A bus stop is a designated place for buses to stop and pick up or drop off passengers. A bus stop shelter is located at a bus stop, giving passengers a protected, covered place to wait for their bus.

Most bus stop shelters include timetable information, either as printed boards or panels on the side of the shelter, or, increasingly, more frequently-used shelters feature a digital panel showing real-time bus arrivals and departures.

Depending on the size of the bus stop shelter, they also usually include a row of seats to sit on or lean against. Bus stop shelters can also include lighting and even CCTV cameras. In this current era of energy efficiency awareness, some bus stop shelters even come with solar panels.

Although all bus stop shelters serve the same purpose, they can actually differ enormously in terms of aspects such as style and design, size, colour and material construction. How a bus stop shelter looks is often based on how frequently the bus stop shelter will get used and the budget of the purchaser, often the local council. In some cases, a bus stop shelter will be designed to fit in with the ambience or style of the local area. For example, a traditional design of bus stop shelter blends in well in a rural or village location, while a contemporary style will better suit a city centre bus stop.

Some bus stop shelters have side panels, while others just have a back panel and a roof. What is common for all bus stop shelters is that the panels are made from see-through materials so that users can easily spot when their bus is approaching. Increasingly, the panels are made from tough, vandal-resistant materials, rather than glass, which is easy to smash.

The roof of a bus stop shelter can vary significantly. It can be made from similar see-through materials akin to the back and/or side panels, or it can be constructed from solid materials. Bus stop shelter roofs come in all shapes and sizes, where you can find flat, pitched, curved or domed roofs. It is often the roof that defines the particular style of the bus stop shelter. While many bus stop shelters are metallic grey, they can also come in green, blue or black, or other customised designs to suit each customer.