Train GraphicClick on the map to explore geographics
 
I need help
FAQ
Emergency
About .
Travel & transport from BBC stories as at 20:35 28 Mar 2024
* Bus plunges off South Africa bridge, killing 45
- Easter getaways hit by travel disruption
- Where Baltimore bridge investigation goes now
- How do I renew my UK passport and what is the 10-year rule?
- Passengers pleaded with knifeman during attack
- Family anger at sentence on fatal crash driver, 19
- Easter travel warning as millions set to hit roads
Read about the forum [here].
Register [here] - it's free.
What do I gain from registering? [here]
 02/06/24 - Summer Timetable starts
17/08/24 - Bus to Imber
27/09/25 - 200 years of passenger trains

On this day
28th Mar (1992)
MOD Kineton tour, branch line society (*)

Train RunningCancelled
18:30 Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour
18:36 London Paddington to Plymouth
19:23 Reading to Gatwick Airport
19:33 London Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill
19:35 Exeter St Davids to London Paddington
19:59 Gatwick Airport to Reading
20:13 Swindon to Westbury
20:20 Reading to Shalford
20:49 Newbury to Bedwyn
20:54 Reading to Gatwick Airport
20:56 Worcester Foregate Street to London Paddington
21:16 Bedwyn to Newbury
21:30 Shalford to Reading
21:53 Newbury to Bedwyn
22:25 Bedwyn to Newbury
22:30 Gatwick Airport to Reading
22:47 Newbury to Bedwyn
Short Run
16:03 London Paddington to Penzance
17:03 London Paddington to Penzance
17:30 London Paddington to Taunton
17:36 London Paddington to Plymouth
18:03 London Paddington to Penzance
19:04 Paignton to London Paddington
19:13 Salisbury to Bristol Temple Meads
19:29 Gatwick Airport to Reading
20:03 London Paddington to Plymouth
20:11 Salisbury to Bristol Temple Meads
20:42 Bedwyn to London Paddington
21:04 London Paddington to Plymouth
Delayed
16:15 Penzance to London Paddington
Additional 17:17 Exeter St Davids to Penzance
Additional 17:26 Castle Cary to Penzance
19:04 London Paddington to Plymouth
An additional train service has been planned to operate as shown 19:40 Redhill to Reading
23:04 Reading to Bedwyn
23:45 London Paddington to Penzance
PollsOpen and recent polls
Closed 2024-03-25 Easter Escape - to where?
Abbreviation pageAcronymns and abbreviations
Stn ComparatorStation Comparator
Rail newsNews Now - live rail news feed
Site Style 1 2 3 4
Next departures • Bristol Temple MeadsBath SpaChippenhamSwindonDidcot ParkwayReadingLondon PaddingtonMelksham
Exeter St DavidsTauntonWestburyTrowbridgeBristol ParkwayCardiff CentralOxfordCheltenham SpaBirmingham New Street
March 28, 2024, 20:49:26 *
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Forgotten your username or password? - get a reminder
Most recently liked subjects
[118] West Wiltshire Bus Changes April 2024
[116] would you like your own LIVE train station departure board?
[89] Infrastructure problems in Thames Valley causing disruption el...
[46] Return of the BRUTE?
[38] If not HS2 to Manchester, how will traffic be carried?
[28] Reversing Beeching - bring heritage and freight lines into the...
 
News: the Great Western Coffee Shop ... keeping you up to date with travel around the South West
 
   Home   Help Search Calendar Login Register  
Pages: [1]
  Print  
Author Topic: Station of Being is an interactive Arctic bus stop  (Read 1066 times)
Lee
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 7519


GBR - The Emperor's New Rail Network


View Profile WWW
« on: March 01, 2021, 21:10:32 »

From Dezeen - Actually from December 2019, but I only came across it today. Interesting nonetheless, so I thought I'd share:

Quote from: Dezeen
Architecture studio Rombout Frieling Lab and Research Institutes of Sweden have created the Station of Being as a prototype bus stop for use in the Arctic region, which uses sound and light to alert passengers to approaching buses.

The bus stop in Umeå, Sweden, was designed to improve the waiting conditions for passengers using public transport in cold weather conditions within the Arctic region.

It uses lights and sounds to alert passengers to approaching buses so that they can relax and shelter from the wind while waiting rather than constantly having to keep a look out.

"Waiting for the bus can be an annoying experience," said Rombout Frieling, founder of Eindhoven studio Rombout Frieling Lab. "You have to continuously be on the lookout in order to ensure you do not miss the bus."

"Instead, the Station of Being looks out for the bus for you – so that travellers can have 'time for just being', which was a clear need we identified among the commuters who work on the Science Park where the Station is located," he told Dezeen.

The bus stop was commissioned by the city of Umeå as a prototype and opened during the EU» (European Union - about) Arctic Forum, which was held in the city earlier this year.

It has a "smart roof" which contains lighting and speakers that are used to create different atmospheres dependent on the bus that is approaching.

"The sounds and lights indicate the destination of the bus," explained Frieling. "For instance, when glassy tones sound, the bus goes to the locally famous glass factory."

Rather than seating, the bus stop contains timber pods as Rombout Frieling Lab's research found that people often preferred to stand, or lean, rather than sit while waiting for a bus in the cold and snowy conditions.

The rotating pods are designed to protect the passengers from the wind and provide privacy if needed.

"In this work we found, for instance, that one of the reasons why people prefer their car above the bus, is the need for privacy and the need to zone off," said Frieling.

"This is one of the reason why we invented the wooden pods that hang from the ceiling of the station – the pods allow people to lean comfortably in their own 'cocoon', while they can also be rotated to create different settings: social or private."

The bus stop's roof and pods are made from local timber. They can be rotated to allow a snowplough to pass through the bus stop, so that it can easily be cleared in periods of heavy snowfall.

According to the studio it consumes the same amount of energy as a standard bus stop.

In the first couple of weeks after the bus stop's opening the studio recorded a 35 per cent increase in usage, with many passengers taking time to relax in the structure.

"The design is meant to get people out of their heads and into their bodies," said Frieling.

"We have seen people meditating, people hugging in pods together and people explicitly choosing to miss their bus and stay a bit longer," he continued.

"As in all my design projects, I find it important that people get a chance to escape the rational humdrum of the everyday, to do things differently and to engage their bodies. Some people find that fun and that is great."

Although Station of Being was designed specifically for the Arctic region, Frieling believes that it could be adapted for use in many different climates and environments.

"The Station was designed on the basis of a series of deep insights on the needs of travellers," he said.

"We suspect that many of these are very universal, like the need to have some transition time, and so we would love to apply innovations, for instance the spectacle of sound and light, to other areas and climates."

The mind boggles as to what kinds of sound and lights could indicate various destinations in the GWR (Great Western Railway) area  Grin
Logged

Vous devez être impitoyable, parce que ces gens sont des salauds - https://looka.com/s/78722877
grahame
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 40690



View Profile WWW Email
« Reply #1 on: March 01, 2021, 22:24:28 »


Quote
"Waiting for the bus can be an annoying experience," said Rombout Frieling, founder of Eindhoven studio Rombout Frieling Lab. "You have to continuously be on the lookout in order to ensure you do not miss the bus."

It uses lights and sounds to alert passengers to approaching buses so that they can relax and shelter from the wind while waiting rather than constantly having to keep a look out.


Yes, YES.  Inspiration.  It's a real downer keeping an eye out sometimes ... but I suppose a tracker app could help.  As our nearest bus stop is - err - outside our house to the extent that we wondered about getting a waiting shelter inset into our garden (but the turned back on the idea after thinking what it would be used for in addition to waiting for buses)

Could also be a very good idea for the new Melksham Hub - an alert in the Cafe as the train passes Melksham Lane (Broughton Gifford) or Westlands Lane (Beanacre) giving people time to toddle out across the Zebra onto the platform.  I know a WebTIS type display is planned, but a two minute alarm would be a good idea
Logged

Coffee Shop Admin, Acting Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, Option 24/7 Melksham Rep
MVR S&T
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 438


View Profile
« Reply #2 on: March 01, 2021, 23:47:51 »

Will the webtis screen be IN the cafe? I remember The Pub at Reading station, the old booking hall, keeping the departure screens, so you could stay in the warm, and if your train was late enough, have another pint, or 3, not every one has a smart phone or a good data plan. Will there be wifi at Melksham?
Logged
Robin Summerhill
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 1145


View Profile Email
« Reply #3 on: March 02, 2021, 00:11:01 »

This strikes me as finding an expensive solution to a problem that already has a cheap solution.

The problem appears to be one of signalling to a bus driver that there is someone at the bus stop that wishes to board. Therefore it will only apply to request stops (ie. Most bus stops these days)

If you go into any of a large number of low rise blocks of flats you will find a timer-based light switch in the stairwell. You walk in and press the button, the stairwell light comes on and stays on for a preset number of seconds. If you haven’t arrived at where you are going yet, you press the nearest button again, the light comes back on and stays on again for the same number of seconds.

This light could of course be coloured red or amber or yellow with pink spots come t that.

So, when the hapless passenger in a blizzard enters the bus shelter, he or she finds the timer button and presses it. A light illuminates outside the stop to indicate to the driver that there is a passenger there. If the light goes out before the bus arrives, press it again and repeat until the Optare Solo or whatever turns up.

Am I missing something?
« Last Edit: March 02, 2021, 00:16:45 by Robin Summerhill » Logged
Lee
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 7519


GBR - The Emperor's New Rail Network


View Profile WWW
« Reply #4 on: March 02, 2021, 01:08:59 »

Ah, but would the "Nelson Mandela House Solution" be as conducive to getting "people out of their heads and into their bodies" ?

I guess this means that the world will have to wait a little longer to witness the sheer inspirational joy of Robin, grahame and myself explicitly choosing to miss our bus, and instead meditate together in our hanging rotating pod cocoons in our shelter outside Well House Manor, as the snowplough passes beneath us...
Logged

Vous devez être impitoyable, parce que ces gens sont des salauds - https://looka.com/s/78722877
grahame
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 40690



View Profile WWW Email
« Reply #5 on: March 02, 2021, 05:39:41 »

Will the webtis screen be IN the cafe? I remember The Pub at Reading station, the old booking hall, keeping the departure screens, so you could stay in the warm, and if your train was late enough, have another pint, or 3, not every one has a smart phone or a good data plan. Will there be wifi at Melksham?

Answering the last question first ... The Hub already showed up on my list of networks when I was volunteering with survey work being undertaken to help the TransWilts team learn about the wider traffic flows on Station Approach (not just rail passengers) late last October. I asked about the access for volunteers, passengers, customers and was told:
Quote
We have usb sockets around the café and free wifi will be available with the café opening. Hopefully people will enjoy a coffee and sandwich whilst using it!

My understanding is that there will indeed be a WebTIS screen in the Cafe - not sure what the final configuration is - there were plans to have it visible inside and out, but that may have changed now that there's a display screen showing the next 4 trains overlooking the short term pick up / drop off spaces. Any number of displays available to show on a regular computer screen - we have links to no fewer than 9 already on the Coffee Shop - see http://new.passenger.chat/better/map.html?stn=MKM» (Melksham (Station code) - next trains) - and there's also TransWilts' own app via https://transwilts.org/app/index.html#/home and my original at http://melksh.am/trains .

Speculating ... it should be straightforward to add an API onto that latter to trigger something that flashes a light / rings a bell / plays a tune 3 minutes before a train is expected (and allowing for on time and delayed services).  Could even be clever and play back potted announcements and Pachelbel's Canon as the three minute warning (but that would probably tire on staff very quickly!).
Logged

Coffee Shop Admin, Acting Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, Option 24/7 Melksham Rep
grahame
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 40690



View Profile WWW Email
« Reply #6 on: March 02, 2021, 06:16:46 »

This strikes me as finding an expensive solution to a problem that already has a cheap solution.

The problem appears to be one of signalling to a bus driver that there is someone at the bus stop that wishes to board. Therefore it will only apply to request stops (ie. Most bus stops these days)

If you go into any of a large number of low rise blocks of flats you will find a timer-based light switch in the stairwell. You walk in and press the button, the stairwell light comes on and stays on for a preset number of seconds. If you haven’t arrived at where you are going yet, you press the nearest button again, the light comes back on and stays on again for the same number of seconds.

This light could of course be coloured red or amber or yellow with pink spots come t that.

So, when the hapless passenger in a blizzard enters the bus shelter, he or she finds the timer button and presses it. A light illuminates outside the stop to indicate to the driver that there is a passenger there. If the light goes out before the bus arrives, press it again and repeat until the Optare Solo or whatever turns up.
 
Am I missing something?

I suspect that the Swedish Arctic example needs some (perhaps major) adjustment to bring it down to a budget that it can be done in quantity, and is ruggedised more against some of our local vandals rather than the weather. A seed of an idea rather than a solution to be exactly replicated. You wouldn't buy snowploughs for use in Texas for example (oops!), would you?

On the UK (United Kingdom) / my local bus stop side, I am not up to date / need to be better informed on real time bus tracking apps that cover my area; very likely there's an easy and maintainable route to waiting within a minute or two of the bus stop, and going out there as the bus arrives. 

What does strike me from the original article is the 35% uplift in usage  and wondering how we can get some of that here.  Here is a starting point - the main bus stop in the centre of Melksham for people to pick up the regular town bus - which appears around the blind corner a few yards away so really needs looking out for!

Good news, I suppose, that it's so awful that it should, surely, be possible to do something better.  Starting perhaps with waiting a few yards away in Bud's Bar with a screen and with an alert as the bus approaches.  Not sure which of our local buses have trackers feeding the apps / web though.

Logged

Coffee Shop Admin, Acting Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, Option 24/7 Melksham Rep
Robin Summerhill
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 1145


View Profile Email
« Reply #7 on: March 02, 2021, 12:52:57 »

Ah, but would the "Nelson Mandela House Solution" be as conducive to getting "people out of their heads and into their bodies"

No. It's a bus stop.

Clearly I was stupidly thinking too much about a solution to a problem and nowhere near enough about the aesthetics and ambience.

Do you remember the sketch in Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy where a group of Marketing Consultants were discussing what consumers wanted the shape of a wheel or the colour of fire to be? I do...

Wink

(for the avoidance of doubt, my tongue is stuck firmly to my cheek here. I must stop having Araldite for breakfast...)
Logged
Do you have something you would like to add to this thread, or would you like to raise a new question at the Coffee Shop? Please [register] (it is free) if you have not done so before, or login (at the top of this page) if you already have an account - we would love to read what you have to say!

You can find out more about how this forum works [here] - that will link you to a copy of the forum agreement that you can read before you join, and tell you very much more about how we operate. We are an independent forum, provided and run by customers of Great Western Railway, for customers of Great Western Railway and we welcome railway professionals as members too, in either a personal or official capacity. Views expressed in posts are not necessarily the views of the operators of the forum.

As well as posting messages onto existing threads, and starting new subjects, members can communicate with each other through personal messages if they wish. And once members have made a certain number of posts, they will automatically be admitted to the "frequent posters club", where subjects not-for-public-domain are discussed; anything from the occasional rant to meetups we may be having ...

 
Pages: [1]
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Powered by SMF 1.1.2 | SMF © 2006-2007, Simple Machines LLC Valid XHTML 1.0! Valid CSS!
This forum is provided by customers of Great Western Railway (formerly First Great Western), and the views expressed are those of the individual posters concerned. Visit www.gwr.com for the official Great Western Railway website. Please contact the administrators of this site if you feel that the content provided by one of our posters contravenes our posting rules (email link to report). Forum hosted by Well House Consultants

Jump to top of pageJump to Forum Home Page