Most stop have blades on the side farther away from the road, however, recently, I've noticed some which have blades sticking out towards the road. Is this totally random, or is there a reason?
Suggest you collect more data - and take note of how the blade is attached to the pole (and whether that makes any difference).
I get the feeling that The Love Guru will like this thread... ::)
Though, to be honest, I have wondered the same thing for a while now...
Think i'll pass this time round, it's just way too easy.
I agree with bus spotter though, more data is required and the mounting system used may have a drastic effect on the outcome of the positioning of the blades.
Some are also placed depending on sunlight conditions at the particular stop, as blade on the shady side of the pole will last longer than those exposed to the extreme Australian sun.
Food for thought ...
Suspect trend in recent years has been to position the blade away from the road because of the risk of bus mirrors coming into collision course with blades which are facing towards road.
There is actually a document on the rules for installing bus stop blades in the ACT. I've had the document on my computer in recent years, but I deleted it recently.
Bet the document doesn't address oddities such as the signpost at northbound stop in Launceston St (after Hindmarsh Dr) where the post is shared by a bus stop blade and a traffic sign.....a common sense thing to do!