Each BRT station has been precisely designed based on:
- the BRT bus frequency at each station
-
the number of boarding and alighting passengers on each BRT route at each station
- the number of waiting passengers for each route at each station.
Stations are divided into 'modules' or 'substops'. A substop is a section of the station which effectively operates as a separate stop, generally with space for 2 BRT vehicles to queue in addition to space of 13m for BRT vehicles from the substop behind to take over. Hence a BRT station with two substops has double the capacity of a station with only one substop.
Stations have one, two or three substops in each direction. The number of substops was determined by boarding and alighting demand, and bus frequencies. The maximum saturation (the percentage of time that the station is occupied by a bus) of any substop in any BRT station on Zhongshan Av is only 34%, compared to a target level of 40%. This means that even if passenger demand and bus frequencies exceed expectations by up to 50% or more, the station dimensions will still be adequate to ensure high operational speeds.
Example of a one-module station
Example of a two-module station
Example of a three-module station
Example of a four-module station
BRT stations in Guangzhou should be located in the median, in line with best practice BRT experience in other cities. Bus lanes can be reduced to one per direction between stations but should have overtaking lanes at stations.
The figure below show the standard station alignment and dimensions for Zhongshan Av BRT stations with one or two modules. Some of the largest stations will have 3 modules. To further increase capacity, Xinshiqu station on Jichang Rd in Phase II will require two sections each with two substops.
The station design illustrated above requires, however, that buses have doors on both sides. This in turn requires a national regulation to be modified. If the national regulation cannot be modified, the stations and runways will still be median-aligned, but the stations will be split into two platforms, one serving each direction. The standard 'split station' design for Zhongshan Avenue is shown following. The first diagram shows the existing situation. The second shows the single BRT runway between stations. The final two diagrams show the two station variations; one with the station platforms directly opposite, and the second with an offset between the station platforms. (The offset means that the station requires less road width but is roughly twice as long.)
Following is a plan view of the standard 'split' BRT station with one platform serving each direction. The upper diagram shows the standard configuration with the two BRT platforms directly opposite. The lower diagram shows the 'offset' BRT platforms, which is used in special locations along the Zhongshan Avenue corridor. All cross-sections are designed based on the existing right-of-way of 60m along Zhongshan Avenue.
A station platform height of 0.75–1 m (level with the BRT bus floor height) is recommended if buses with doors in both sides and hence the single central platform is allowed.
Otherwise, if buses only have doors in the right side, a station platform height of around 25cm (level with the bus floor) will be used. This will provide level boarding and alighting at the BRT stations while also allowing comfortable boarding and alighting at bus stops outside the BRT corridor.
The station platform must be the same height as the bus floor to enable level boarding and alighting.
BRT stations have been designed to meet Phase I and Phase II BRT bus and passenger demand, although the actual construction for Phase I will be based only on the Phase I demand. The space required at some stations for additional 'modules' when Phase II is implemented has been reserved in the design. This 'reserved' space will be used for green space or bicycle parking, until Phase II is implemented.
