Initial Position
In Cologne the tram is actually the main used transport system, due to its network. The busses are therefore a more secondary used system, for all the areas the tram doesn't cover. But nevertheless it is a system which has it's own unspoken rules, it's invisible design, exposed by the behavior of people and in this way defining their culture.
Which types of bus stops exist? Which information are provided? How do people behave? What is the context about? Which patterns exist that makes the bus stop not only a physical object, but an urban micro-event?
How do people interact with the given surroundings on bus stops and how does time and space correlate with this?
In order to find out more details and to back up our observations, we did an interview. Our aim was to get to know more about the interaction of waiting people with the given surroundings on bus stops. Interesting for us are the factors that influence their behavior, such as the time they have in general, the waiting time for the bus and where they want to go, if it is the way to their destination or the way back home. But also the age, the fact of having children or not and other factors can influence their behavior. Out of this influencing factors, different groups of people and their interaction with the bus stops can be found.
We interviewed a total of 33 people, from 21 to 83 years old, most of them beeing between 30 and 40. The interviews were hold around 9:30 - 11:30 in the morning, on three different bus stops from the main used areas in Cologne, Rudolfplatz, Chlodwigplatz and Neumarkt.
The most important question behind this was, how people use their time at a bus stop and if they are aware of it.
Time, space and infrastructure are things that give a bus stop a certain characteristic. So after the interview we wondered what actually is the function of a bus stop. Is it just the pole with bench, roof and time schedule? Or could we reduce it to just the pole with a schedule? Or even more? What would the reaction of the people towards this idea point out relating to the importance of the cultural background?
Desk Research
Short description about
Field Research
Short description about
Transformation
Short description about
