Route bus transport – stakeholders, vehicles and new design directions

In providing a review of the Australian bus industry, this paper describes some of the key issues that are affecting route bus public transport; a complex array of stakeholders and a key tool – the route bus – which exhibits considerable variation in specification. Information gathered by empirical means and through literature suggests that the stakeholders are many, their roles complex and intertwined; yet the overall goal of providing successful transportation services to the public is fundamentally clear. By examining the roles of operators, governments, manufacturers and the end users this paper identifies the nature of some of the problems facing the route bus transport task, refining the possible contribution of design in such an environment. The current state of the Bus Industry is the result of the relationships between the stakeholders as much as their input to the provision of transport. Specifically, the information indicates that Industrial Design in not an active discipline w ithin the Bus Industry and is veiled by the actions and mechanics of those involved in bringing a bus into its service life. Further to the stakeholder review, an analysis of route bus specifications provides an overview of the state-of-the-art of this principle industry tool whilst testing some common beliefs regarding functional specification. In light of the stakeholders and their roles, specification analysis enables the identification of trends and subsequent problems; providing specific areas for the development of research and possible solutions.