Each summer on sweltering hot days across Sydney people can be found waiting for the bus in baking temperatures, with no shelter, no seat, and no shade. The sustainable liveable cities of our future will need great public transport, but right now waiting for the bus on a hot day in Western Sydney can be dangerous or impossible.
So what’s the plan?
- We’re collecting photos of bus stops across Sydney and we need your help. Check out this page for more information on how to send us your photos. Or just tag #BustedBusStop on instagram or twitter and we’ll find it.
- Together we’re creating an interactive map of bus stops across Sydney to show how bad the situation is. The map will show the many bus stops without seats and shelter across the city, and include your photos and stories about how these bus stops feel in the sweltering summer heat. Fill out this form to tell us where unsheltered bus stops are in your area.
Bus shelters are a simple and practical way to increase access to renewably powered transport and make our cities safer in the heat.
Too often, extreme heat is experienced as a personal or individual problem. In fact it impacts hundreds of thousands, or even millions of people at the same time. So the solutions can’t just be about each person’s capacity or struggles to access cool spaces, travel around the city or feel safe at home. We need to think bigger. We need to be ambitious in how we cool our suburbs, plan our transport and increase the energy efficiency standards of all of our homes. Great bus shelters are a simple step towards an equitable, sustainable and liveable city of our future.
As the climate changes and temperatures rise, residents in our cities are facing searing temperatures, with some suburban streets reaching over 50°C. Waiting at a bus stop without a seat or shade in baking heat is exhausting and risks dehydration or heat stress, especially for older people and children.
We’ve heard from our community members that sustainable accessible bus shelters with great design would have a huge impact on how we travel, live, work and play. It will also demonstrate that the transformation to more sustainable cities will include everyone, not just people who can afford luxury vehicles.
The Busted Bus Stop campaign involves the development of tools and tactics that can be applied to different issues around the country, whether that’s energy inefficient infrastructure, heat shelters, baking hot pedestrian intersections, hot suburbs or great examples of cooling infrastructure.
Campaign news
- Our submission to the NSW inquiry into Western Sydney’s transport needs.
In 2023 the NSW Legislative Council is holding an inquiry into the current and future transport needs of Western Sydney. You can read more about the inquiry here. Sweltering Cities made a submission to… Read more: Our submission to the NSW inquiry into Western Sydney’s transport needs. - The worst bus stop in Sydney winner announced!
Congratulations to bus stop 275912 in Erskine Park for being voted the worst bus stop in Sydney! This stop has it all, or should we say ‘has nothing at all’? - In the hottest suburbs in Sydney 70% of bus stops have no shelter or shade
Hundreds of people have submitted information about their local bus stops through our form or shared their bus stop with us via email or social media. Of the 596 bus stops in our first sample, we found that 70% of stops had no shade, no shelter and no seat! - Vote for Sydney’s worst bus stop
Each summer on sweltering hot days across Sydney people can be found waiting for the bus in dangerously hot temperatures, with no shelter, no seat, and no shade. In Western Sydney, the hottest region… Read more: Vote for Sydney’s worst bus stop - Helen’s story
Recently our Western Sydney Community Campaigner Kim met up with Helen, a Minchinbury resident who has lived locally all her life, brought up her family here and also works in the area. We always… Read more: Helen’s story - Sweltering Cities and Sydney Alliance working towards better bus stops!
On Wednesday 16th November, Sydney Alliance Community Organisers gathered to hear about the Sweltering Cities Busted Bus Stop Campaign and talk about how we can join together to win great public transport and less… Read more: <strong>Sweltering Cities and Sydney Alliance working towards better bus stops!</strong> - Western Sydney needs better bus stops
Each summer on sweltering hot days across Sydney people can be found waiting for the bus in baking temperatures, with no shelter, no seat, and no shade. The sustainable liveable cities of our future… Read more: Western Sydney needs better bus stops - Send us your #BustedBusStop photos!
We’re collecting photos of bus stops so that we can tell a powerful story about how the inadequate transport infrastructure impacts people. Can you send us photos of your local stops?
