Fake bus stops look deceptively real, but a bus will never stop there. Behind it is a concept for the care of people with dementia.
The image is a symbolic photo via Pexels.
What kind of stops are these? These are so-called fake bus stops. They are realistic replicas of normal bus stops. Often, there is even a timetable there—however, one waits in vain for a bus.
A “phantom stop” has now been newly established in Hamburg Altona. In a thread by HOCHBAHN Hamburg on X, the concept is discussed.
Waiting comfortably instead of wandering aimlessly
What is the purpose of the stops? People with dementia often feel a compulsion to go somewhere. However, it can happen that they forget where they were actually heading along the way. They then need to be picked up again by caregivers.
As HOCHBAHN explains, these people are sometimes found disoriented at terminal stops (via X).
The fake stops provide people with dementia a safe place where they can wait—sometimes together with a caregiver. This is also the case at the new stop in the garden of a dementia group home in Altona.
On X, many people are enthusiastic about the idea. One user even admits to having waited at such a stop before. It was only through a staff member’s hint that he noticed the mistake (via X).
However, there is also criticism of the concept. In a fundamental statement from the Medical Service of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds, it is criticized that people with dementia are not taken seriously in their illness in this way.
Moreover, the stops could evoke unrest among the affected individuals if they wait in vain for the bus. If caregivers then “play along,” this could further reinforce the delusions of those affected (via Internet Archive).
However, reports from Hamburg so far describe the stop positively; it is often and gladly used (via X).
An interesting project, the purpose of which may not be obvious at first glance, consists of hundreds of embedded USB sticks. You can find out what the “Dead Drops” project is all about here on MeinMMO: In Germany, there are over 400 USB sticks protruding from walls – What is the ‘Dead Drops’ project?
