Curiosities - Mad world? Duisburg builds unusual bush cottage
In Duisburg, something is off: Anyone waiting for public transportation at Bismarckplatz in Duisburg needs to crane their neck to see their bus. The bus shelter is built with its backside facing the road. This is somehow impractical and earned it the title of "Duisburg's most absurd bus stop" in the "WAZ". However, the rotated bus shelter is not a quirky mistake, but carefully planned.
The Duisburg Transport Authority did not want to leave hundreds of passengers per day standing in the rain at the stop, explained spokesperson Felix zur Nieden. So, a spot for the bus shelter was sought.
However, the sidewalk is narrow and there were several utility lines in the way. Building too close to the houses was also undesirable. If the roof had faced the street, the buses could have easily scraped their mirrors.
The Idea: Just turn it around
So, the planners came up with the idea of simply turning the bus shelter around. This allowed the back wall to be built close to the street, and the roof now faces away from it. "There was only one spot where the weather protection shelter could stand," emphasized zur Nieden.
It was not yet known that passengers had missed their bus with the rear end. Extra attention was paid to a clear line of sight to the side, so that all could see their bus in time. "The advantage for the passengers is undeniable, that there is now a weather protection installation at all," says the spokesperson.
Duisburg is not the first city where residents have amused themselves over a seemingly backwards-built bus stop: In Mülheim an der Ruhr and Erkelenz, the same thing happened a few years ago. In Leverkusen-Opladen, a waiting shelter was even built 30 meters next to the actual bus stop due to space reasons. The argument there was: Better for passengers to run a few meters through the rain, than to leave them standing in it.
- Despite being referred to as "Duisburg's most absurd bus stop" in the WAZ, the rotated bus shelter at Bismarckplatz was not a mistake, but a practical solution to prevent passengers from waiting in the rain.
- In North Rhine-Westphalia's commune of Duisburg, the Duisburg Transport Authority made a unique decision to turn the bus shelter around due to narrow sidewalks, utility lines, and the potential for bus mirrors to scrape against a street-facing roof.
- Miscellaneous cities in North Rhine-Westphalia, such as Mülheim an der Ruhr and Erkelenz, have also faced similar problems with bus stops and resorted to unconventional methods, like building shelters away from the actual stop or turning them around to accommodate space constraints, even if it means passengers have to navigate around the rain.
