Association of Transport Co-ordinating Officers PRINTED INFORMATION AT BUS STOPS Interim Good Practice Guidelines Prepared by ATCO Information & Ticketing Sub-Committee, with the assistance of independent consultants John Austin and Peter Warman November 2004 PRINTED INFORMATION AT BUS STOPS – Interim Good Practice Guidelines Association of Transport Co-ordinating Officers PRINTED INFORMATION AT BUS STOPS Interim Good Practice Guidelines Final Edition: November 2004 Issued by: Information & Ticketing Sub-Committee, Association of Transport Co-ordinating Officers CONTENTS To go straight to the relevant section of this document point cursor over section name or page number and press CTRL + Click 1 INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................3 1.1 The Role of this document ................................................................................................. 3 1.2 The Context of printed information at bus stops – Serving the Customer..... 4 1.3 The Timing of these Interim Guidelines – Why Now is the right time to address this issue .............................................................................................................................. 5 1.4 Scope and Status of Interim Guidelines ....................................................................... 6 2 CRITERIA FOR JUDGING A GOOD QUALITY PRESENTATION OF INFORMATION...........7 2.1 Simplicity and Straightforwardness................................................................................ 7 2.2 Meeting specific requirements for information at bus stops................................. 7 2.3 Providing answers to the customer’s travel requirements easily ....................... 7 2.4 Allowing passengers to find answers to their main questions within about 8 seconds.................................................................................................................................................. 7 2.5 Giving a positive image of the bus and giving the impression / assurance of being accurate..................................................................................................................................... 8 2.6 Satisfying users ...................................................................................................................... 8 2.7 Orientated towards the needs of passengers............................................................. 8 3 CONTENT OF INFORMATION AT THE STOP...................................................................8 3.1 Requirements vary by location......................................................................................... 8 3.2 Role of Template designs.................................................................................................... 9 3.3 Specific Types of Template designs................................................................................ 9 3.4 Bus Stop Flags ...................................................................................................................... 10 3.5 Name of Bus Stop Location and Direction of Travel .............................................. 10 3.6 Route or Service Numbers operating from that stop ............................................ 10 3.7 Operator and / or Route Branding ................................................................................ 10 3.8 Destination and Intermediate Points ........................................................................... 10 3.9 Departure Times................................................................................................................... 11 3.10 Frequency of services at that time of the day, and any variation according to the day............................................................................................................................................ 11 3.11 Days of Operation............................................................................................................ 11 3.12 Journey Times................................................................................................................... 11 3.13 Information on Return Journey.................................................................................. 11 3.14 Where the user can get to from this location....................................................... 12 3.15 Service Coverage............................................................................................................. 12 3.16 Start & finish dates of the service, and changes since the last timetable 12 3.17 Reference numbers......................................................................................................... 12 3.18 How the passenger pays............................................................................................... 12 3.19 Phone Information Sources ......................................................................................... 12 3.20 Use of Line-of-Route Diagrams .................................................................................. 13 2 PRINTED INFORMATION AT BUS STOPS – Interim Good Practice Guidelines 3.21 Other Maps......................................................................................................................... 13 3.22 Fares ..................................................................................................................................... 13 3.23 References to Local Authority..................................................................................... 13 3.24 Accessibility of vehicle and of information............................................................. 14 3.25 Details of other stops and of phones and other facilities in the vicinity.... 14 3.26 Other roadside locations for information................................................................ 14 4 GENERAL LAYOUT ......................................................................................................14 4.1 Display Panel Size and Height ........................................................................................ 14 4.2 Potential Conflicts with Bus Shelter Displays............................................................ 14 4.3 Header and Footer............................................................................................................... 15 4.4 Ordering of Services within Display.............................................................................. 15 4.5 Bilingual Displays................................................................................................................. 15 4.6 Plain English........................................................................................................................... 15 5 LAYOUT OF TIMINGS .................................................................................................15 5.1 Route Number or Identity and Heading...................................................................... 15 5.2 Days of the Week................................................................................................................. 15 5.3 Full Timetables or Stop-specific Departure Boards?.............................................. 16 5.4 Chronological (Composite service) or Individual Service? .................................. 16 5.5 Display of Frequency .......................................................................................................... 17 5.6 Journeys operating after midnight................................................................................ 17 5.7 24 Hour Clock........................................................................................................................ 17 5.8 Lineage..................................................................................................................................... 17 5.9 Notes and Reference Codes............................................................................................. 18 6 PRINT & PAPER .........................................................................................................18 6.1 Typeface .................................................................................................................................. 18 6.2 Upper and Lower case, and use of Italics .................................................................. 19 6.3 Text Spacing .......................................................................................................................... 19 6.4 Word Spacing and Alignment.......................................................................................... 19 6.5 Contrast and Background................................................................................................. 19 6.6 Line Length............................................................................................................................. 19 6.7 Print Colour ............................................................................................................................ 19 6.8 Enlarging existing timetables.......................................................................................... 20 6.9 Paper, encapsulation, production method and mounting of material............. 20 7 DISPLAY MAINTENANCE AND FREQUENCY OF TIMETABLE REVISIONS......................20 ANNEX 1 Joint Committee on Mobility of Blind and Partially Sighted People Policy Statement on Public Transport Information .....................................................................21