News

Bauer Media Outdoor, one of the UK’s leading Out of Home media and infrastructure companies, has unveiled its groundbreaking new Milestone bus shelter range in partnership with Essex County Council. The launch, part of the Basildon Greener Route, marks the most significant innovation in UK bus shelter design in decades.

Milestone cements the role of Out of Home advertising in improving public infrastructure, with sustainability, accessibility, and community benefit at the forefront. Advertising revenue generated through Bauer Media Outdoor’s network helps to fund product innovation like Milestone, enabling large-scale investment in greener, smarter, and more inclusive public spaces. This next-generation shelter  will not only enhance the daily journey for passengers but also create a platform for brands to connect meaningfully with communities.

A platform for good

Developed through extensive research with more than 3,200 bus users and disability inclusion charities, Milestone combines locally sourced, sustainable materials with nature-inspired design and features enhancing accessibility, safety, and comfort. Living Roofs and planters promote biodiversity,  while it’s also the first-ever bus shelter designed for urban use to be made from engineered timber. The Milestone shelter has around 70% lower CO2e than a legacy metal type.

A platform for brands

Alongside non-advertising designs, selected Milestone shelters will feature the latest energy efficient Adshel Live (digital 6-sheet) screens. This development will further expand the UK’s largest digital Out of Home network, now comprising 4,000 screens all around the UK.

Will Ramage, Joint Managing Director at Bauer Media Outdoor, said: “Milestone represents a bold step forward in reimagining the public transport experience as it transforms the traditional bus shelter into a more sustainable, accessible, and user-focused space. Through advertising revenue, we can continue to help fund public infrastructure and invest into innovative, future-facing projects like Milestone - delivering meaningful social and environmental impact for communities in the UK.”

Key features include:

• Welcoming , nature-inspired design to incentivise more bus travel, with more greenery and biodiversity enhancements, including Living Roofs and Planters with native plant species and wildflowers
• Sustainable materials, including long-lasting FSC Douglas fir wood, low carbon concrete, and low carbon glass
• Innovative and extensive use of timber, with structural parts of the shelter made from engineered timber for the first time ever; responsibly sourced from hand-selected trees in Scotland
• Enhanced passenger experience with new seating design, focused on lumbar support and comfort
• Improved accessibility: NaviLens codes for visually impaired people, priority seats, and back-lit timetables
• Redesigned lighting: low energy, solar-powered and more evenly distributed smart lighting for better visibility, including lip reading
• Supporting safer journeys with What3Words and Strut Safe helpline information displayed on timetables
• Designed and handcrafted in the UK, using locally grown materials

A total of 18 Milestone shelters will be installed along Whitmore Way in Basildon, forming part of the Essex County Council’s new Greener Route initiative, which also includes the introduction of electric buses. This shared investment project supports one of Essex’s most frequent urban and interurban public transport corridors.

The installation began last week and is expected to be completed during the Autumn of 2025.

Designs are registered in the UK and EU, with patent pending.  For more information about the Milestone range, visit the Bauer Media Outdoor site.