Barcelona image from SanFranciscoize.

Bus bulbs are a simple and effective way to speed up bus service. The basic idea is that rather than forcing buses to pull out of travel lanes for bus stops, and then make them wait for an opening in traffic before pulling back in when they’re ready to leave, you simply have buses stop in the travel lane, and extend the sidewalk out to the street.

Here is a simple diagram illustrating the concept, and here is a real world example from Russia.

Sidewalks extensions are relatively cheap and easy to build compared to many other things. Nonetheless, it takes months of planning and a fair amount of funding for public agencies to do them. Plus, of course, there’s the accompanying disruption that comes with construction.

The attached image shows an easier, cheaper, and faster alternative. It’s a pre-fab unit installed in Barcelona, Spain. It accomplishes all the same goals as a regular sidewalk extension would, but is easier in just about every way.

Without having actually used one of these or seen one up close, the major downside appears to be that the pre-fab unit isn’t as pretty as a real sidewalk. It looks a little bit cheap and tacked on. Which of course it is; that’s the idea.

Would we want these on Pennsylvania Avenue or in front of the White House? Probably not. But they might very well be a reasonable way to make transit improvements on less monumental streets.