A bus terminus is a designated place where a bus

Bus

A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...

 or coach

Coach (vehicle)

A coach is a large motor vehicle, a type of bus, used for conveying passengers on excursions and on longer distance express coach scheduled transport between cities - or even between countries...

 starts or ends its scheduled route. The terminus is the designated place that a timetable

Public transport timetable

A public transport timetable is a representation of public transport information to assist a passenger with planning a trip using public transport. A timetable details when vehicle will arrive and depart specified locations and may be organised for by route or for a particular stop...

 is timed from. Termini can be located at bus station

Bus station

A bus station is a structure where city or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. It is larger than a bus stop, which is usually simply a place on the roadside, where buses can stop...

s, interchanges

Transportation hub

A transport hub is a place where passengers and cargo are exchanged between vehicles or between transport modes. Public transport hubs include train stations, rapid transit stations, bus stops, tram stop, airports and ferry slips. Freight hubs include classification yards, seaports and truck...

, bus garage

Bus garage

A bus garage or bus depot is a building where buses are stored and maintained. In many conurbations, bus garages are on the site of former car barns or tram sheds, where Streetcars or Trams were stored, and the operation transferred to buses...

s or simple bus stop

Bus stop

A bus stop is a designated place where buses stop for passengers to board or leave a bus. These are normally positioned on the highway and are distinct from off-highway facilities such as bus stations. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage...

s. Termini can both start and stop at the same place, or may be in different locations for starting and finishing a route. Termini may or may not coincide with the use of bus stand

Bus stand

A bus stand is a designated parking location where a bus or coach waits out of service between scheduled public transport services. 'Bus stand' is also often an alternative name for specific bus stops inside a bus station....

s.

Size of termini

For operational reasons and passenger convenience, bus termini will often be grouped together in major termini locations. In the majority of cases, at least one, and often both termini of a route will be specific stops in bus station

Bus station

A bus station is a structure where city or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. It is larger than a bus stop, which is usually simply a place on the roadside, where buses can stop...

s. Large bus operators may also designate the termini of several routes to be their bus garage

Bus garage

A bus garage or bus depot is a building where buses are stored and maintained. In many conurbations, bus garages are on the site of former car barns or tram sheds, where Streetcars or Trams were stored, and the operation transferred to buses...

, where the legal terminus is just outside or nearby. For the purposes of integration of different public transport

Public transport

Public transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...

 modes, termini may also be located in a transportation hub

Transportation hub

A transport hub is a place where passengers and cargo are exchanged between vehicles or between transport modes. Public transport hubs include train stations, rapid transit stations, bus stops, tram stop, airports and ferry slips. Freight hubs include classification yards, seaports and truck...

 or 'interchange'. Minor termini may be a simple bus stop

Bus stop

A bus stop is a designated place where buses stop for passengers to board or leave a bus. These are normally positioned on the highway and are distinct from off-highway facilities such as bus stations. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage...

 or loop in a residential street, used by very few or just one route.

Operational considerations

While it may be of prime importance to the passenger, the location of a terminus may be made for reasons other than convenience of passengers.

Competitive interests

In rare cases, where the bus operator is commercially separate from the bus station owner, the bus company may choose to terminate services outside the station, so as not to incur usage fees. Additionally, counter to the idea of integration, competing bus operators may use different locations as intermediate termini, to discourage passengers use of competitors services.

Turning

A factor in the location of a terminus is how to turn the bus around to start the route in the other direction, which may be difficult in areas where road space is an issue, or the road layout prevents U-turns. This does not apply for true circle routes, where buses simply operate permanently in the clockwise or anti-clockwise direction. Termini in bus stations will often include reversing/run-around space, negating the turning issue.

Layover

Another consideration about the location of a terminus can be the need to layover

Layover

In transportation, a layover, also known as lays over or stopover, is some form of a break between parts of a single trip.-In mass transit:...

, before resuming in service.

In busy locations, such as main streets or bus stations, allowing the bus the space to layover may not be appropriate, and the bus may have to run out of service to a quieter layover point, before returning to the terminus to start the route again.

To allow layover at a terminus, many routes run through busy centres terminating either side in quiet termini, where a bus can layover without causing an obstruction. In the one stop case, this can cause problems for passengers when an apparently in service bus parks on a bus stop with the doors closed, waiting until the timetabled departure time, or when an arriving bus is not forming a departing service. This can be mitigated by using a bus stand

Bus stand

A bus stand is a designated parking location where a bus or coach waits out of service between scheduled public transport services. 'Bus stand' is also often an alternative name for specific bus stops inside a bus station....

. In the two stop type, the arrival stop can be used as the layover point.

Layover time is time built into a schedule between arrival at the end of a route and the departure for the return trip, used for the recovery of delays and preparation for the return trip.

Driver change

Terminus location may be positioned to allow driver changes, although this may be less of a factor than the location of the bus garage

Bus garage

A bus garage or bus depot is a building where buses are stored and maintained. In many conurbations, bus garages are on the site of former car barns or tram sheds, where Streetcars or Trams were stored, and the operation transferred to buses...

. Centrally located termini may be more convenient for driver changes. Some operators operate pool cars to allow drivers to drive to and wait at a quiet terminus, swapping the car with the bus when it arrives.

Types of termini

One stop

Many routes avoid the need to accommodate turning by having the end of the route form a small circuit as an official part of the route. The terminus is designated as one stop on this circuit, with the bus starting and finishing in the same orientation. This is often necessary in many town centres with one-way traffic systems

One-way traffic

One-way traffic is traffic that moves in a single direction. A one-way street is a street either facilitating only one-way traffic, or designed to direct vehicles to move in one direction.-General signs:...

.

Space permitting, the terminus may be a purpose built run-around Bus turnout

Bus turnout

A bus turnout, bus pullout, bus bay, bus lay-by , or off-line bus stop is a special zone on the side of the main roadway for primarily buses to stop for a designated bus stop in order to pick up and drop off passengers...

, which allows the bus to change direction simply by entering and leaving the turnout. Often the infrastructure for this remains from a previous tram

Tram

A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...

 or trolleybus

Trolleybus

A trolleybus is an electric bus that draws its electricity from overhead wires using spring-loaded trolley poles. Two wires and poles are required to complete the electrical circuit...

 system.

In rare cases, to allow a one stop terminus, routes may be arranged to start and finish at the same terminus, with buses arriving as one scheduled route, and leaving as a different route. This can also be done to allow a formal mid point to split up a long route, reducing the knock-on effect of delays.

Two stop

As opposed to a one stop arrangement, some routes that need to reverse direction at a terminus will start and finish in different stops, and the pair of stops locations forms the terminus. This necessitates running the bus out of service along other streets in order to position in the bus for the reverse direction. In the UK this is often achieved by locating the terminus near a roundabout

Roundabout

A roundabout is the name for a road junction in which traffic moves in one direction around a central island. The word dates from the early 20th century. Roundabouts are common in many countries around the world...

.

In this case, the arrival point can be designated as a 'set down only' stop, where passengers are not permitted to board.

Route terminus variations

Often one bus route will follow a core main route, but towards the termini, the bus may branch off and terminate in different locations. This may be indicated by different route numbers, or with the same route number but a different destination name on the headsign

Headsign

A destination sign or destination indicator is a sign mounted on the front or side of a public transport vehicle, such as a bus, tram/streetcar or light rail vehicle, that displays the vehicle's route number and destination, or the route's number and name on transit systems using route names...

/rollsign.

Routes may also have a number of different termini on the same numbered route, again shown only by different destinations. These may be used at different times according to operational need, usually to reflect different demand at the different times of the day.

See also

• Bus station
  Bus station
  A bus station is a structure where city or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. It is larger than a bus stop, which is usually simply a place on the roadside, where buses can stop...
  
  
• Bus garage
  Bus garage
  A bus garage or bus depot is a building where buses are stored and maintained. In many conurbations, bus garages are on the site of former car barns or tram sheds, where Streetcars or Trams were stored, and the operation transferred to buses...
  
  
• Bus stop
  Bus stop
  A bus stop is a designated place where buses stop for passengers to board or leave a bus. These are normally positioned on the highway and are distinct from off-highway facilities such as bus stations. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage...
  
  
• Dead mileage
  Dead mileage
  Dead mileage, dead running or dead heading, in public transport, describes a practice of non-revenue running, especially in bus transport.- Causes :...
  
  
• Train terminus