1. The Colourful Buses of Seoul

    Color-coding buses is a great idea. Who cares if all the buses in a city match? That they’re from the same system is typically a given.

  2. smartercities via methodinthemadness:

    I’ve only been seeing Toronto a short time, but I feel that taking the TTC everyday has brought Toronto and I closer as a couple. We go on fun dates, he introduces me to all sorts of people and I get to see him quite frequently. However, I’ve also been shown some of his less favourable characteristics. Toronto can be very cold and abrasive, and he can be unreliable. He is often late to pick me up. He doesn’t even call to tell me he’s going to be late. I think Toronto needs to work on his communication skills. Luckily MIT has developed a bus stop concept that would really help my relationship with Toronto.

    The EyeStop - unfortunately cheesily dubbed ‘the bus stop of the future’ - will help transform bus stops from unproductive uses of city space to interactive and informative travel centres. Touch sensitive screens allows users to plan their route, explore the web, learn about delays and get updated on wait times. They can also use their phone as an interface with the shelter to store trip information or post ads to electronic community announcement boards. As a bonus, the shelters are solar powered and will display urban pollutant levels.

    I know it may take awhile for Toronto to come around, but I’m hoping for our relationship’s sake he considers opening the communication lines.

    via fubiz

    smartercities via methodinthemadness: I’ve only been seeing Toronto a short time, but I feel that taking the TTC everyday has brought Toronto and I closer as a couple. We go on fun dates, he introduces me to all sorts of people and I get to see him quite frequently. However, I’ve also been shown some of his less favourable characteristics. Toronto can be very cold and abrasive, and he can be unreliable. He is often late to pick me up. He doesn’t even call to tell me he’s going to be late. I think Toronto needs to work on his communication skills. Luckily MIT has developed a bus stop concept that would really help my relationship with Toronto. The EyeStop - unfortunately cheesily dubbed ‘the bus stop of the future’ - will help transform bus stops from unproductive uses of city space to interactive and informative travel centres. Touch sensitive screens allows users to plan their route, explore the web, learn about delays and get updated on wait times. They can also use their phone as an interface with the shelter to store trip information or post ads to electronic community announcement boards. As a bonus, the shelters are solar powered and will display urban pollutant levels. I know it may take awhile for Toronto to come around, but I’m hoping for our relationship’s sake he considers opening the communication lines. via fubiz

  3. According to ArchDaily, an architecture firm and design firm have won the right to redesign and rebrand Santa Monica’s bus system. The picture above is their bus shelter proposal. I think the idea of “Big Blue Bus” and “The Blue Spots” are somewhat clever and could catch on as a solid branding effort. The bus shelters don’t really do it for me as a piece of architecture, though. While Santa Monica is blessed with beautiful weather, they just don’t seem substantial enough for my tastes. The design also feels too trendy; I could see these feeling really out of date in 10 years.

    According to ArchDaily, an architecture firm and design firm have won the right to redesign and rebrand Santa Monica’s bus system. The picture above is their bus shelter proposal. I think the idea of “Big Blue Bus” and “The Blue Spots” are somewhat clever and could catch on as a solid branding effort. The bus shelters don’t really do it for me as a piece of architecture, though. While Santa Monica is blessed with beautiful weather, they just don’t seem substantial enough for my tastes. The design also feels too trendy; I could see these feeling really out of date in 10 years.

  4. A reason to be optimistic in Detroit: a beautiful new bus station downtown.

    Via MetropolisMag.
    A reason to be optimistic in Detroit: a beautiful new bus station downtown. Via MetropolisMag.

  5. downtowncreator:

    Los Angeles’ Metro is doing something that no transit agency in the country has ever done: it’s marketing its products and services as if it were a private company bent on turning a profit. But for Metro marketing isn’t about increasing the bottom line. It’s about reducing traffic, cleaning the air and making people’s commutes in this auto-clogged city a bit less stressful. (via Transit Agencies Need to Invest in Marketing: A Lesson from Los Angeles | TheCityFix.com)

    I would go further than this quote and say that they’re not just marketing, they’re redesigning how people understand the Metro system. They differentiated local and express buses by color, simplified logos, and better organized all the signage associated with the transit system. That’s not just marketing, that’s good transit practice.

  6. The Architecture of Bus Stops

    My favorites are Curitiba and the MIT one.