Pedestrian safety around bus stops has become an increasingly urgent issue as public transport use rebounds and urban streets grow more complex. New research from the University of Massachusetts Amherst offers a detailed look at why some bus stops are far more dangerous than others, and what can be done to reduce the risk.
Using machine learning techniques, researchers analysed 1,773 bus stops across Massachusetts to identify patterns behind pedestrian-vehicle crashes. While the study focused on a single US state, the researchers say the findings are highly transferable and have clear implications for bus stop planning and safety worldwide.
Lead author Tolu Oke, a doctoral candidate in transportation engineering at UMass Amherst, says pedestrian safety continues to lag behind other road safety improvements.
“Despite significant advances in road design over the past decade to enhance safety, we are still seeing safety issues that are disproportionately impacting pedestrians,” Oke says.
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The timing of the research is significant. Since the pandemic, bus ridership in the United States has recovered more strongly than other public transport modes, reaching 86 per cent of pre-pandemic levels by 2025. Previous studies have shown that almost half of pedestrian crashes in Massachusetts occur near bus stops, highlighting these locations as high-risk areas.
Rather than looking at crashes in isolation, the research sought to determine whether risk is driven solely by the presence of pedestrians or by specific features of bus stop design and placement.
“Are the crashes happening there because that’s where the pedestrians are, or is there something about the particular aspects of bus stop design or placement contributing to the risk?” asks study co-author Michael Knodler, director of the UMass Transportation Center.
The analysis identified 13 crash-relevant characteristics, grouped into three broad categories. The first relates to the immediate environment, including road width, traffic conditions, bus stop infrastructure and how safely pedestrians can cross the road. The second focuses on network context, such as whether a stop sits on an arterial road, a connector or a highway-adjacent route. The third considers land use and sociodemographic factors, including density, activity levels and social equity.
Together, these characteristics formed 13 distinct bus stop types, ranging from isolated rural stops to dense inner-city locations. Two types stood out for having the highest crash prevalence: stops located in dense urban cores and those on mixed-use arterial corridors.
Although different in layout, both environments share high traffic volumes, multiple transport modes and intense surrounding activity.
“All the activity in these areas just provides more opportunity for conflict,” Oke says.
Dense urban cores typically involve high pedestrian volumes, while mixed-use arterial corridors often combine wide roads with shops, housing and frequent bus services. The research found that these combinations increase risk exposure, particularly where speeds remain high.
Importantly, the study does not recommend a one-size-fits-all response. Instead, it argues that countermeasures must be tailored to the type of bus stop and its surrounding conditions.
“In one area, the solution might be the addition of a crosswalk,” Oke says.
“On a dense, multimodal corridor, we may need protective features to separate and calm the complex interaction of pedestrians, cyclists, cars and buses.”
Speed management emerged as the most critical factor. Knodler notes that while lower speeds may not eliminate crashes, they dramatically reduce their severity.
“If a pedestrian is hit at over 40 miles an hour, there’s an 80 per cent probability of serious injury or death,” he says.
“At 20 miles an hour, that drops to less than 20 per cent.”
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