Choosing the right bus shelter is a crucial decision for organisations responsible for public transport infrastructure, schools, business parks, or commercial sites. When you are planning to buy a bus shelter, upgrade existing facilities, or specify a new installation, selecting the wrong design or materials can lead to unnecessary costs, reduced durability, and poor user experience.
There are some considerations which you should always keep in mind when specifying a bus shelter. Here we explore some of the most common mistakes made when choosing or purchasing bus shelters and offers practical advice to avoid them. We hope that this helps buyers make informed decisions that balance functionality, longevity, and value.
Underestimating Capacity Needs
The mistake:
Choosing a shelter that fits current passenger levels without considering future demand or peak times usage.
How to avoid it:
When planning to buy a bus shelter, you need to carefully assess usage. This includes overall daily volume as well as usage during particularly busy times. These may vary according to location. Schools and offices will tend to have stable weekday schedules, while in hospitals or near industrial sites, there may be shift variations which you need to account for. In locations where events are regularly held, patterns may be completely different. For example, a bus stop near a football stadium may have steady local traffic most days, but a heavy influx of hundreds of people on game days. There may also be seasonality to your specific location, so keep that in mind, too.
Another issue which may arise in relation to capacity needs is future demand. This may happen in areas due for a regeneration cycle, such as houses being torn down to make way for a new, larger residential development, or the impending construction of a new factory or school. This is always worth considering, as demand may sharply increase in the foreseeable future and outgrow provisions quickly. This may be an issue you need to solve later and don’t need to act on now, but it is always a good idea to keep the area’s long-term goals and plans in mind to avoid frustrated users.
Ignoring Site Conditions
The mistake:
Selecting a shelter but not planning for wind exposure, drainage, terrain, or ground type.
How to avoid it:
As most mistakes, this one is also easily avoidable with enough forthought and planning. Site-specific planning ensures longevity and user comfort, so buying a shelter should not be your starting point; rather, it should be the step after conducting a basic site survey. Before specifying, you need to know what the ground is like and what the foundation requirements are. This can depend on the type of surface, any existing incline, and underground utilities, which may prevent digging in a specific area for casting in.
You also need to evaluate weather conditions, such as prevailing wind direction, which you may want to know to ensure the shelter has side panels on that side. You will also benefit from knowing the overall weather exposure – how much it rains, whether the location is exposed to the harsh sun at all times, or whether there is shade provided by a tree, for example. This may help you decide on the materials and finishes the shelter uses.
Consider also drainage and how you would prevent water from pooling under the shelter. This would be undesirable as water can, over time, damage the foundations and corrode your shelter. Additionally, users would not appreciate having to wait for the bus standing in puddles of water, so it is an important, yet sometimes overlooked issue.
Overlooking Accessibility Requirements
The mistake:
Failing to consider accessibility for wheelchair users, visually impaired passengers, or those with mobility challenges.
How to avoid it:
In public spaces which are used by a variety of people, you must always keep accessibility in mind. To make sure your bus shelter can be used by all, you can start by ensuring adequate entrance width and enough circulation space so people can move freely. Including seating is also a good practice, as people of all ages and abilities would benefit. Another idea to improve the design of a bus stop is to ensure the glazing is clear and easy to see through. This improves visibility, as people can check whether their bus is coming without having to stand up.
Choosing the Wrong Materials
The mistake:
Selecting materials based solely on upfront cost rather than lifecycle performance.
How to avoid it:
When selecting a shelter of any kind, you need to put significant thought into what materials you want it made of. Outdoor structures and street furniture are exposed to the elements year-round. They see UV rays, rain, snow and hot summer sun. This means that durable materials with protective layers are the best option for reducing repair and replacement costs.
For this reason, most of our shelters are made of steel, and we offer the option to have them galvanised to enhance their corrosion resistance and longevity. All of our products also offer the option of additional powder-coating. The coat of paint serves multipurpose functions. It adds colour and another layer of protection to the metal.
As for the glazing, a lot of our shelters are offered with polycarbonate panels. Polycarbonate is one of the most impact-resistant glazing materials. It is very hard to break under normal use and can withstand heavy impacts without shattering. It is ideal for high-traffic environments and where the risk of vandalism is significant. We also offer toughened glass, a strong alternative that remains relatively safe in the event of damage, as it shatters into small, blunt pieces rather than sharp shards. Both options have their pros and cons.
We typically use polycarbonate where safety, vandal resistance, and longevity at a lower cost are the priority. Toughened glass is typically better for installations where visual impact, clarity, and architectural quality are important. Some shelters also combine materials — for example, polycarbonate roofing panels for impact resistance and toughened glass side panels for clarity and aesthetics, like in our Ruby Bus Shelter.
Buying a bus shelter is not just about installing a structure with a roof — it is about creating a safe, durable, and user-friendly space that will serve your community for years to come. It requires careful evaluation of capacity, location, accessibility, and materials to ensure the final installation performs well over time. Underestimating demand, ignoring site conditions, overlooking inclusivity, or focusing only on upfront cost can all lead to avoidable long-term issues.
With thorough planning and informed decision-making, each of these common mistakes can be prevented. By taking a long-term view — considering future growth, environmental exposure, user comfort, and lifecycle performance — you can ensure your investment delivers durability, functionality, and value for years to come.