Abstract Manager

The planning practices for new and retrofitted major mobility hubs or facilities located at cities’ limits are continually addressing challenges that passengers face when travelling across municipal borders. Recent practices include fare integration policies, discounted transfers, and seamless connections between transit services above and below ground. Although these connections at hubs and facilities provide passengers with more options to different bus operating agencies and routes to and from subway lines, often these bus routes by various operating agencies are not consolidated and are in physically separated facilities (separate bus terminals in the same general vicinity, on-street curbside, etc.). With multiple bus operating agencies present at one transit hub/facility, there are physical constraints, limited land availability, and pressures to provide consolidated and optimized bus terminal design solutions that are equitable for all operating agencies. As design standards for each agency enter a ‘grey area’ for these scenarios, how can a single bus terminal facility be designed as ‘agnostic’ to all agencies’ established standards and operational preferences – while managing spatial site constraints?

The design standards between bus operating agencies often differ significantly due to nature of operating in different municipalities with varying traffic volumes, right-of-ways (ROW), and other driver behaviours. Other differences include varied bus vehicle models and specifications that have different physical dimensions (length, width, height), operational characteristics (wheelbases, number of axles, turning radii), operating speeds, buses featuring articulation and application of additional spatial safety buffers. With a vast array of differing operations and nuances, there is a need to form a strategy to develop an ‘agnostic’ design approach to house multiple bus operating agencies’ services and routes within a single facility in the present – with an overarching design standard that supports flexibility for operational changes in the future.

With Metrolinx and other Greater Toronto Area (GTA) transit agencies, we have workshopped a strategy and basis for a design approach to compile, assess, iterate, and form agency-combination specific sets of bus terminal geometry; including curb alignments, platform configuration, and driveway widths, that utilize equal input and resulting optimal layouts for the bus operating agencies.

This streamlined design approach included developing modular bus bay ‘unit runs’ with swept path analysis software to accommodate a variety of bus vehicles with a single set of geometric dimensions. Moreover, it is equally important to couple creative geometric design with meaningful stakeholder engagement, listening to all parties involved and collaborating towards a balanced solution. The approach allows for optimal site planning, better confidence in determining bus terminal operational capacity, and unlocks futureproofing opportunities such as dynamic bus bay assignment or provision of electric bus charging infrastructure. We are excited for the opportunity to share this experience, and lessons learned with other peers around Canada involved in designing large-scale multi-modal terminals in often constrained urban conditions.