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https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/27432/critical-issues-in-transportation-for-2024-and-beyond

Bus and Bus Stop Designs Related to Perceptions of Crime

Mass transit is a sustainable solution to traffic congestion, pollution and sprawl, and yet citizens often prefer to drive their cars. The bus has sometimes been the transportation means of last resort but it can be more affordable to provide and can operate with greater flexibility than alternatives such as light rail. One of the many reasons people have been unwilling to forgo their cars is they perceive the bus to be unsafe related to crime. Measures have been taken to provide technologies such as surveillance cameras to detect crime but some riders have not felt safer with the presence of such measures. Therefore, research was conducted to determine the bus stop and bus designs that could lessen the perception of crime based on the aesthetic or architectural features of the bus stop and bus. For this research on bus and bus stop designs related to perceptions of crime, two methodologies were employed. The first, Phase I, involved surveys (314) conducted on 4 bus lines in Detroit and Ann Arbor. The second, Phase II, involved picture preference surveys and follow-up focus groups discussions about the pictures. The participants (168) in 15 focus groups were located in 4 cities including Ann Arbor and Detroit and, for external validity, Burlington, Vermont and Washington, D.C. The populations included people who ride the bus, might ride the bus and who never ride the bus. The participants were shown 70 slides in categories of bus stop, front, back, amount of advertising, color, windows, doors and seats and ranked their preference related to perceptions of crime from -3 or Unsafe to +3 or Safe. In addition to the quantitative ranking of the slides, qualitative data was obtained from the participant’s perceptions of the slides. A literature review summarized the history of the bus, environment and behavior, crime and effects of crime on buses. Social bridges, a new concept in the built environment that fosters connection between strangers, was introduced. Future research was outlined in the conclusions. The results demonstrate that the participants preferred a bus stop with a name that looks like a house, has a pitched room and has at least one side fully opened. For the bus front, the participants preferred long clear glass, the ability to see the driver, no solid partition behind the driver and the capability to see out the back of the bus. The bus backs that were preferred had a clear glass window and no advertising. Concerning advertising, the participants preferred no advertising on the buses. Color was less of a factor related to crime but subjects did strongly prefer clear glass windows to darkly tinted windows or wrap advertising painted windows. For doors, the participants felt safest with a wide door but did not want an overly wide door. In the interior, seats that were not overly colored were preferred since the space then wasn’t confusing and cluttered. Participants also preferred seats over the front wheel wells allowing them to sit closer to the driver.

  • Corporate Authors:

    Federal Transit Administration

    Office of Research, Demonstration and Innovation
    1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
    Washington, DC  United States  20590

    Ann Arbor Transportation Authority

    2700 South Industrial Highway
    Ann Arbor, MI  United States  48104

    Great Lakes Center for Truck and Transit Research

    201 UMTRI Building, 2901 Baxter Road
    Ann Arbor, MI  United States  48109-2150
  • Authors:
    • Lusk, Anne
  • Publication Date: 2001

Language

  • English

Media Info

  • Media Type: Web
  • Features: Bibliography; Figures; Photos;
  • Pagination: 116p

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 01019017
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Report/Paper Numbers: FTA MI-26-7004-2001.8
  • Files: TRIS, USDOT
  • Created Date: Feb 24 2006 4:45PM