A tourist mocked this Aussie bus stop design and the internet responded in full force
- Replies 5
Australia is a huge country with a lot to offer tourists, from the world-famous Great Barrier Reef to the bustling metropolis of Sydney.
But even though we're one of the most popular travel destinations in the world, apparently there's still a lot about us that can be confusing for visitors – particularly when it comes to our public transport…
One recent example comes from a tourist who was left baffled by Australia's 'incomprehensible' bus benches.
Recently, a tourist asked a ‘very simple and normal’ question on the social media site Reddit, however, Aussies in the comments were shocked that the answer wasn’t obvious.
The traveller snapped a pic of a Sydney bus stop bench along with the caption: ‘As a foreigner, this is by far the most incomprehensible bit of design I’ve seen in Australia. Can anyone explain why on earth the bus stop benches face the wrong way?’
In their post, which has since gone viral online, the tourist included a photo of the bus stop bench, facing away from the road instead of toward it like they were expecting. Hundreds of Australians were quick to point out in the comments section that there was a very simple explanation for why the bench was designed the way it was.
‘So, the children and the elderly/disabled don’t fall straight off the seat into traffic…’ The top comment said.
Another added: ‘And possibly also drunk people. Japanese train station seats follow a similar line of reasoning.’
Someone else pointed out that the bench faced the other way to prevent people from tripping when they get up to board an approaching vehicle.
Another user supported this and said, ‘Guaranteed, some i***** on a Friday night would find it hilarious to push his mate out onto the street.’ Well, now that’s just dangerous and fatal!
However, a couple of people supported the original poster’s comment. Someone even said that people wouldn’t be able to see the bus coming since the bench is facing the ‘wrong way’.
Of course, this was refuted by other Aussies. ‘The right way is relative. Why do you expect them to be faced the wrong way?’ Someone wrote.
Others provided clarity to the situation: ‘It’s not a bus stop bench, it's a bench that happens to be near a bus stop. Most people sitting on benches don't want to have cars driving directly in front of them.’
The same user also clarified that there are also bus stops with benches that are clearly part of the stop and designed to face the road, but ‘typically only on wider or less busy sidewalks where there's room for them’.
While a second person supported this claim. They said that the technical reason is DDA compliance.
‘The seat requires a certain space in front for circulation… so to achieve this, if the seat was faced the other way it would need to move into the path space more and restrict flow.’
‘Whereas in its current orientation, it shares this circulation space with the footpath.’ The user explained.
We here at SDC are sure that, no matter what, safety matters most – even if that means sitting away from the road and not watching the traffic pass by. What do you think about this, dear members? Do you know any other reason why our benches don’t face the side of the road? Let us know in the comments!
But even though we're one of the most popular travel destinations in the world, apparently there's still a lot about us that can be confusing for visitors – particularly when it comes to our public transport…
One recent example comes from a tourist who was left baffled by Australia's 'incomprehensible' bus benches.
Recently, a tourist asked a ‘very simple and normal’ question on the social media site Reddit, however, Aussies in the comments were shocked that the answer wasn’t obvious.
The traveller snapped a pic of a Sydney bus stop bench along with the caption: ‘As a foreigner, this is by far the most incomprehensible bit of design I’ve seen in Australia. Can anyone explain why on earth the bus stop benches face the wrong way?’
The ‘confusing’ bench in question. Credit: Reddit
In their post, which has since gone viral online, the tourist included a photo of the bus stop bench, facing away from the road instead of toward it like they were expecting. Hundreds of Australians were quick to point out in the comments section that there was a very simple explanation for why the bench was designed the way it was.
‘So, the children and the elderly/disabled don’t fall straight off the seat into traffic…’ The top comment said.
Another added: ‘And possibly also drunk people. Japanese train station seats follow a similar line of reasoning.’
Someone else pointed out that the bench faced the other way to prevent people from tripping when they get up to board an approaching vehicle.
Another user supported this and said, ‘Guaranteed, some i***** on a Friday night would find it hilarious to push his mate out onto the street.’ Well, now that’s just dangerous and fatal!
However, a couple of people supported the original poster’s comment. Someone even said that people wouldn’t be able to see the bus coming since the bench is facing the ‘wrong way’.
Of course, this was refuted by other Aussies. ‘The right way is relative. Why do you expect them to be faced the wrong way?’ Someone wrote.
Benches in other countries face the side of the road. Credit: Plato Terentev in Pexels
Others provided clarity to the situation: ‘It’s not a bus stop bench, it's a bench that happens to be near a bus stop. Most people sitting on benches don't want to have cars driving directly in front of them.’
The same user also clarified that there are also bus stops with benches that are clearly part of the stop and designed to face the road, but ‘typically only on wider or less busy sidewalks where there's room for them’.
While a second person supported this claim. They said that the technical reason is DDA compliance.
‘The seat requires a certain space in front for circulation… so to achieve this, if the seat was faced the other way it would need to move into the path space more and restrict flow.’
‘Whereas in its current orientation, it shares this circulation space with the footpath.’ The user explained.
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