Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation Bus Stops
Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation has had three standard different bus stop signs during it's history, all flat aluminum flags.
In addition, it has had used three different mounting methods during it's history:
- Originally, flags were mounted to the sides of square-shaped pieces of steel.
- Since 2006, new and replaced flags are now mounted centered on the same steel poles.
- If there is already a pre-existing pole (such as a telephone pole, street light pole or other road sign pole) within a very close proximity to the stop, the flag is usually instead mounted on that pole.
Ex-SEMTA Signs
When Southeastern Michigan Transportation Authority became SMART in 1989, SEMTA's flags were inherited over. These flags were red and from top to bottom had SEMTA's "double S" symbol (which was also inherited), a bus pictogram and the SEMTA logo. After SEMTA became SMART, the SEMTA name was usually covered over in black tape until new flags were installed.
Original SMART Signs
In the early 1990's, SMART began replacing all remaining SEMTA flags with a new design. These flags were similar to the SEMTA flags, but instead featured the SMART logo above the bus pictogram, which itself was redesigned to resemble the front of a New Look bus. Originally, these flags were double-sided like the SEMTA flags.
In the early 2000's, the flag was slightly redesigned, removing the smaller "double S" symbol from the SMART logo. These, however, continued to remain double-sided.
In 2006, the design reverted to the original version, but were now made of reflective material and mounted centered onto the pole. In addition, these were now single-sided, with the back side now just completely red, although several center-mounted flags remained double-sided.
Current SMART Signs
In 2010, a completely redesigned flag began appearing. Unlike previous SMART flags, these had a curved half-circle top and were in two colors, red and white. On the front, the "double S" symbol was positioned in the top red portion and a generic "smartbus" logo and the SMART phone number and website URL were placed in the bottom white portion. The same features were replicated on the back, but the red area was to the right (and also featured a bus pictogram) and the white area was to the left.
In late 2011, the flag was slightly redesigned. The "smartbus" on the front was replaced with the SMART logo, but the "smartbus" on the back stayed. In 2013, it was redesigned again, this time replacing the "smartbus" on the back with the SMART logo as well.
Schedule Boxes
Most SMART stops not in the city of Detroit feature a black, tall, flat rectangular box below the flag that contains a schedule for the route serving that stop. These also contain a route map (including transfer points to other SMART routes) and fare information. When multiple routes serve the stop, multiple boxes are used. The boxes first debuted in 2012 at stops on route 560 and were soon placed along other routes across the system, ultimately being completed in early 2014.
