Bus stop relocations upgrades and installations

Early engagement with State Growth is important to ensure travel information remains up to date, and bus stop infrastructure is safe and accessible.

Moving or installing a bus stop

Two weeks prior to moving an existing stop or installing a new stop, road managers and/or contractors must complete the form linked below. This ensures State Growth can update travel data (known as GTFS data) that feeds into public facing travel information, such as Google Transit and real time applications that show the location of buses, and where and when they will stop:

https://stgro.advancedforms.squiz.cloud/form/passenger-transport-updating-travel-data

Bus stop audit

As soon as possible after moving or upgrading an existing stop or installing a new bus stop, road managers and/or contractors must complete the form linked below. This ensures the stop is fit for purpose and Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA) compliant:

https://stgro.advancedforms.squiz.cloud/form/passenger-transport-bus-stop-audit

Upgrades to bus stops and new bus stops need to be Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA) compliant to ensure they are accessible to all members of the community.

Compliant bus stop infrastructure improves access to public transport for everyone, particularly for families with children in prams, older Tasmanians and people living with a disability.

State Growth has developed a guide on the planning and design of DDA compliant bus stops. The guide is based on the Australian Human Rights Commission guidelines for bus stop compliance. It should be noted that these guidelines are based on the minimum requirements for a DDA bus stop.

• Guideline - moving towards more accessible bus stops (DOCX 2.3 MB)
• Guideline - moving towards more accessible bus stops (PDF 1.6 MB)

State Growth has also developed standard accessible bus stop, shelter and bus stop blade designs .

Relevant legislation is listed below:

• the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) (DDA)
• the Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport 2002 (Cth) (DSAPT)
• the Disability (Access to Premises-Buildings) Standards 2010 (Cth).

Bus shelters

• provide a safe and comfortable place to wait for public transport, and offer protection from wind, rain and the sun
• are often the first point of contact a passenger has with public transport, so the provision and design of bus shelters contributes to the overall customer experience and makes public transport more attractive
• need to be Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA) compliant to ensure they are accessible to all members of the community
• are provided at stops where there are high numbers of boarding passengers
• are not typically provided where most passengers are getting off the bus.

State Growth has developed a bus shelter provision guideline based on:

• passenger boarding volumes
• urban and rural areas
• site footprint and characteristics.

The bus shelter guideline is available below:

• Bus Shelter Guidelines (PDF 552.6 KB).

The Tasmanian Government committed up to $10 million over four years in the 2021/22 State Budget to provide all-access, all-weather bus stops at priority locations.

Improving bus stop infrastructure across the state increases compliance with disability standards and enhances the passenger experience. This will contribute to the aim of reducing traffic congestion by encouraging greater public transport patronage.

The intent of the all-access all-weather bus stop program is to work in partnership with local government to

• upgrade bus stops to be compliant with disability standards
• consider the provision of new and/or upgraded bus shelters.

Funding will be delivered via a grant-style program similar to the Vulnerable Road User Program (VRUP) program. This means preference will be given to upgrading stops where councils are willing to work in partnership with the Department of State Growth.

The Program is only open to local government areas (LGA) in Tasmania.

Bus stop prioritisation framework

To ensure funds are used effectively, State Growth has developed a Bus Stop Prioritisation Framework to focus upgrades where they are most needed.

The Framework uses a selection of socio-economic, patronage and community measures to rank bus stops based in each LGA. Stops are further broken down on an urban and rural basis to ensure a balanced outcome.

To apply this method, ‘need scores’ have been developed for bus stops that have then been indexed to provide a hierarchical list that ranks stops by need within each LGA.

The Framework will be used to identify a ‘first cut’ of priority bus stops, which will be further refined in consultation with bus operators and councils.

The Framework is available below:

Bus Stop Prioritisation Framework (PDF 617.3 KB)

Round 1 funding

Councils were notified of successful applications for Round 1 of the Grant Program in June 2023.

All Round 1 upgrades have now been completed.

• Brighton Council
• Derwent Valley Council
• Launceston City Council
• West Tamar Council
• Latrobe Council
• Kentish Council
• Burnie Council
• Devonport Council
• Northern Midlands Council

Round 2 funding

Councils were notified of successful applications for Round 2 of the Grant Program in May 2024.

It is anticipated that Round 2 bus stop upgrades will be completed by the end of June 2025.

• Launceston City Council
• Burnie Council
• Southern Midlands Council
• Northern Midlands Council
• Sorell Council

Round 3 funding

Councils were notified of successful applications for Round 3 of the Grant Program in December 2024.

It is anticipated that Round 3 bus stop upgrades will be completed by the end of February 2026.

• Launceston City Council
• Burnie Council
• Sorell Council
• Northern Midlands Council

Consultation

State Growth has conducted several phases of consultation to date, including engagement with bus operators, local government, and advocacy groups.

State Growth will continue to engage with these stakeholders throughout the Program.