public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

, a request stop, flag stop, or whistle stop is a

stop Stop may refer to: Places * Stop, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the United States * Stop (Rogatica), a village in Rogatica, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina Facilities * Bus stop * Truck stop, a type of rest stop for truck d ...

or station at which buses or trains, respectively, stop only on request; that is, only if there are passengers or freight to be picked up or dropped off. In this way, stops with low passenger counts can be incorporated into a route without introducing unnecessary delay. Vehicles may also save

fuel A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chemical energy but ...

by continuing through a station when there is no need to stop. There may not always be significant savings on time if there is no one to pick up because vehicles going past a request stop may need to slow down enough to be able to stop if there are passengers waiting. Request stops may also introduce extra travel time variability and increase the need for

schedule padding Schedule padding—sometimes called simply padding, or recovery time—is some amount of 'additional' time added to part or all of a schedule, in excess of the expected duration, that allows it to be resilient to anticipated delays and increase th ...

. The appearance of request stops varies greatly. Many are clearly signed, but many others rely on local knowledge.

Implementations

The methods by which transit vehicles are notified that there are passengers waiting to be picked up at a request stop vary by transit system and by route.

Local transport

Many local bus systems operate most of their stops as request stops. Buses do not service stops unless there is an awaiting passenger or an onboard passenger utilizes an

electric bell An electric bell is a mechanical or electronic bell that functions by means of an electromagnet. When an electric current is applied, it produces a repetitive buzzing, clanging or ringing sound. Electromechanical bells have been widely used at r ...

to signal a stop (generally by pulling a cord, or pushing a button or yellow signaling strip). Stops that are served on every trip are often called stations and placed at the

terminus Terminus may refer to: * Bus terminus, a bus station serving as an end destination * Terminal train station or terminus, a railway station serving as an end destination Geography *Terminus, the unofficial original name of Atlanta, Georgia, United ...

of a route. Such stops are often also used as

timing point A timing point, time point or timepoint is a public transit Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available ...

s. However, some systems use this term to distinguish between marked stops that ''must be hailed'' (as if hailing a taxicab) and marked stops where the driver will stop for any awaiting passengers (as above). This practice was common on certain Transport for London routes until 2008, with different signs distinguishing between the two sorts of stops. Still other systems may use the term "request stop" to refer to a servicing a location other than a marked bus stop. This sort of service can be found on

hail and ride In public transport in the United Kingdom and Australia, hail and ride is boarding or alighting a mode of public transport by signalling the driver or conductor that one wishes to board or alight, rather than the more conventional system of using ...

routes, designated portions of routes, or special late-night service. In

operations, there are few or no marked stops and passengers can request the bus be stopped at any point where the driver can safely and reasonably do so. This is common in some cities, such as Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States, where bus stops were infrequently signed before 2019. Some services operate in this way only late at night, allowing for drop-off between marked stops, thereby decreasing walking time for safety and convenience. Examples include

Winnipeg Transit Winnipeg Transit is the public transit agency, and the bus-service provider, of the City of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Established years ago, it is owned by the city government and currently employs nearly 1,600 people—including approximately 1,1 ...

and New York City MTA Bus (known as Late-night Request-A-Stop).

Long-distance transport

In long-distance transport, transit vehicles, such as passenger trains or buses operating on motorways, usually operate at higher speeds than local transport. This means that stopping is more troublesome (and more worth avoiding) and that it may be very difficult to see a passenger in time to stop for them. This difference often results in more complicated ways of signalling a stop to the vehicle. Some services, like

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

, require that a ticket be purchased in advance, specifying a specific origin and destination. Since the train's crew know what tickets were sold, they also know where people are coming from and going to, and they simply stop only at those stations required by the tickets. Services that lack advanced ticketing, or that sell tickets for a range of destinations or travel times, require ways of knowing whether or not someone is waiting at a station or platform. These may range from a passenger speaking to a dispatcher on a phone located at a station to simply pressing a button to activate a signal such as a flashing light somewhere before the station that the driver can see in time to slow down safely. In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, there exist approximately 150 railway request stops. When leaving from a request stop, the passenger has to signal the train driver by hand signal. When planning to disembark at a request stop, the passenger needs to inform the train conductor in advance.

Ferries

Along some ferry routes in the

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Ice ...

s in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, some stops are equipped with a light that embarking passengers must switch on in order for the ferry to include the stop and pick them up. The system is known under the name ''signalanløp''. Similar to Norway, in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

commuter ferries are requested to stop by a semaphore signal. The many islands of the Stockholm archipelago are an example of this.

References

External links