The perception of pleasantness in a product of collective use: the bus shelter

Abstract

This article presents a study on the identification of a setting whose arrangement of attributes could lead to the perception of pleasantness of a bus shelter: a product that should welcome people while waiting for the bus. Two different bus shelters typologies in the city of Porto Alegre, state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, were evaluated, where four attributes were under consideration. The relation between the shelters subject of the study and the surroundings was significant for defining the attributes. The setting with curve shaped cover, bench, rear wall, and surrounding vegetation was considered the most pleasant one. The seats and the rear wall were associated with the practical function of the product while the curve shaped cover and the surrounding vegetation were associated with the aesthetical function according to the participant users.

Public transit infrastructure and heat perceptions in hot and dry climates

“…Moreover, bus stops, as well as other types of urban furniture, can provide aesthetic and symbolic qualities in addition to their primary functionality to offer services that are more attractive to users. A study in Brazil identified several attributes that are associated with pleasantness at bus stops, such as the availability of seating, the presence of vegetation, curved shelter structures, and a back wall (Pizzato and Guimarães 2012). In hot climates, pleasantness can also be related to alliesthesia, the perception of external stimuli that provides cooling as pleasant (Heng and Chow 2019;Johansson et al 2018).…”

Assessment of Commuter Satisfaction in the Usage of Bus-Shelters: the Ataköy Zone 5 and Beşyol Metrobus Stops, Istanbul

“…Buys and Miller have established that shelters are more comfortable if the users do not have to wait standing up, and have a place near them where they can put any heavy possessions [35]. Pizzatoa et al, in their research in 2012, which focused on benches, surrounding vegetation and bus shelter roofing, concluded that female students were more likely to sit down than male students, and were more interested in the aesthetic aspects of the vegetation [36]. De Oliveira and Logsdon (2012) noted in their research, that although there was no sufficient information available inside a shelter regarding bus arrival times, 43 % of the users said they got the information from the Internet [37].…”