Tag:public_transport=station
 public_transport = station
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| Description |
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A station is an area designed to access public transport. 
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| Group: public transport |
| Used on these elements |
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| Useful combination |
| See also |
Status: approved
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| Tools for this tag |
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The public_transport=station tag is used to identify a railway station, a bus station or any other kind of a public transport station. It will almost certainly be part of a public_transport=stop_area relation which will contain a number of public_transport=platforms, public_transport=stop_positions and other elements. It was approved as part of the Proposed features/Public Transport proposal in April 2011.
While the tag railway=station is used for all railway stations (i.e. including cargo), the public_transport=station tag is used only on the stations interesting for passenger transport. In contrast, amenity=bus_station is a more common and more specific tag for bus stations. amenity=ferry_terminal is a much more commonly used tag specific for ferry terminals, and aerialway=station is used for aerialway=* stations on chairlifts, gonolas and similar.
Definition
Not all groupings of platforms and stop_positions are associated with a station.
A station will normally have some, but not all of the following attributes:
- Have a physical presence consisting of a building or other structure allowing its extent to be easily recognized and provide some protection from the weather.
- Have a number of platforms and stop positions organised in a structured way possibly with a central concourse area.
- Not be part of the road network with limited access for private motorcars.
- Have amenities for waiting passengers including shops, vending machines and information services and possibly car parking - either short term or long term.
- Have a generally known name (xxx railway station, yyy bus station, zzz airport).
Usage
The station itself is mapped as an area, usually covering the outline described above, including amenities located inside the dedicated area. If the station is completely (or most of it) inside a station building, the building is the outline. If the station is not fully or mostly covered by a building, any existing buildings should be mapped at their place inside the station outline.
If a station outline is not known, the station can be mapped as a node, leaving the details to others.
Please note that more than one station can be member of one and the same stop area. Conversely, it can happen that one station belongs to more than one stop area - if the station contains stop areas (or parts of these) with different attributes, such as different networks.
| Key | Value | Comment | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|
| public_transport | station | Defines the station as such. | Mandatory. |
| amenity | bus_station | Defines the station as a bus station. | Optional. |
| railway | station | Defines the station as a railway station. | Optional. |
| name | Individual name | The name by which the station is known. | Recommended. |
| area | yes / no | If the station outline is an area and not a building. | Required if yes, else optional. |
| building | yes / no | If the station outline happens to be the main outline of the station building. | Required if yes, else optional. |
| operator | Operator | Name of the company that operates the station building/area. | Optional. |
| network | Local / regional network | Name of the network the station belongs to. | Optional. |
| covered | yes / no | For stations under the surface. This does not replace a correct layer key. | Recommended if yes, but not needed if there is a specific structure (other than a general landuse classification) on a higher layer covering the whole station. |
See also
- railway=station - tag for all types of railway stations
- amenity=bus_station - specific tag for bus stations
- amenity=ferry_terminal - much more common, specific tag for ferry terminals
- aerialway=station - used instead for aerialway stations (gondolas, chair lifts, etc)
- Original Public Transport Proposal
- Proposed features/Customized Icons for Public Transport
- departures_board=* — A departures/arrivals board displaying information about scheduled services, real-time info or both.