into traffic) and since following vehicles may use the second lane for passing.<ref name=tcrpr65-in/>

== Tram and streetcar bulbs ==
{{Split|section=y|date=March 2024}}
[[File:RoncesvallesAvenueBumpout.JPG|thumb|Bumpout or bulb in [[Toronto]] serving streetcar riders and cyclists]]
Some [[tram]] and [[streetcar]] systems use similar bulbs, such as the [[Brussels]] [[Trams in Brussels|tram network]],{{cn|date=September 2015}} the [[Hongkong Tramways]], the [[Trams in Melbourne|Melbourne tram network]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://drivenxdesign.com/d100/project.asp?ID=11779|title=Route 86, High Street Northcote|website=DRIVENxDESIGN|language=en|access-date=17 April 2019}}</ref> and the [[Toronto streetcar system]]. 

The latter, which operates mostly on traditional [[tramway track|streetcar tracks]] in mixed traffic with cars, and has frequent request stops similar to bus routes, is introducing bulbs at some high-traffic stops and transfer points that have been recently renovated, notably on [[Roncesvalles Avenue]]. The first bulbs (called '''bumpouts''' locally) along Roncesvalles Avenue also accommodate cyclists, as the bike lane running parallel to the streetcar tracks would gently rise up from the road level to run on top of the bumpout. When the streetcar is boarding, cyclists have to stop behind the yellow line to allow riders on and off.<ref name=RoncesvallesVillage>
{{cite news
| url         = http://roncesvallesvillage.ca/2009/lanes-tracks-and-bikes-oh-my/
| title         = Lanes, tracks and bikes
| publisher         = Roncesvalles Village BIA
| access-date         = 12 May 2015
| archive-url         = https://web.archive.org/web/20150518094536/http://roncesvallesvillage.ca/2009/lanes-tracks-and-bikes-oh-my/
| archive-date         = 18 May 2015
| url-status         = dead
}}</ref> There are three expected goals for these bulbs:
*Prevent vehicles from parking in front of streetcar stops.
*Increase standing room on the often restricted sidewalks at stop locations in some of the densest regions of the city.
*Improve safety for passengers boarding and alighting at these stops; unmodified stops require passengers to step into traffic to board/alight. The safety concerns are mostly with regard to drivers who are inexperienced at driving among streetcars in mixed traffic.
Streetcar bulbs may also be beneficial at higher-capacity stops along other streetcar routes, and may be rolled out in conjunction with [[Flexity Outlook (Toronto streetcar)|longer streetcars]] on the route. These bulbs are also featured in the westbound of Johnston Road, as well as southbound Percival Street and westbound Catchick Street in Victoria City, Hong Kong Island, on the Hongkong Tramways.

== See also ==
{{Portal|Buses}}
{{wiktionary}}
*[[Bus turnout]]
*[[Bus lane]]
*[[Bus stop]]

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

{{Public transport|state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Bus stations]]
[[Category:Bus terminology]]
[[Category:Street furniture]]
[[Category:Road hazards]]
[[Category:Pedestrian infrastructure]]