Editing Bus stop (section)

== Information ==
[[File:98b-line-sign.jpg|thumb|upright|Bus stop info poster in [[Vancouver]], [[British Columbia]] also shows rapid transit routes]]
[[File:Bulevardul Ion C. Bratianu a Piata Sfantul Gheorghe (Piata 1848) mellett. Fortepan 32011.jpg|thumb|upright|A worn-out "totem" of the [[Societatea de Transport București|ITB]] near the old town of [[Bucharest]], 1986]]
{{see also|Public transport timetable}}

===Public-facing information===
{{Unreferenced section|date=August 2013}}
Most bus stops are identified with a metal sign attached to a pole or light standard. Some stops are plastic strips strapped on to poles and others involve a sign attached to a bus shelter. The signs are often identified with a picture of a bus and/or with the words "bus stop" in the local language.

The bus stop "flag" (a panel usually projecting from the top of a bus stop pole) will often show the route numbers of all the buses calling at the stop, perhaps distinguishing frequent, infrequent, 24-hour, and night services. The flag may also show the logo of the dominant bus operator, or the logo of a local transit authority with responsibility for bus services in the area. Additional information may include an unambiguous, unique name for the stop, and the direction/common destination(s) of most calling routes.

Bus stops will often show [[Public transport timetable|timetable]] information: either the full timetable, or for busier routes, the times or frequency that a bus will call at the specific stop. Route maps and tariff information may also be provided, and telephone numbers for relevant travel information services.

The stop may also incorporate, or have nearby, real time information displays with the arrival times of the next buses. Increasingly, [[mobile phone]] technology is being referenced on more remote stops, allowing the next bus times to be sent to a passenger's handset based on the stop location and the real time information. Automated [[ticket machine]]s may be provided at busy stops.

===Data model===
Modern [[passenger information system]]s and [[journey planner]]s require a detailed digital representation of stops and stations. The [[European Committee for Standardization|CEN]]  [[Transmodel]] data model, and the related [[IFOPT]] data interchange standard, define how transport systems, including bus stops, should be described for use in computer models. In Transmodel, a single bus stop is modeled as a "Stop Point", and a grouping of nearby bus stops as a "Stop Area" or "Stop Place". The [[General Transit Feed Specification]] (GTFS) standard, originally developed by [[Google]] and [[TriMet]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://beyondtransparency.org/chapters/part-2/pioneering-open-data-standards-the-gtfs-story/|title=Pioneering Open Data Standards: The GTFS Story|website=beyondtransparency.org|access-date=2017-05-11}}</ref> defines a simple and widely used data interchange standard for public transport schedules. GTFS also includes a table of stop locations which for each stop gives a name, identifier, location, and identification with any larger station that the stop may be a part of.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://developers.google.com/transit/gtfs/reference/stops-file|title=stops.txt File {{!}} Static Transit {{!}} Google Developers|website=Google Developers|language=en|access-date=2017-05-11}}{{Dead link|date=July 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>  [[OpenStreetMap]] also has a modelling standard for bus stops.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Bus_stop|title=Bus Stop|website=OpenStreetMap|access-date=2010-03-25}}</ref>

The United Kingdom has collected a complete database of its public transport access points, including bus stops, into the [[NaPTAN|National Public Transport Access Nodes (NaPTAN)]] database with details of 350,000 nodes and which is available as [[open Data]] from [[data.gov.uk]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://data.gov.uk/node/8473|title=National Public Transport Access Nodes (NaPTAN)|publisher=[[data.gov.uk]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100325144902/http://data.gov.uk/node/8473|archive-date=2010-03-25}}</ref> In this database, developed by the Department of Transport in 2001, stops are classified as "marked"  or "custom and usage" (i.e. unmarked stops where the driver will stop the vehicle on request). Use of marked stops varies: either the bus will always stop, or will stop by request only.