How to Read Bus Time Schedules
While a bus map can inform people of the stops a bus route services, it cannot tell the rider when the bus will be coming by those stops. That function is left to bus time schedules, which at first glance appear to be imposing layouts of times and places. With a little instruction, however, anyone can read a bus schedule.
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Instructions
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Read along the top of the bus time schedule to see the stops on that particular route. This will provide the order in which the bus arrives at its stops.
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Look at the column under each of the stops printed on the time schedule. Each stop has a time listed underneath it to show when the bus arrives at that particular stop. The times are usually listed with the earliest time the bus stops at the top of the time schedule and the latest time the bus arrives at the stop shown at the bottom of the column.
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Read the time schedule horizontally to find out how long the bus takes to get from one stop to another, as well as how long it takes to complete the route.
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Look at the left-hand side of the bus time schedules to see when the afternoon schedule begins. Buses tend to come more frequently to stops during business hours, and tend to hit their peak during the afternoon to accommodate lunch-goers and commuters.
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Do some basic math to figure out how often buses arrive at a particular stop on the bus route. This can be very useful if you happen to miss the bus you wanted to take. In fact, knowing how infrequently a bus may arrive at certain points on the bus route will probably be the strongest motivator for getting to the stop on time.
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Tips & Warnings
In theory, a bus time schedule shows the times a bus will be stopping at a particular stop. In practice, however, the bus time schedule is at best an educated guess. Any one of a number of factors can delay a bus from getting to its appointed destination, from traffic to a difficult passenger, so don't be surprised if the bus doesn't come when the bus time schedule says it will.
Read two bus time schedules at the same time in order to figure out when buses from different routes will arrive at the same stop. This is an extremely useful practice that can minimize the delay in transferring between different bus routes.
