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 15m for BRT vehicles to enter and leave the stopping berth. Hence a BRT station with two substops has double the capacity of a station with only one substop.
Stations have one, two, three or four substops in each direction. The number of substops was determined by boarding and alighting demand, and bus frequencies.
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 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.
The station platform height will be 35cm, level with the BRT bus floor height. 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.
