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1.
BACKGROUND
The Design Guidelines For Public Transport Facilities project forms part of the Public
Transport Planning, Design and Implementation Programme of the City of Cape Town.
This programme is intended to form the basis of the a approach and aimed ultimately
to effect the fundamental restructuring of public transport networks, services and
facilities (the Mobility Strategy). This strategy was focused on the transformation and
restructuring of public transport in Cape Town, with particular emphasis on:
 Placing public transport, people and quality of life first

 Integrating of all modes of public transport – rail, bus, mini-bus taxis, non-
motorised transport (NMT) and not excluding cars, freight and business
 Pursuing sustainable transport through investment in low cost forms of mobility
The Design Guidelines for Public Transport Facilities project has set the following
objectives:
 Develop a practical guide for the process of designing facilities;

 Establishing an approach towards public transport interchange or facility
design which considers it in its total urban context;
 Take into account the requirements of recapitalisation vehicles;
 Learn from the performance of recently constructed facilities, to build on
positive, and avoid negative experiences; and
 Focus on the needs of pedestrians as the basic functioning component at
public transport stops and interchanges.
2. THE NATURE OF INTERCHANGE
2.1 The urban meaning of interchange
While interchanges play an important functional role in transportation management,

they are also very important elements of urban structure and need to be used
structurally to improve the performance of the city.
From a design perspective, they have a number of characteristics which need to inform
their conceptualisation:
 They are people places: they are significant places of gathering and the
generation of pedestrian flows.
 They are places of waiting: comfort is therefore a central design issue.
 They are places of movement ‘switch’. A characteristic of equitable cities, is
that people have ‘access to access’: they can change direction and mode of
transport quickly and easily. Only when this is allowed do all people have access
to the fuller range of urban opportunities. Interchanges are a primary
mechanism which allows this switching to occur.
2.2 The relationship of interchanges with urban structure

Because interchanges result in flows of people and traffic, they have strong generative
qualities, i.e. they attract or repel other activities. As a general principle, interchanges
should:
 always be located in places of high accessibility;

 always be associated with public space;
 be considered good locations for public facilities;
 make provision for informal trading and markets (especially larger facilities);
 be reinforced by high density housing;
 be associated with facilities of convenience, such as ablution facilities;
 be places of human safety, security and comfort.
In short, transport interchanges should be viewed not only as a form of movement

infrastructure but as ‘seeds’ for the emergence of intensive, vibrant, urban modes and
as important elements of place-making.
The concept of interchange is a strongly hierarchical one - two dimensions of hierarchy

can be differentiated:
Hierarchy of mode. Movement involves a variety of modes including pedestrian,

bicycle, motorcycle, taxi, bus and train, which can occur in different combinations.
Hierarchy of size. Generally, there is a broad correlation between these hierarchical

forms: the more modes involved in the interchange, the greater the capacity and the
greater the propensity to attract other activities. In this study, five hierarchical forms
are demonstrated.
i) An on-street pick-up or drop-off point for taxis and/or buses;

ii) An on-street facility (stop) with embayments for taxis and/or buses;
iii) An off-street facility (interchange) for taxis and/or buses as an origin point
mainly during the AM peak period;
iv) An interchange as an origin, destination and/or transfer point. These include
combinations of taxis, buses and trains, and are operational during AM and
PM peak periods;
v) Like (iv) but mostly as a destination and offering transfer facilities, and
located in higher order urban centres with more intensity and on-going
activity.
3. OVERALL DESIGN PHILOSOPHY AND APPROACH
Four sets of requirements need to be brought into alignment in the design of

interchanges:
 The totality of the pedestrian experience. Central to this is capturing the

performance qualities of, inter alia: safety and security; comfort; convenience
and dignity.
 Efficiency of vehicular movement, stacking and holding.
 Urban integration: the way in which the interchange is integrated with its urban
surroundings, capitalisation of potentials and minimisation of negative impacts.
 Integration of interchange elements and activities: interchanges comprise a
complex network of activities which need to be brought into harmonious
alignment with each other. This involves holistic and creative thinking. In this, it
is optimising the performance of the whole, rather than maximising the
performance of any one part, element or activity, which is the central issue.
Considerations and requirements for stops are more basic than those for interchanges,
which are complex and increase with the hierarchy of interchanges. The basic
considerations for, and elements of, that contribute to the interchange type is organised
in Figure 1. This forms a conceptual framework to be used for evaluation purposes, as
well as for the formulation of the design guidelines.
4. EVALUATION OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT FACILITIES
The evaluation of public transport facilities was undertaken on the basis of an overall
framework, under the main headings as follows:
4.1 Urban Structure
 Transport Planning Context

- Modal operations and interchange functions
- Transport operational aspects
 Urban Design Context
- Urban design considerations
4.2 Interchange Components
 Vehicular Layout
- Vehicular access & circulation
- Interchange operations
 Pedestrian Space, Circulation & Facilities
- Pedestrians and bicycle facilities
- Shelters
- Building structures and accommodation
- Hard & soft landscaping
- Street furniture
 Trading
- Formal & informal trading
 Signage/ Management
- Information/ Communications
- Management
4.3 Summary of Findings
 Increasing share of taxis of the public transport market means that most off-
street facilities are provided for taxis, with buses mostly accommodated on-
street. Only in isolated cases do buses share off-street facilities with taxis.

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1.

 Placing public transport, people and quality of life first

 Develop a practical guide for the process of designing facilities;

2. THE NATURE OF INTERCHANGE

2.1 The urban meaning of interchange

While interchanges play an important functional role in transportation management,

2.2 The relationship of interchanges with urban structure

 always be located in places of high accessibility;

In short, transport interchanges should be viewed not only as a form of movement

The concept of interchange is a strongly hierarchical one - two dimensions of hierarchy

Hierarchy of mode. Movement involves a variety of modes including pedestrian,

Hierarchy of size. Generally, there is a broad correlation between these hierarchical

i) An on-street pick-up or drop-off point for taxis and/or buses;

3. OVERALL DESIGN PHILOSOPHY AND APPROACH

Four sets of requirements need to be brought into alignment in the design of

 The totality of the pedestrian experience. Central to this is capturing the

4. EVALUATION OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT FACILITIES

4.1 Urban Structure

 Transport Planning Context

4.2 Interchange Components

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