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What is the guidance on public transport stops?
JohnnyAlphaCZ-ING
Posts: 235 ✭✭✭
I know that transport stops are allowed, but there are transport stops and there are transport stops. .
So far I've been going with no to large city public transport stops (my own city has over 500 of these and almost none are waystops). Yes to bus and tram terminals.
Yes to rural bus stops (especially were it's the only one in the village or visually interesting) and yes to all train stations.
Is that about right or have I missed something?
Answers
I think you are right, as far as I'm concerned. This is what I know:
"Transit stations
Transit stations connect and unite people around the world. Submit transportation hubs (like Grand Central Station), but not every single small transit stop (like a subway station or a bus stop)"
https://niantic.helpshift.com/a/pokemon-go/?p=web&s=in-game-locations&f=what-makes-a-high-quality-pokestop
Since when are rural bus stops allowed? If a bus stop has a particularly artistic or decorative bus shelter it should be accepted, regardless of whether it is urban, suburban or rural. Even the local Park & Ride hub will struggle to be accepted, and that's not exactly an ordinary bus stop. I did get the tourist information there accepted though.
Where there may be some legitimate confusion is tram stops or bus rapid transit. Not all of the stops are on regular old roads. Not all tram stops are created equal. Indeed, not all tram systems are created equal. Some trams are purely street level where as others may be segregated. There is also a fuzzy line between 'tram' and 'light metro'.
Since when are rural bus stops allowed?
I'm not sure they are, hence my question.
That said, I would defend rural bus stops as super important to the community and a gathering spot (I'm talking about the types of places we're there are 1 or 2 stops the bus goes maybe twice a day). It might look like an ordinary bus stop to you, but it's a lifeline to the locals, especially the young and the elderly. If it happens to be visually interesting that makes the decision even easier.
I interpret the guidelines as: not every bus-stop is allowed, but a bus station/main bus station in a town is eligible, just like a (major) train station. Where I live, we don't have major tram stations, but if they were there, I would think the larger ones/central ones would be eligible.
Being in a rural area doesn't change the eligibility of a bus stop.
I would agree, we're not for the fact that other types of POIs do change eligibility according to their ruralness (probably not a real word. Ruralosity? Rurality?)
Pubs for example. The guidance from an AMA is (I paraphrase) 'if a pub is in an urban area and is just one of many pubs, then it's not eligible. If it's the only one in a village of 200 people then it is eligible.'
In other words, the eligibility of pubs is directly related to their scarcity and location. I don't see why other POIs who's scarcity and location is proportional to their importance in the community couldn't be considered similarly.
I feel like I haven't expressed my thoughts on this particularly well, but hopefully you get the gist.
I think it - indirectly - is related to whether it's a rural or urban transit station.
To illustrate:
A bus station which serves, for example, 6 lines in a large city, will probably be one of a dozen (or more), and will probably not even be considered a bus station, but a bus stop, and will therefore not be eligible.
On the other hand, a bus station in a small town which serves 6 lines in a small town will probably be the major transit station in town, and might therefore be eligible.
I believe, that there is a rule, which says, that bus stops are eligeble, if it is the only kind of connection of a village. So if a village has only one bus stop, it is the major junction and should get accepted. If there are multiple bus stops, definately not. In cities, I would accept main) train stations, but never accept a bus station. Bus stations are mass producted objects with no uniqueness. Most train stations have a unique design and use a lot of artful parts on it. In my city, only the train stations and the ZOB (Zentraler Omnibus Bahnhof = central bus station) is a POI.
I think you are omitting part of the criteria. Uniqueness in appearance is not the only criterium:
"Transit stations
Transit stations connect and unite people around the world. Submit transportation hubs (like Grand Central Station), but not every single small transit stop (like a subway station or a bus stop)."
Small town bus stations that connect the town to neighboring towns might be "mass produced" but play an important role in connecting people.
Thats what I mentioned^^
Sorry, I'm rereading your comment and I see that you say that specifically about bus stations in cities.
However, your argumentation does suggest that the fact that (major) train stations tend to have unique design while bus stations tend to be mass produced, is the main criterium you base your decisions on. That's what I was responding to. Even though a bus station - or a train station for that matter - is mass produced and has no unique design, but does play an important role in connecting the town to other towns, it should be eligible according to the criteria.
Edit: spell-checking your post before you submit is hard, I'm sorry.
The uniqueness is only important on city-trainstations. It can be a typical bus station witout any design. Thats what i mentioned for villages where they are dependent of those stations.
Then I misunderstood your comment, I'm sorry.
Then I think we agree.
Edit: again, I need to act on my earlier conclusions, I should proof-read before submitting, not after ;).