American here. I keep seeing references to "stopping bus service" and that Bus Rapid Transit is like a faster form of stopping bus service. What the heck is "stopping bus service"? Tell me what defines a route as a "stopping bus service" as opposed to rapid, express, local, shuttle, etc.
Is "stopping bus service" simply a bus service with stops along its routes but not as close together as a "local bus service"?
Obviously all bus services stop at some point, but to me a "stopping service", or "stopper", is one which observes more or less all* stops along the route. A "limited stop" service is one which only observes certain stops along the way, or prevents people from boarding within certain areas of a town or city. For example, if you have a service which heads into the town/city centre you may wish to restrict people from boarding in the outer areas in order to give out of town passengers a faster service; on the other hand the same service will prevent people from alighting in the outer areas. You may have a limited stop service which serves the suburbs, but which only stops at a few points along the way.
In practice it will vary depending on the location and local demands. In rural areas there are often no official stops at all and services operate as "hail and ride" due to the population spread.
* Some "stopping" services within the town/city centre will only serve certain stops in order to reduce congestion at a particular location, but you'll find that there's another stop nearby that other services will use.
Welcome to the forum, by the way
