In last week’s fun poll, I asked whether you lined up at the bus shelter, or at the actual bus stop.

There were 169 votes in the poll, and the vast majority said they lined up at the bus stop (86%)! Just 14% said they lined up at the shelter.

The pro-stop majority argued their case convincingly in the comments. Here’s Audacity:

Usually the bus drivers get grumpy if I don’t line up right at the stop (I usually get priority boarding due to wheelchair), so nowadays I bite the bullet, weather-wise, and skip the shelter unless it’s really pouring hard.

But really, if the weather’s dry and not windy, lining up at the stop itself is definitely a much better idea unless you’re obstructing the sidewalk in the process.

And here’s Alan:

The bus stops at the bus stop right? So why would not wait at the bus stop. ;)

Even if you were first to the bus stop and a line formed at the bus stop after you arrived, you seem rude to the people at the end of the line because it looks like you are budging, so I always line up.

And a resounding finish from peter b:

If you’re concerned about getting a seat on the bus, you should “weather the queue at the bus stop.” You could always carry an umbrella with you. The shelter is for when there’s no queue, and for the people that don’t care if they have a seat on the bus or not. I’m sure this is fact… isn’t this written in a transit guide somewhere?

But you know, some said it really depended on the circumstances. Allan K said weather, route and the general ground rules of a stop made a difference:

Interesting question… and I have an interesting response too. I generally wait at the shelters (if there is one) on days with rain or snow… on cloudy days (and in places without shelters) at the bus stop… and on hot sunny days (all cases) I’ll try hiding behind the shadow of a tall object (e.g. tree or light pole) to reduce exposure to UV rays. It also depends on the route too… for example, TransLink requires me to line up for three-door boarding at the 145 stop in Production Way Stn., but at the top of the hill it’s a free-for-all and I just wait under the shelter in that case until the bus comes by.

And ??? provided an excellent analysis of multiple situations, which is too long to quote here but you should have a look at. Here’s the beginning to whet your appetite though!

I start first at the shelter, but inch myself closer to the pole as more than a few people show up or the bus arrival time approaches. It’s not fun when you are LEFT BEHIND, as others who show up later are able to make on the bus. Which happens often during rush hour.

In the ideal situation, there is the pole, the seats are near the poles, and the people queue up after the shelter. However this is not possible as the shelters are centralized at bus exchanges (Phibbs Exchange), people arrive in various directions (eg #29 at 29th station), a cyclists ride between the pole and the shelter (eg Bridgeport station), the sidewalks are too narrow to have a shelter up against the pole (eg #49 Eastbound at Cambie), or stop serves multiple bus routes (eg Granville Street).

Jacob, however, had an entirely different strategy:

I line up at the stop, no matter what the weather, but then I still let everyone on the bus before me.

So to each their own, really :)

Anyway, once more with feeling: thanks to everyone who took the poll! As always, you can check out the full list of comments to see what everyone thought. I’ll have a new question next week!