Proposal talk:Key:bus stop:type

bay vs. parking lane

Please consider merging the "bay" and "parking lane" values, potentially using a different tag value. Alternatively, please clarify the classification criteria. For example:

1. How a bay would need to be so it should not be tagged as a "bay" but rather as a "parking lane"?
2. What value to use if local law permits parking at the bus stop?
3. What value to use if the bus stop is placed by a designated parking lane?
4. What value to use if there is a separate non-traffic lane that is used for bus stopping, yet parking there is not allowed, such as an emergency stop lane.

--Zstadler (talk)

I defined it this way because, as mentioned in the proposal, in this case "the stop is typically flanked by parking spaces before or after it.".

In my experience parking lane bus stops are more prone to be blocked by parking cars (happens too with bay stops but less) and as a trasportation planner I want to have that difference. In any case when in doubt it is better to use the more general "bay" value. Tantanws (talk) 11:37, 5 February 2026 (UTC)

Is there any international standard or convention that led to this choice of values?

What tag value is appropriate when the buses are expected to stop at outermost traffic lane, such as in this bus stop sign in Dublin, Ireland? --Zstadler (talk) 16:07, 5 February 2026 (UTC)

Problems and other cases

• *:type=* : Meaningless suffix, can be bus_stop=* directly
• *=terminal : Mixing different aspects (layout vs location), and confusing for whether it means route terminals.
• *=parking_lane : We have a unresolved debate on this https://community.openstreetmap.org/t/tagging-lanes-that-you-can-park-or-drive-in/124180/45
• *=bulb : This is still in-lane? It's about the sidewalk, not roadway. Furthermore, there's the aspect of highway=cycleway treatment.

Suggestion

• bus_stop=*
  • bus_stop=sidewalk
  • bus_stop=median : Center-running busways
  • bus_stop=side_island (needs to be better named)
    • On the main roadway where there's frontage lanes / frontage roadway
    • One-side-running two-way busways island platforms, or opposite direction side platforms
  • bus_stop:type=terminal → bus_stop=station
• bus_stop:position:roadway=* (from fire_hydrant:position=* ) :
  • bus_stop:position:roadway=parking + parking=*
    • bus_stop:type=parking_lane → bus_stop:position:roadway=parking + parking=lane
    • bus_stop:position:roadway=parking + parking=street_side : Sometimes there's no dedicated standalone bus bays, but it's sharing inside parking bays, only marked out
  • bus_stop:type=bay → bus_stop:position:roadway=bus_bay : To avoid confusion with the above case
  • bus_stop:type=lane → bus_stop:position:roadway=lane
• bus_stop:position:footway=*
  • bus_stop:type=bulb → bus_stop:position:footway=bulb
  • bus_stop:position:footway=verge : Set forward towards the verge, not obstructing walking
  • bus_stop:position:footway=furniture : In the furniture zone, less obstructing walking
  • bus_stop:position:footway=through : Centered in the through zone, obstructing walking
  • bus_stop:position:footway=frontage : Set back towards the frontage zone, less obstructing walking
• bus_stop:position:footway=*
  • bus_stop:position:cycleway=verge : Straight bus stop bypasses
  • bus_stop:position:cycleway=curved : Curved bus stop bypasses
  • bus_stop:position:cycleway=shared : Entire sidepath section is shared
  • bus_stop:position:cycleway=platform : Shared bus stop boarder, but the term has potential confusions https://www.livingstreets.org.uk/media/hdlfxpio/ls_inclusivedesign_busstopscycletracks_main.pdf#page=18
  • bus_stop:position:cycleway=continuous : It continues through the bus stop (cf crossing:continuous=* )

—— Kovposch (talk) 19:39, 5 February 2026 (UTC)

A fundamental problem with this is highway=bus_stop being used for the public_transport=platform on sidewalk, but bus_stop:type=* is about public_transport=stop_position on roadway (unlike the perfect railway=platform vs railway=stop distinction)
—— Kovposch (talk) 08:31, 8 February 2026 (UTC)

I would like to add the possibility of bus_stop=stop_only or something similar, actually it is difficult to get this name right I think. This would replace (and possibly deprecate) the tag physically_present=no. In western urbanised areas I don't think it gets used, but in rural areas and possibly also in other parts of the world it does happen. Routers and viewers could use it to lead people to recognisable bus stops (if applicable).

By the way, I do not have a preference wether it should be :type or not. Tlk (talk) 13:26, 18 March 2026 (UTC)

Why should physically_present=no be replaced by this? This is unclear, has limited applicability. Do you know there's pole=no already?
—— Kovposch (talk) 07:37, 19 March 2026 (UTC)

Terminals

I would like to get a better understanding of what you mean by bus_stop:type=terminal.